March 17, 2025
In “Youngstown,” Bruce Springsteen’s searing elegy for America’s industrial heartland, an ex-steelworker laments that by shutting the mills, “Them big boys did what Hitler couldn’t do.” Trump and Musk have now accomplished what Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and several previous generations of dictators never could: silencing the Voice of America.
The shutdown also hit Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Middle East Broadcasting, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. All of these outlets were established to deliver the unbiased truth to vast regions of the world where it’s scarce. They’re a superb example of “soft power,” influencing other countries and people without force or coercion.
Kari Lake, Trump’s “special advisor” for the broadcasters, claims she’ll bring them back in some slimmed-down form. It’s a safe bet she won’t obey the VOA charter, signed into law in 1976 by Republican president Gerald Ford.
1. VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.
2. VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions.
3. VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies.
For all my years as a VOA journalist, from 1984-2001, these principles guided our reporting. Like any newsroom, we had good days and bad, but were fierce about facts, objectivity, and fairness. When I started out, our veteran editors taught me an unshakeable rule: if something wasn’t confirmed by reliable sources, it didn’t get on the air. I also learned to write plain, concise English that could be translated and broadcast in more than forty other languages.
In the 80s, some of President Reagan’s far-right supporters falsely accused us of pushing leftist propaganda, like the Trumpists are doing in their effort to justify gutting the agency. Back then, no one outside the fringe paid any attention, least of all the president. Despite being a diehard foe of both communism and big government, he spoke on VOA a number of times.
I know all this might be hard to grasp if you don’t get your news from VOA, RFE/RL, or the others. Imagine living in Russia, where free media barely exist; in a war zone like Ukraine or Mali, or a ruthless surveillance state like China. Wouldn’t you be grateful for a source of honest, accurate information about your country and the world beyond? Hundreds of millions of people won’t have that source anymore, and they definitely won’t admire us for taking it away.
I