“The USAGM and the state department, and American embassies, all worked to protect these people and, and in some cases, visas were offered, or secured for them. To send these brave journalists home to face a truly uncertain fate is enormously cruel and wildly inappropriate.”
Guardian: Foreign journalists working for Voice of America will not have their visas renewed by its new management and face repatriation to countries where some could face reprisals, in a move described by a former news executive from the organisation as “enormously cruel and wildly inappropriate”.
BREAKING: Bipartisan Senate leadership rarely gets together on anything. But they have gotten together today to object to Trump’s attempt to take over Voice of America & turn it into a propaganda mill.
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) July 1, 2020
Here’s their letter, & the lawsuit to stop this outrage is also proceeding. pic.twitter.com/sMasuUSPUg
The denial of visa renewals follows a purge of executives and senior journalists from VOA and other state-run broadcasters under the authority of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) by its new Trump-appointed CEO, Michael Pack.
Pack fired all the station directors who had not already resigned, and dissolved the bipartisan managing boards of the broadcasting organisations, replacing them with himself and five other Trump loyalists.
Voice of America becomes voice of Trump || By: Seattle Times Editorial Board https://t.co/G8CvmQLRUk
— SafetyPin-Daily (@SafetyPinDaily) July 4, 2020
On Wednesday, it was reported that Pack had fired the former head of Radio Free Asia (RFA), Bay Fang, a highly experienced journalist who he had previously demoted to an editor’s job.
Readers React: Voice of America needs protection from Trump and his cronies https://t.co/zYIDsfsKXK
— Muckmaker™ (@RealMuckmaker) July 3, 2020
Dozens of foreign journalists who worked for VOA and its language services could be affected by the decision not to renew visas, which was first reported by National Public Radio. Among those who face repatriation are Chinese, Cambodian and Thai nationals.
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