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Journalist Natasha Mozgovaya is the co-host of the "Current Time" show in Washington, DC in 2015. She is produced by Radio Free Europe in cooperation with Voice of America, a news agency funded by the government.
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Journalist Natasha Mozgovaya is co-host of "Current Time" in Washington, DC, in 2015, produced by Radio Free Europe in cooperation with Voice of America, a government-funded television channel.
Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump, who has often protested against US media and journalists, tweeted last week about creating a "global network to show the world what we really are, BIG!"
…. and wrong way. Something needs to be done, including the opportunity for the United States to create their own global network to show the world what we really are, GREAT!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nov. 26, 2018 [19659009] It turns out that there is such a global network run by the United States, it's the voice of l & # 39; America.
President Roosevelt created the VOA during the Second World War to broadcast behind the enemy what his current director, Amanda Bennett, described as "truthful about the war, in contrast to Nazi propaganda." 19659009] She said that over the years, the mission had not changed much.
"Our job is to do two things," she said, "one is to tell the story of America objectively to places that can not see it otherwise – and the Other is to bring objective information and information to places that do not otherwise have access to it. Free press. "
Not only that, she said, the VOA represents the possibility that it is possible for us to do so. a free press can exist. It means telling the truth about America, warts and everything.
"We try to cover every aspect of it, so that people can understand the country as it really is," Bennett said. "And that means good stories, bad stories, difficult problems, you know, funny problems, we try to give a complete picture so that people can see who we really are."
For example, the main story of the VOA website last week was about GM's decision to close several of its plants.
David Ensor, former director of VOA, former NPR correspondent, ABC and CNN correspondent, is now director of George Washington University's "Media and National Security" project. – said he noticed that the audience had jumped when VOA had revealed "less pleasant truths" about the United States, that it was about protests in Ferguson, Mo. or Abu scandal Ghraib.
" When foreigners hear a US-funded US broadcaster honestly talking about our problems as a country, it impresses them, "said Ensor. "It reinforces the credibility of Voice of America, as well as its audience and impact, for which Voice of America is there."
It may not be exactly what Trump has in mind, but some 275 million people around the world hear him. the VOA in 47 different languages. It's important, said Ensor, and it's different from other networks, such as CNN International.
"What Voice of America broadcasts in Hausa, and in Farsi, and in Russian, Chinese, and Korean," Ensor said. "The languages of the countries we are trying to reach, where we feel that people do not have enough access to honest information."
The VOA is This is in fact the largest number of broadcasting networks already managed by the United States, including Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and the broadcasting networks of the Middle East. They are supervised by the US Agency for Global Media. John F. Lansing, CEO of USAGM, said the networks were legally independent of the government.
"The law states that the law that founded the Voice of America and our other entities prohibits any interference in the editorial judgment of these networks," Lansing said.
But concerns of political interference in the networks were raised after Trump appointed Michael Pack to replace Lansing, appointed by Obama.
Pack was a former Programming Officer at the Corporation. for Public Broadcasting and produced documentaries with none other than Steve Bannon, director of the curatorial news website, former Trump advisor and campaign director.
The Senate still has to decide on Pack's appointment. James Glassman, former chairman of the board of governors of broadcasting, predecessor of the USAGM, thinks that also most independence from VOA.
Glassman believes that the network should be more integrated with US foreign policy. For example, he said, if the administration wanted to discourage Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, VOA could play a role.
"I think VOA could, for example, have a program that tells the Iranian people that their government is wasting their government – the huge sums of money that could be used to improve the economy. a nuclear program, "said Glassman.
But, he added, "there is a great reluctance to take orders" on the network.
Bennett, director of VOA, said the network is isolated by a firewall of laws and the independence of its journalists from any political interference – and that it is motivated by its judgment.
"If someone says," Do this story, because I want to do it, because it makes my interests advance, we'll see, "she said, adding that VOA would act like no other. any media outlet, asking, "Is this information or not? And if that is not the case, then, it is: "Thank you for your contribution. "
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