Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    At Voice of America, Trump Appointee Sought Political Influence Over Coverage

    Trump's pick to oversee the Voice of America, Michael Pack, ordered a political appointee to formally review a story on Joe Biden. It appears to violate bans on political meddling in coverage.
    by David Folkenflik Sep 02, 2020 5 minutes
    U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack may have breached a firewall meant to insulate Voice of America journalism from political meddling.

    At the Voice of America, staffers say the Trump appointee leading their parent agency is threatening to wash away legal protections intended to insulate their news reports from political meddling.

    "What we're seeing now is the step-by-step and whole scale dismantling of the institutions that protect the independence and the integrity of our journalism," says Shawn Powers, until recently the chief strategy officer for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA.

    Voice of America's mission is a form of soft diplomacy: to embody democratic principles through fair reporting and to replace a free press in countries where there is none. VOA and its four sister networks together reach more than 350 million people abroad each week.

    Since taking office in June, Pack has upended the agency. In a podcast interview last week with the pro-Trump website The Federalist, Pack said he had to take action because many executives and journalists

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR4 min read
    These People Waited Hours To See The Trump Hush-money Trial Up Close. Here's Why
    New Yorkers and tourists alike stand in line outside the Manhattan criminal court with hopes of securing a spot in one of the rooms where the trial against former President Donald Trump can be viewed.
    NPR3 min read
    What Are 'The Kids' Thinking These Days? Honor Levy Aims To Tell In 'My First Book'
    Social media discourse and the inevitable backlash aside, the 26-year-old writer's first book is an amusing, if uneven, take on growing up white, privileged, and Gen Z.
    NPR8 min readAmerican Government
    Anti-war Protests, A Chicago DNC: Is It 1968 All Over Again? Some Historians Say No
    There are clear similarities between 1968 and 2024, from presidential elections and anti-war protests to new Planet of the Apes movies. But historians tell NPR there are some key differences too.

    Related Books & Audiobooks