FARRELL: VOA’s Much Needed Shake-Up

From Chris Farrell’s Op-Ed for The Daily Caller:

Why would American taxpayers pay for anti-U.S. propaganda to be broadcast and published around the world? Beyond just plain, old “stupid” – right? Those of us “woke” to the pervasiveness of the Deep State see it as more than a coincidence. The attacks on America masquerade as independent journalism. Those abuses at the U.S. Agency for Global Media have resulted in a long overdue shake-up. USAGM – which oversees global communications agencies like the Voice of America and numerous regional programs – has suffered from a confused sense of mission and has been transmitting muddled messages.

CEO Michael Pack has come under withering fire for implementing sweeping personnel and policy changes, having removed most of the leadership of USAGM’s various components and pressed for more focused and pro-American content. Imagine that – a Voice of America that actually promotes American values. Compared to the grim narrative pitched by most media outlets that would be a radical message indeed.

Pack’s critics see his reforms as an assault on press freedom. They argue that these government-funded entities should be free to publish whatever they want without interference, even from the agency tasked with their supervision. But no media organization, public or private, operates on the principle of freedom from editorial oversight and direction

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