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Trump's new global media chief fires top editor at Radio Free Asia
The Bannon associate Trump appointed to run the parent federal agency of Voice of America, is weakening America's ability to respond to China's abuses.
Link to tweet
Whoa. This is huge news and makes no sense.
@RadioFreeAsia
was instrumental in breaking a LOT of news on Beijing's mistreatment of Xinjiang Uighurs,and this purge amounts to blinding eyes on China just when we need it more than ever.
Link to tweet
Trump's new global media chief fires top editor at Radio Free Asia
July 9, 2020, 2:28 PM EDT
By Dan De Luce
WASHINGTON — The new chief of U.S.-funded global media has sacked the top editor at an outlet that serves a large audience in China and across Asia, the latest firing to raise fears the Trump administration could undermine the editorial independence of the news networks, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
President Donald Trump's newly appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack, fired Bay Fang as executive editor of Radio Free Asia on Wednesday, the sources told NBC News.
In another move that has caused consternation among the editorial staff, Pack’s office has indicated that dozens of foreign journalists employed at the U.S.-funded broadcasters may not have their U.S. visas renewed. A spokesperson for the U.S. Agency for Global Media said it was conducting a “case-by-case assessment” of contractors who hold J-1 visas.
“To improve agency management and protect U.S. national security, it is imperative to determine that hiring authorities and personnel practices are not misused,” the spokesperson said in an email to NBC News.
The U.S.-funded news services rely heavily on foreign journalists to translate reports on events in the U.S. into dozens of foreign languages and to cultivate local sources in repressive societies.
Since he was confirmed as CEO in a party-line vote in June after a lobbying push from the White House, Pack has fired all the heads of the four news outlets under his agency as well as the members of the bipartisan boards that governed them. Pack replaced the boards mostly with political appointees of the Trump administration, and named himself as chairman. He also reassigned an editor for standards at Voice of America.
The sweeping shake-up — which critics say amounts to a purge of the organization — has fueled concerns among journalists at the outlets and lawmakers in Congress that the long-established editorial independence of the news networks is at risk.
{snip}
July 9, 2020, 2:28 PM EDT
By Dan De Luce
WASHINGTON — The new chief of U.S.-funded global media has sacked the top editor at an outlet that serves a large audience in China and across Asia, the latest firing to raise fears the Trump administration could undermine the editorial independence of the news networks, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
President Donald Trump's newly appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack, fired Bay Fang as executive editor of Radio Free Asia on Wednesday, the sources told NBC News.
In another move that has caused consternation among the editorial staff, Pack’s office has indicated that dozens of foreign journalists employed at the U.S.-funded broadcasters may not have their U.S. visas renewed. A spokesperson for the U.S. Agency for Global Media said it was conducting a “case-by-case assessment” of contractors who hold J-1 visas.
“To improve agency management and protect U.S. national security, it is imperative to determine that hiring authorities and personnel practices are not misused,” the spokesperson said in an email to NBC News.
The U.S.-funded news services rely heavily on foreign journalists to translate reports on events in the U.S. into dozens of foreign languages and to cultivate local sources in repressive societies.
Since he was confirmed as CEO in a party-line vote in June after a lobbying push from the White House, Pack has fired all the heads of the four news outlets under his agency as well as the members of the bipartisan boards that governed them. Pack replaced the boards mostly with political appointees of the Trump administration, and named himself as chairman. He also reassigned an editor for standards at Voice of America.
The sweeping shake-up — which critics say amounts to a purge of the organization — has fueled concerns among journalists at the outlets and lawmakers in Congress that the long-established editorial independence of the news networks is at risk.
{snip}
