How Voice of America Strayed from Its Mission

Last week, during an Oval Office press event, a reporter questioned President Trump regarding his supposed “plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza.” The president rightly refuted the existence of such a plan and inquired about the reporter’s affiliation.

When she revealed she was with Voice of America, Trump rolled his eyes and remarked dismissively, “Oh, no wonder.”

Just two days later, the reporter and the rest of the VOA team were placed on administrative leave. While the timing was coincidental, it was something VOA should have anticipated.

A fundamental overhaul is urgently needed in America’s dysfunctional public diplomacy framework. Renowned institutions like VOA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia, which thrived during the Cold War, have become mere shadows of their illustrious pasts.

Currently, we are witnessing Persian-language broadcasts that propagate the interests of the Iranian regime, partisan political messaging directed at domestic U.S. audiences, and journalists who believe that attacking the president is part of their daily responsibilities.

Media mismatch

A series of reorganizations that took place during the “end of history” optimism in the 1990s disconnected government information networks from their mission of supporting U.S. national strategy, instead prioritizing generic journalism with no specific objective.

A complex oversight system and a congressionally mandated firewall insulated these agencies from White House influence and oversight.

The outcome has been a chronic decline into irrelevance, marked by low morale, security breaches, and financial mismanagement.

Foreign language services intended to spread American ideals in authoritarian nations have instead echoed the propaganda from the very regimes that the U.S. aims to weaken.

Even then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2013 that these information agencies were “practically defunct in terms of [their] capacity to be able to tell a message around the world.”

President Trump previously attempted to address this issue. Toward the end of his first term, he appointed filmmaker Michael Pack to lead VOA’s parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

Pack’s efforts to introduce accountability within these agencies faced intense, hostile resistance from anti-Trump bureaucrats. He encountered unsubstantiated personnel complaints, inspector general investigations, outright defiance, and hostility from mainstream media professionals committed to upholding the existing order.

Upon the arrival of the Biden administration in 2021, they promptly dismissed Pack and all lower-level Trump-appointed officials.

The White House is now moving beyond superficial measures: Trump’s new executive order grants USAGM considerable authority to defund its client agencies pending a reorganization.

In its present form, VOA is irrelevant, functioning as a taxpayer-funded left-leaning news organization more intent on criticizing Trump’s policies than on upholding U.S. strategy.

Most of the foreign audiences it was meant to reach now have access to more reliable news sources, including those provided by U.S. adversaries who excel in their messaging without experiencing the same mission ambiguities.

The government should not allocate a billion dollars annually merely to “report the news.”

Information agencies such as VOA must be strategic assets for narrating America’s story to the global community, emphasizing democratic ideals and the advantages of American leadership.

Don’t discard – reform

At the same time, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Network must refocus their efforts on penetrating closed societies to deliver news and information that authoritarian regimes withhold from their citizens.

These information agencies should be staffed by individuals passionate about and committed to this mission, as many current employees are not.

Additionally, it is essential to upgrade facilities and reporting methods by leveraging New Media strategies, including podcasts, social media dissemination, and crowdsourced news from citizen journalists using advanced technologies like direct satellite links for journalists to connect with USAGM.

Finally, Congress must intervene to reshape USAGM, restoring a structure and mission akin to the U.S. Information Agency during the Cold War, when cabinet-level leaders like Edward R. Murrow and Charles Wick effectively utilized information initiatives to promote freedom and counter communist propaganda.

Voice of America is an established brand that should not be disregarded — but it requires comprehensive reform.

Public diplomacy is a crucial tool for national strategy, and the United States needs to develop innovative, mission-driven, and highly effective agencies if it intends to compete in the global contest for influence and support.

James S. Robbins is the Dean of Academics at the Institute of World Politics graduate school and was a member of the Trump-Vance transition team for USAGM.