Funding a federally funded world, Voice of America has long been proud to serve as an accurate and fair news source and is independent of the US president and party.
Since President Trump's election, his independence has been increasingly tested.
For months, the US agency of Global Media, the parent organization of Voice of America, has launched an investigation into Voice of America journalists because several employees report criticisms and comments perceived as critical of Trump. Some journalists raised concerns at this week's meeting with the broadcaster's director.
At least some articles, including criticism of Trump and his administration, have not been published since it was published in recent months and have been watered down, said three voiced employees who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation.
And on Friday, according to a copy of a letter reviewed by the New York Times, the global media agency told one of Steven Herman's Steven Herman, America's top industrial journalist, that he was in an extended “permission absent” until he waited for a personnel investigation. Mr. Herman confirmed that he had received the letter. He said this was an investigation into whether social media activities undermined the VOA's objectivity and/or the perception of its news operations.
A few weeks ago, Herman fired from the Trump administration when he cited a social media quote from an anti-corruption watchdog group criticizing cuts at the US International Development Agency.
Trump's “special mission” envoy Richard Grenell wrote to X that Herman's comments were “rebellious.”
“We cannot oppose the official US government policies while being paid by US taxpayers,” Grenell continued. “You should be fired immediately.”
Also on Friday, Voice of America officials informed the broadcaster's longtime White House director, Patsy Widakuswara, that she was being unwillingly relocated to another beat, the employee said. Some American journalists suspected the move was part of an effort to reduce friction with the Trump administration, but broadcasters' officials who were not allowed to speak to the media denied it.
The Global Media agency declined to comment.
The drastic change in Voice of America is in a series of broadsides by the Trump administration against the media. The White House has begun to choose which news outlets will be part of the press pool covering the president. The Associated Press has been banned from events as it does not reclassify the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into whether broadcasters are acting in the public interest. Trump has filed or threatened lawsuits against media outlets that the media opposed.
Since Trump said he appointed former television news anchor Kari Lake and failed Republican Senate candidates who frequently spread lies and conspiracy theories to lead the broadcaster, Journeists journalists have been worried about their future.
Lake rejected calls from Elon Musk and Grenell, and completely abolished the American voice. However, she says that broadcaster reports will be free from what they described as “Trump Mad Syndrome” or TDS.
“It's not going to be Trump's television,” Lake said in a speech this month at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an influential Tories gathering. “But that certainly isn't hell TD.”
Under federal law, the voice of American directors must be approved by a bipartisan committee that oversees the agency of global media. The board has not voted for Mr. Hu's nomination.
The Global Media agency told employees via email Thursday that Lake has been appointed senior adviser to media agencies and Voice of America, withheld for formal approval by the board.
“With this ability, she oversees and advises the agency's leadership on management priorities,” the email said.
Trump has appointed conservative activist and media critic Brent Bozel to run an institution for global media. Bozel needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
Even before Lake and Bozell's arrival, officials at Voice of America and its parent agency were suppressing anti-Trump sentiment.
Shortly after the November presidential election, Herman, the broadcaster's chief correspondent, was interviewed about the American program and was asked about the criteria Trump uses to select cabinet candidates.
“What we see is once again loyalty is the No. 1 attribute, not experience,” replied Herman.
Mr. Herman was immediately summoned to a meeting with personnel officers at a global media agency. He was pressured to admit that he was inappropriately engaged in speculation and analysis. Two other American journalists said they had encountered similar blowbacks.
Voice of America officials, who were not allowed to speak to the media, defended the investigation as part of their efforts to protect the objectivity and neutrality of Voice of America's journalism, when they were under intense scrutiny by Republicans in the White House and Capitol Hill.
David Z. Sade, a lawyer for the Government Accountability Project, defending federal whistleblowers, represents Herman and other American employees who are facing personnel investigations on what he wrote or said about Trump and his administration. He said it is noteworthy that these investigations were conducted before Lake or other senior Trump appointees were at the helm.
“They are acting preemptively,” Seid said. “They can read the handwriting on the wall,” he added that he saw the social media investigation of Herman as an excuse to expel one of America's most well-known journalist voices.
Longtime Voice of America journalists say they were surprised and found that global media agencies were scrutinizing their editorial decisions. In order to maintain the independence of Voice of America, the agency is to be overturned from questions about journalism.
At a meeting in the newsroom of Voice of America in Washington this week, broadcaster director Michael Abramowitz faced questions from employees worried that HR investigations could have a terrible effect on American journalists, leading them to mute criticism from people who attended the meeting.
Abramowitz, a long-time acclaimed reporter and editor for the Washington Post, responded with caution that he was acting as a “care worker” and that Lake would soon replace him.
In his first term, Trump's White House publicly criticized the voices of American editorial decisions. In 2020, Trump ran Michael Pack, an ally of his former aide Stephen K. Bannon, as a global media agency.
Puck was accused of trying to turn the American voice into a Trump administration mouthpiece, and a federal judge ruled that Puck violated the outlet journalist's initial right to amend. A federal investigation found that he mismanaged global media institutions and repeatedly abused his powers by side-job executives who felt he didn't support Trump well.
