These journalists undergo rigorous scrutiny before they are hired by U.S. agencies. A White House website this week lodged a highly unusual barrage against the Voice of America, a media voice nominally run by the Trump administration. Perhaps that will gain him a medal from the Russian State Duma. The White House has accused Democratic lawmakers of holding up the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, after Michael Pack… Yet, Pack would consider not renewing visas for Russian journalists, nor journalists from other countries where they might face arrest or worse. “VOA’s strength is its credibility,” Crocker told me.
That Trump has handled the pandemic better than any other leader? Under veteran journalist Amanda Bennett (a former editor-in-chief of The Inquirer), a highly professional staff of U.S. and foreign journalists delivered TV and radio programs to However, in April, President Trump and his allies started But the story got even uglier last week, as Pack was reportedly ready to “No doubt this will put people in danger, but this risk appears of no interest to the administration,” says Ryan Crocker, a former ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries. Already, the Kremlin overseas media mouthpiece, The White House crackdown on VOA is so egregious that even GOP Sens.
“You can’t have global respect if you are going to act like every other authoritarian regime, and if the world sees us just like them.” So watch future developments on VOA, and renewal of foreign staff’s visas as a symbol of how far Trump’s media mania will take him. “It takes my breath away,” Crocker told me. The way the White House attacked VOA’s China coverage would seem to indicate this is the case. Michael Pack founded Manifold Productions, Inc., an independent film production company, in 1977. Can you imagine how the world would react to such broadcasts, and how they would reflect on VOA and Trump?
Nor was it meant to be the voice of one political party. Michael Pack, a conservative filmmaker and friend of former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, is taking over as head of the Agency for Global Media after the Senate finally succumbed to White House pressure to confirm him. In the newest White House nod to neo-authoritarianism, President Donald Trump seems bent on This U.S.-funded network was set up Washington in 1942 to broadcast news of America overseas. What really needs to be questioned is whether Trump wants to make VOA into a propaganda instrument to promote his personal agenda abroad. Rather, its mission was to present foreign audiences with nonpartisan news coverage of our country, ranging from U.S. politics and foreign policy to American culture. “Many work at VOA because they can’t do real journalism at home due to censorship,” one VOA source told me. Their language skills and contacts at home can’t be replaced by U.S. journalists.
Many VOA foreign staff come from nations such as Thailand, Russia, China, or Zimbabwe, where the state controls most or all news outlets and represses any independent media. (Crocker served on the Broadcasting Board of Governors that was replaced by Trump’s new oversight board.) On May 12, 2020, Senator Pack has written, directed, and produced numerous documentaries, principally for PBS, as well as corporate and educational films. That the U.S. has the “best testing” in the world and has crushed the virus? The new chief of U.S. global media is plowing ahead with changes to the Voice of America and other international broadcasters that are heightening concerns about their future as independent news organizations.
It was never intended to be a partisan propaganda tool, like state-run Russian or Chinese overseas networks. Perhaps that will gain him a medal from the Russian State Duma. What is particularly sickening is the idea that the White House might send these journalists back to authoritarian countries where VOA is under vicious attack, and those who had worked for the agency would face grave danger.
And whether he will try to turn VOA into a version of Russia’s RT.The Voice of America building in Washington, D.C. on June 15, 2020. Already, the Kremlin overseas media mouthpiece, RT (formerly Russia Today), has cheered on the White House attack on VOA. Through Manifold Productions, Pack has written, directed and produced 13 documentary films on a range of topics. Michael Pack founded Manifold Productions, Inc., an independent film production company, in 1977.
If those facts that irritated Trump were “propaganda,” one can only imagine the misinformation on the coronavirus that Trump would like VOA to report to the world. is calling for the Senate to confirm conservative documentary filmmaker Michael Pack to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media … Consider this: On the very day last week that the news broke about Pack’s signaling he wouldn’t approve visa extensions, the Russian State Duma (parliament) Yet, Pack would consider not renewing visas for Russian journalists, nor journalists from other countries where they might face arrest or worse. Through Manifold Productions, Pack has written, In 1993, Pack served as Co-Chair of the International TV Council at the In June 2018, the White House announced that President Pack assumed office over a week after his confirmation partially so his office could be swept for Pack is the founder and director of the Public Media Lab, a non-profit charitable organization. His major credits include In 1993, Pack served as Co-Chair of the International TV Council at … Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)