Key Points
- USAGM plans to close several overseas news bureaus despite multiple legal challenges to its downsizing effort.
- A memo to Congress says bureau closures will include locations in Indonesia, Kenya and the Czech Republic.
- Acting CEO Kari Lake confirmed the consolidation strategy in correspondence referenced by the New York Times.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media is moving forward with a plan to close several overseas bureaus for its news and editorial operations, despite numerous ongoing legal challenges against the downsizing of the broadcaster.
In a memo sent to Congress last month, USAGM’s acting CEO Kari Lake said the agency intends to close bureaus in Indonesia, Kenya, the Czech Republic and other locations, according to the New York Times.
The decision comes despite a judge’s order in April that required the USAGM to restore funding to Voice of America and a handful of other external broadcasters that receive Congressionally-appropriated grant money. The order required USAGM to re-hire workers and contractors who were laid off or fired after President Donald Trump signed an executive order one month prior that was aimed at downsizing that agency and six others.
The judge’s order did not explicitly require USAGM to continue operating overseas news bureaus, though the judge noted in his order that lawmakers intended to fund the agency and its broadcast operations with the purpose of providing reliable, fact-based news and information to underserved audiences in other countries.
In her memo last month, Lake said full-time employees in overseas bureaus were not necessary because domestic coverage could be handled by contractors, especially during times of breaking news.
“None of the closures reduce VOA’s ability to provide authoritative, independent journalism,” Lake assured lawmakers, according to the Times. “They are strategically-chosen redundancies to save over $30 million in taxpayer dollars.”
In an attempt to assuage potential legal challenges over the move, Lake wrote that the closures were not intended to reduce broadcast services in the affected regions. In September, a federal judge blocked Lake’s efforts to fire independent contractors after determining the plan would run contrary to USAGM’s obligation to provide news programming to underserved audiences overseas.
Access to that information might be harder to come by in the near future: In addition to the bureau closures, Lake said USAGM has prioritized the winding down of several shortwave radio stations that provide news in English and other languages. Those stations are located in strategically-placed corners of the world like Germany and Botswana; shortwave radio can carry signals for thousands of miles, and those stations primarily serve audiences in countries where broadband connectivity and local media are harder to come by.
In the absence of Voice of America, some government-funded broadcasters in Europe, like the BBC, have increased their foreign broadcast output. Citizens in other countries, like China and Russia, are turning to state-run media outlets due to a lack of options.
More Stories
- Judge sides with Voice of American journalists in lawsuit over firings
- USAGM fires hundreds of Voice of America contractors
- Voice of America journalists sue USAGM over closure of broadcast outlet
- U.S. Agency for Global Media sued over cancellation of grants
- Journalists at government-backed broadcasters work through layoffs
