It’s a strange thing, but I’ve bumped into Martin Niemöller’s famous poem, “First They Came,” written just after the Holocaust. It’s a plea for society not to be apathetic when we see things going on around us that demand we stand up and speak out.
While I’ve seen different versions of “First They Came,” the original goes like this:
Last week’s obliteration of the Voice of America, the radio and TV platform owned and operated by America as a bastion of democracy for the rest of the world is no more.
All told, 1,300 journalists, producers, and staffers were terminated, effectively eliminating VOA and sister networks, including Radio Marti and Radio Free Europe. Most of us do not listen to these services – we are not the target audience. But in aggregate, the networks have a cume of 420 million in more than 100 countries, broadcasting in 63 languages.
The VOA’s parent, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is the next thing to go in the DOGE movement led by Elon Musk at President Trump’s direction. The new administration is ridding itself of institutions and agencies that have been a part of America for decades and decades. Along with all those employees, USAGM’s leadership is out, including VOA Director Michael Abramowitz who now finds himself on “administrative leave.”
With expense cutting as the operational rationale for the chaos, the last 50-odd days have seen the defunding of many U.S. agencies and departments. We’re told America is saving untold billions as a result of all these employee purges. But at what cost? Whether it’s research dollars to cure diseases, support staff to keep national parks operating, key personnel at the Veteran’s Administration, or weather service employees warning us about natural disasters, our country is changing before our very eyes.
Some are cheering these moves on. And because elections do have consequences, the losing side is resigned to having to deal with it. But when these changes disrupt what America has stood for, it may be time to start following the news again, especially if you’ve taken a hiatus since the election.
We may not feel the impact of these cuts for months or even years, but we will feel them. In the case of VOA, the service was started 83 years ago by FDR in an effort to connect the world with the
American way of life. Radio was the key medium for VOA, a way for people all over the planet to get a feel for what the U.S. is all about.
But perception is everything, and President Trump has railed against the VOA for some time now because of its “radical propaganda.” The order states the entire network be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
Posting on X last month, Musk wrote that “nobody listens to (VOA) anymore” and that it’s “just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching” taxpayer dollars.
Former Arizona candidate for both Senator and Governor, Kari Lake, has been appointed by Trump to run VOA, pending the OK from the International Broadcasting Advisory Board. Lake is a former news anchor and journalist. In a memo to staff, she wrote, “I am committed to quickly reforming and modernizing the agency into something the American people are willing to support.”
It is good to see broad coverage of this story in both Inside Radio and Radio Ink this morning as well as coverage in Radio World. James Cridland led off his fine newsletter with the story, emphasizing the importance of VOA’s “soft power” in an increasingly unsettled world.
He concludes his coverage with a simple and emphatic conclusion about the gutting of VOA:
“It’s a massive mistake to close it.”
This is the first inning for the Trump administration’s assault on media outlets (as well as shows and personalities) it doesn’t care for.
In the next couple weeks, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will grab the gavel to chair hearing about the future of public media funding arm, the Corporation For Public Broadcasting which provides taxpayer dollars for PBS and NPR – as well as stations around the country.
For most major market public media outlets, government funding is now in the single digits. It is stations in smaller cities and towns as well as independent community broadcasters who are now under the gravest threat. And that means many more regions will become what are known as “news deserts.”
But, what does all this mean to the thousands of radio people in the U.S. today, going about their business, broadcasting shows, doing remotes, and serving their communities?
The VOA staff was comprised of radio people, too. And while their service never competed for ratings or revenue, it was about spreading and sharing America’s values to the world. While we can argue about VOA’s execution, those are lofty goals.
Our politics may not be in lock-step with one another. But no matter which side of the spectrum we may be on, maybe there’s common ground when we look at radio’s value, its power, and its ability to communicate ideas.
Whether you were a P1 for Rush, Howard, or Terry Gross, they all have a place on the radio dial.
But now, a once-powerful radio voice is being snuffed out as we sit down to fill out our March Madness Brackets or knock back a beverage on St. Paddy’s Day.
That’s right – we can sit down and watch this parade go by, feeling fortunate we’re not affected. Or we can express our concerns for how this is all going down.
OK, I’ll start. It sucks.
A comprehensive story about the VOA’s plight is in a recent story from Associated Press. You can read it here.
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Thank you Fred.
Indeed.
I appreciate you reading it, Sean.
It was my dream job. I’d been a VOA fan since my early teens when Dad brought home a shortwave receiver.
I said that in my interview, knowing shortwave was dying. Affiliates were the future, and the Internet would follow. I’d already led a team at Metro Networks that successfully courted affiliates for a dozen years.
I asked if I could visit a big shortwave station before they shut down. My first trip was to Prague and Munich, where I saw those 250kW flamethrowers in action.
We pushed for audience growth in steps, and it worked—from 150 million to 375 million when I left in 2018, now over 400 million.
Problems? Sure. Dysfunction? Of course. But name a media outlet without crises—especially one as diverse as VOA.
Meanwhile, they’re toasting in Moscow, Beijing, and every place repression thrives.
See my response to “One On The Right,” Doug. I’m sure VOA was messy. But the key is to come in, understand the value, and make the necessary repairs. This is like blowing up a Cybertruck because its tires are flat. Wait….
BTW thanks for sharing this. I had hoped I’d hear from someone who actually worked there. Appreciate it.
When a majority enjoys the rights of a nation without regard for its responsibilities, a void is created, then exploited like we are seeing now.
The opposition to such moves as shutting off VOA would have been better served to have a plan for what to do when “they” arrive, since the “they” of any historical period feast on complacency and confusion. “They” are no longer asking for cooperation, if they ever were. “They” are not knocking at the door—they’re kicking it in.
You can shut off a transmitter. You can’t shut off a belief.
Thanks for posting this, Fred, and especially for posting the Martin Niemöler poem. Those who do not learn from history may be doomed to repeat it.
I know the post ruffled some feathers, but that’s the world we’re living in. No one’s taking baby steps and things are moving quickly. Appreciate the thoughts, Keith.
I know the post ruffled some feathers, but that’s the world we’re living in. No one’s taking baby steps and things are moving quickly. Appreciate the thoughts, Keith.
When I saw the VOA story over the weekend, my first thought was, “Onion headline.” I’ve had that thought a lot lately. This one is disturbing. It’s not a radio story. It’s a Democracy, Freedom, 1st Amendment, and ‘What’s Next’ story.
Thanks for speaking up, Fred.
Vital Service. Sad.
Fred – You rightly said, “Some are cheering these moves on.” I am one of those cheering. VOA has become an MSNBC, and NOT one promoting all American values.
I wholeheartedly disagree with your statement, “..it was about spreading and sharing America’s values to the world.”
We’ve discovered lately that these “American values” include $20 million to a nonprofit in Iraq called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq.”That one promotes, “inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.” Another promotes DEI values in Ireland. And yet another funds Sex Change operations and the LGBTQ agenda in Guatemala.
I don’t believe most of America shares the leftist views and values of VOA.
When Hamas attacked Israel (Oct. 7, 2023), VOA told its employees to “avoid calling Hamas and its members terrorists, except in quotes.”
VOA lied to its listeners by perpetuating the Hunter Biden laptop story as “Russian propaganda.”
These are some examples of why I cheer the demise of VOA. I’m tired of seeing an extremely biased outlet exclusively espouse leftist views. Good riddance.
I respect your POV here. I’m sure there are other examples of questionable stances. But why blow up entire organizations, agencies, departments? And replace them with what? Ken, that’s the “art of the deal.” You don’t blow up an entire morning show when it’s just one cast member rowing in the wrong direction.
The Trump admministration has the right to a VOA more reflective of its view of America. So get in there, change it, fix it. Were all 1,300 “wrong” for the organization? It is much easier to blow somoething up than it is to make it effective. That’s where the hard work comes in.
I appreciate the response.
I respect your POV here. I’m sure there are other examples of questionable stances. But why blow up entire organizations, agencies, departments? And replace them with what? Ken, that’s the “art of the deal.” You don’t blow up an entire morning show when it’s just one cast member rowing in the wrong direction.
The Trump admministration has the right to a VOA more reflective of its view of America. So get in there, change it, fix it. Were all 1,300 RIFed employees “wrong” for the organization? It is much easier to blow somoething up than it is to make it effective. That’s where the hard work comes in.
I appreciate the response.
Ken, just how much VOA content have you actually seen or heard? I’m guessing, by your recitation of right-wing talking points, exactly none, especially in non-English languages. Apparently, any media source that does not praise and worship Glorious Leader Trump is “radical left”. That’s nonsense. But that’s why it was shut down, a VOA reporter asked Trump a question he didn’t like.
Somebody listing in Urdu likely wouldn’t have cared about Hunter’s laptop. But I’m the enemy within, so there you go
“inclusion, mutual respect and understanding across ethnic, religious and sectarian groups.” What do you take issue with here and how is it not reflective of American values. We could present “both sides” and you could do a show that “eliminates mutual respect and understanding”. That’ll show em! Oh yeah, we already have that show – it’s called the White House.
Wait ’til the White House discovers the button on the EAS box that instantly connects them live to every station in the country. Even without anything to say, they’ll be smacking that button like it’s a Pac Man game.
In a word, Alan, “Oy!”
If it even appears that something like that is going to happen, I will immediately unplug every EAS box within my reach. EAS is not intended for any such nonsense, and I will not have it on any radio station I am responsible for.
Alan, is it possible to broadcast in ALL CAPS?
While many of us knew it would be bad, the first few weeks with Presidents Trump and Musk has been the worst end of the specturm that I expected. How dare these people (one elected by no one) alter and destroy so many mostly valuable institutions that have been built over tens or hundereds of years. We are destroying everything that showcases the USA to the rest of the world. How can one not understand the value of USaid or VOA? And how relativly little that they cost. Do these guys totally miss the value of public relations to the world?
For now, most of us (cravenly – self included) will be holding our tounges (on-air; at least) and hoping that there will be federal elections in two and four years.
See my response to “One on the Right,” Jon. We need to more as a country than blow stuff up. We’ve all seen PDs and GMs walk into an operaation and just start firing people. In the meantime, who keeping the station on the air?
What an embarrassment to the to the worst Arizona has to offer!
Wait, it could’ve been Joe Arpaio.
As someone who loved radio all my life, of course, I knew of VOA. But I never listened. So I’ll have to leave to others the value of what VOA offered the world — and return the benefit reaped by the U.S. from its service (fully understanding that that value is not measured in ROI). From the looks of the responses so far, Fred, it was substantial — perhaps even immeasurable.
That said, anytime any source loses government funding, it will face additional strain with the result often being that of having to let people go. Always a sad and difficult thing. But not one in and of itself that can justify the continuing of that funding.
Donald Trump would seem best poised to use such a facility as a bullhorn to “brag” to the world about how great America is and how that’s in no small part (maybe solely) because of him. He doesn’t seem shy about tooting his own horn — deservedly or not. So whatever reason he might be shuttering it would at least not be because he could not personally benefit from it.
This is 2025. VOA was started in 1942 — 82 years ago. The world and communications have changed greatly. I worked for a company that had a huge shortwave facility in Florida that consisted of 14 100,000 watt transmitters and 14 antennas.
We eventually sold it for $1. There was just no way to justify the operating cost with so many more ways to reach so many more people so much more efficiently.
That’s not to say shortwave doesn’t sill have its place and purpose. 420 million listeners is nothing to sneeze at. It is to say, is that the best and most efficient way to get your message out to the world in 2025?
I honestly don’t know the answer. I’m just asking the question.
I appreciate you chiming in on this one, David.
I have the benefit of reading the previous comments before commenting myself, but there are excellent POVs in pretty much everything that has been said.
Is shortwave still the best medium for VOA in the first place? Has there been an effort in VOA programming to include all POVs? Are we automatically presuming that only conservative views are worth sharing with the world? Why is it a bad thing to promote democracy around the world?
I doubt all of this nonsense is going to last. We’re only two months in as of Thursday and already there is public pushback and courts issuing injunctions against some of what is happening. There will probably be a point where it becomes feasible to restart VOA … but do we really need to?
I don’t have any answers. Just the aforementioned questions.
Under Kari Lake, if it restarts it will be along the lines of “Dear Leader President Trump announces that the beet harvest is right on schedule.
it will mmost certainly sound different than the familar product that lasted more than eight decades, Brad.
Thank you Fred for posting this about VOA. Because VOA programming aired overseas, but not stateside, at least one commenter here seems willing to repeat some rather ridiculous claims about VOA’s programming and think they might hold water…of course without putting their name to their post. I’m sure many folks know more than I about every aspect of VOA’s programming, but I do know a little first hand.
I have produced and hosted a weekly jazz program called “Jazz from the Heart of America” on VOA for the last 3 years. The status of the show now obviously seems doubtful, it’s likely my last show aired on Sunday, but either way it is at best a giant question mark, since actual communication from those now apparently in charge has been non-existent thus far.
My program aired on dozens of VOA FM stations in Africa (107.5 FM in Nairobi Kenya, 98.1 FM in Accra Ghana, etc) plus VOA outlets in other locales like Indonesia and The Republic of Georgia. VOA did not broadcast only via shortwave it was mostly FM. It’s hard for me to know exactly how many of Nairobi’s 5 million plus residents were listening, but you put it out there in the air and what happens, happens. I did receive song requests via email from listeners in Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, and many other locales. Somebody was out there.
For those who don’t know, VOA had a long tradition of offering jazz music – considered by many to be America’s greatest musical art form – to world wide audiences, most famously by legendary VOA jazz deejay Willis Conover. Many foreign born jazz musicians claim his broadcasts as hugely inspirational and important in bringing them to America to seek out our music & culture. Regular international listeners who didn’t play an instrument saw jazz music as an example of our country’s creativity and a musical demonstration of democracy in action.
I did not get paid by VOA. It was a cooperative agreement between my radio station and VOA, strictly a venture of international goodwill, so I’m not losing any salary or my source of employment. I’m a bit player in all this. But I still find this whole recent dismantling of the VOA a shocking and sad mistake that will be hard to undo. Everyone I dealt with at VOA was excellent and professional. I feel for all of them. And I am grateful for the opportunity to briefly be a part of this long great operation. Amazing that 80 plus years of VOA is basically…poof. Gone.
I’m glad you wrote this, Dan. As I said above in my own comment, I really wasn’t familiar with the programming of VOA.
But jazz is just one of those wonderful things that says so much about America that can’t be put into words. I’m even having trouble putting into words how much your comment makes me understand so much better the value of VOA. It’s one of those few things that says “This is America” without saying anything else.
And that VOA also uses FM signals to reach many was new to me as well.
I still don’t know the answer to my question above — is this the best and most efficient way to reach the greatest number of people in 2025 — but it gives me a lot better understanding of why it just may be. Thank you.
Dan, this is a great story and (on behalf of JacoBLOG readers), I am especially appreciative. Kudos to you for doing this show pro bono with a goal of spreading “American music” around the globe. I’m sure shows like yours and other VOA programming will be nearly missed by the global audience. And for those who spent parts or even all of their radio careers dedicated to serving the world via VOA, my sincere graatitude and condolences. Truly, a sad day for radio.
I started listening to shortwave around 1970, and of was very familiar with VOA (also the dulcet tones of the late Willis Conover, who was known for bringing American jazz to the world). I also remember “New York, New York”, with Garry Moore (yes, the “The Tell the Truth” guy), highlighting the cultural life of NYC. Who could forget the “special English” news…spoken slowly for English language learners.
I visited the former Bethany (Ohio) relay station a couple of times while it was operating. It still was using some old Crosley transmitters. It’s since been turned into a museum with much of the equipment still there. It’s recently added memorabilia from Cincinnati Radio & TV. It’s worth a visit.
Now to the present….yes I oppose the current administration and particularly a South African billionaire dismantling the entire government. I’ve got no issue with legitimate Congressional oversight. I have been following Steve Herman (W7VOA) since the typhoon some years ago. Shortwave is not the be-all and end-all, and VOA, like everything else, has been moving into video, digital platforms and partnerships around the world. The administration’s claim of “radical leftism” is nonsense, unless half the people who voted are “radical leftists. Best of luck to the staff….and to the USA.
Thanks for weighing in on this post, Brad.
Bravo, Fred. No truer words have ever been spoken.
That’s a tall order, Steve, but thank you!
“…feeling fortunate we’re not affected.”
No, we’re all feeling affected.
There will be plenty of wrongs to right down the road.
Thank you Fred.
Appreciate you spending the time to read it, Leo, and taking it to heart.
No one is going to escape the wrath of Trump/Musk, that much is certain.
When it comes to VOA, I listened to their hourly newscast on my iPhone. I have a wonderful App called “Hourly News” and it allows me to listen to the hourly news of NPR, CBC, NBC, VOA, AP, ABC, CBS, FOX, BBC, DW, SRN, RTHK, NY Times, WSJ, Sky News, Bloomberg and RNZ in succession.
I’ve always found it interesting to hear the different perspectives offered by the world’s great news organizations. How they organize the news each hour and what gets covered and what doesn’t.
VOA is now silent.
In America, didn’t need a shortwave radio to hear VOA News, just a smartphone.
The VOA website used to be filled with stories of people who traveled from all over the world to Washington, DC to meet their favorite broadcasters they faithfully listened to on The Voice of America. VOA provided companionship and a sense of community, talking to people in their own language. Isn’t that what all great radio does? (Or is supposed to do?)
VOA made a difference in how the world thought of America.
Thank you for this thoughtful comment to a tough post and a very challenging set of circumstances, Dick. Our world of radio was already in flux but as we know too well, this year has already been especially chaotic. There’s a lot of rebuilding to do.