She makes a good point about using someone else to do your work. However, I'd ask her about using other sources to confirm stories. Using AP or Reuters as confirmation is a journalistically acceptable way of confirming stories. We were taught to have at least two other sources. Hopefully she learned that at Newhouse. Not everyone can have their own reporters everywhere. So you do your original reporting and use AP or Reuters to confirm. But perhaps their view is that confirmation isn't necessary or seeking outside opinions isn't necessary. In which case, sure cancel the wire services and just report without confirmation. "The news is what we say it is."
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Kari Lake previews her plans for Voice of America in the next Administration.
- Thread starter Bill Betten
- Start date
She makes a good point about using someone else to do your work. However, I'd ask her about using other sources to confirm stories. Using AP or Reuters as confirmation is a journalistically acceptable way of confirming stories. We were taught to have at least two other sources. Hopefully she learned that at Newhouse. Not everyone can have their own reporters everywhere. So you do your original reporting and use AP or Reuters to confirm. But perhaps their view is that confirmation isn't necessary or seeking outside opinions isn't necessary. In which case, sure cancel the wire services and just report without confirmation. "The news is what we say it is."
It doesn't matter. All other news services are fake news. Only the words of Donald Trump are true.
But that is for direct reporting, not the use of a news service. Newspapers that had UPI or AP domestically or AFP and Reuters, among others, internationally did not subscribe to multiple services in most cases as they recognized that the news services had already put into effect verification of their stories before the were "put on the wire".
The classic and well documented case of verification was the Washington Post investigation of Watergate, where Woodward and Bernstein were made to present some form of verification... and we got the term "deep throat" out of it.
But if stories are local, then you have to do your own verification. You can not expect a news agency to verify something about your local school board or the like.
Confirmation does not require one of the news services. It can be done by internal verification procedures. Of course, the question is whether the VOA has the skills, manpower and budget to do that.
They have whatever resources they need, paid for by taxpayers. The question is do they have the inclination to do real news. We don’t know yet.
What is a local story for VOA? The white house? The top people who will be running VOA have never done international news.
You know more about their jobs than they do.
Unable to link to a decent source at the moment, but I have been seeing numerous reports this evening that Trump’s latest executive order late Friday March 14 includes USAGM as one of its downsizing or elimination targets. Probably should keep an eye out for more clarification on how deep the cuts will go, specifics lacking at the moment.
A-25 shortwave schedules to be revealed in the next couple of days, going into effect March 30. Curious if some USAGM output reductions have already been decided.
A-25 shortwave schedules to be revealed in the next couple of days, going into effect March 30. Curious if some USAGM output reductions have already been decided.
Found an update on the possible USAGM cuts: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/14/radio-free-asia-funding-freeze-layoffs-00231780
Is $53 million for three news services a good price point? I don't think the AP wire machine we got at the college station I worked at in the early 1990's cost 1/3rd of that. In fact, I can guarantee it didn't. KCMU's entire budget probably wasn't even close to one third of $53 million, even when accounting for inflation.
Maybe the issue is the cost more than whatever content. It's not like AP, Reuters, and AFP are the only news services out there.
The AP article I read on this news item doesn't mention whether there are other independent news sources that VOA uses, either. It just mentioned the AP, Reuters, AFP services. Maybe they have other services that are cheaper that -- so far -- have been left alone.
No, VOA doesn't have whatever resources it needs; rather it has whatever resources Congress (or maybe I should say the President nowadays) decides to give to it.
Not paywalled for me: Trump Orders Gutting of 7 Agencies, Including Voice of America’s Parent
The key paragraph:
So he can't shut down something that was created by congress. It's not under his control. That's not saying much, since congress is a rubber stamp. But it is more complicated than an executive action. Just like he can't shut down congress.
In the article, she isn't simply talking about those three services, but the concept of using outside sources at all.
So it doesn't matter if there are cheaper sources.
Right. Only Trump administration press releases.
The white house doesn't control the funds either. If the money is appropriated, it should go where congress put it.
Congress just passed a CR. That means all funding continues at 2024 levels until September.
As the article states, Mr. Trump is testing the limits of presidential power. Given that he campaigned on basically having a line item budget veto, what he is attempting to do regarding the VOA (as well as the other agencies mentioned) is most likely going to wind up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The thing to know is everyone is still being paid. There is no cost savings to the taxpayers. All that's happened is that work has been stopped.
The money has been appropriated and is being spent. The constitution and the oath say the president will faithfully execute the laws of the US. He is in fact doing the opposite, and making rules in defiance of the laws. Time for impeachment. The problem is the congress is run by his party and won't file the articles of impeachment.
In the meantime, people around the world who depend on VOA broadcasts are likely not hearing them. Journalists see their jobs as serving the public, and they're being prevented from doing their jobs.
The money has been appropriated and is being spent. The constitution and the oath say the president will faithfully execute the laws of the US. He is in fact doing the opposite, and making rules in defiance of the laws. Time for impeachment. The problem is the congress is run by his party and won't file the articles of impeachment.
In the meantime, people around the world who depend on VOA broadcasts are likely not hearing them. Journalists see their jobs as serving the public, and they're being prevented from doing their jobs.
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Question is if whether the various USAGM services keep going as zombie automated program playouts, or do they shut off the transmitters (at least saving on the electric bill)?
At a check just after 1700 UT today (1pm ET) I’m still hearing Radio Marti on all three Greenville shortwave frequencies with what appears to be normal programming. However VOA Portuguese to Africa on 17655 kHz from Greenville is just music fill. There had been a report earlier that the Radio Ashna broadcast to Afghanistan today was also just music fill.