Kari Lake previews her plans for Voice of America in the next Administration.

[blizzard59]

VOA's TV channels on satellite are currently broadcasting a looping promo seemingly previewing the tone of coverage the "new" VOA is to take.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1901386619178946961

Unlike the satellite channels, VOA's two FAST streaming channels, the Global Media Channel and 52 Documentary Channel, are still showing regular programming, no doubt running off of a playlist no longer getting updated.

 

[Jean Luc]

And why did licensees decide to do conservative talk? Answer: it got ratings and generated revenue. Why don't they do things like Air America? Answer: because that effort got low or no ratings and failed to generate revenue.

I know that's the party line. I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it know. I remember the I Heart program director who proclaimed himself the "grim reaper" of progressive talk. In my experience every station manager I encountered was "conservative" in the tradition of George F. Babbitt. Progressive talk was strangled in the crib.

 

[Mediafrog+]

China is celebrating: Chinese state media hails Trump cuts to Voice of America

 

[Delete My Account]

And our enemies rejoice...

Moscow and Beijing rejoice at looming death of Radio Free Europe, VOA

“We couldn’t shut them down, unfortunately, but America did so itself,” editor-in-chief of Russia’s state broadcaster said.

www.politico.eu

 

[Mediafrog+]

WRMI reacts: "Rather Brash": Jeff White on the USAGM Shutdowns - Radio World

 

[TheBigA]

Radio Free Europe has sued Kari Lake for failing to distribute appropriated funds:

Radio Free Europe Sues Kari Lake Over Trump Grant Funding Freeze

Kari Lake, senior advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media, failed to disburse funds to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in violation of Congress’s statutory appropriations, the broadcasting group said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

news.bloomberglaw.com

Radio Free Europe sues after Trump administration halts funding

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sued Kari Lake and the Trump administration Tuesday over efforts to defund the organization. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which funds the radio station and Voice of America...

www.yahoo.com

 

[TheBigA]

We're talking about how shortwave is obsolete, and the best approach to reach people in enemy countries is with the internet. Now the president has just shut down a program that helps people in China access the free web around government restrictions:

President Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress

The Trump administration’s move to shut down the Open Technology Fund (OTF), an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web, has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of...

www.benton.org

Maybe I don't understand how this is supposed to help us?

 

[gr8oldies]

We're talking about how shortwave is obsolete, and the best approach to reach people in enemy countries is with the internet. Now the president has just shut down a program that helps people in China access the free web around government restrictions:

President Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress

The Trump administration’s move to shut down the Open Technology Fund (OTF), an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web, has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of...

www.benton.org

Maybe I don't understand how this is supposed to help us?

I'm assured we're great again

 

[davideduardo]

We're talking about how shortwave is obsolete, and the best approach to reach people in enemy countries is with the internet. Now the president has just shut down a program that helps people in China access the free web around government restrictions:

President Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress

The Trump administration’s move to shut down the Open Technology Fund (OTF), an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web, has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of...

www.benton.org

Maybe I don't understand how this is supposed to help us?

What actual proof is there that, in fact, anyone in China was able to use those mentioned services... and to do so without repercussions?

I have the feeling that the data is as inflated as the totally and absolutely undocumented claim of the VOA about reaching hundreds of millions of persons each week when reality suggests that they have their decimal point several places to far to the right.

 

[TheBigA]

What actual proof is there that, in fact, anyone in China was able to use those mentioned services... and to do so without repercussions?

So to summarize, you don't like shortwave, and you also don't think the internet is very effective. What's left?

 

[MadMan]

CUBA Trump administration reinstates some Cuba democracy programs, but turns off Radio Martí

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/na...icas/cuba/article302377354.html#storylink=cpy

 

[TheBigA]

CUBA Trump administration reinstates some Cuba democracy programs, but turns off Radio Martí

Cuban exiles are abandoned by the US gov't. No surprise.

The move to shut down the Martí stations, fulfilling a long-sought goal of the Cuban government, has caused an uproar in the Cuban exile community and has prompted Cuban American Republican members of Congress to react. “In the case of Radio and TV Martí, it’s something I’ve always supported and continue to support,” Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, who has saved the stations in the past from harsh cuts and plans to merge with the Voice of America, told Telemundo journalist Gloria Ordaz in an interview. “I’m working with the administration to see how we can reverse it, or at least find a way to provide radio and communication services for the Cuban people, which is essential,” he added.

The US government did something even Soros didn't do to Radio Mambi. Cubans were furious when Latino Media bought the station. They launched a congressional opposition to the sale. Yet Mambi remains on the air, while Marti has been shut down. Who can Cuban exiles trust?

 

[gr8oldies]

Cuban exiles are abandoned by the US gov't. No surprise.



The US government did something even Soros didn't do to Radio Mambi. Cubans were furious when Latino Media bought the station. They launched a congressional opposition to the sale. Yet Mambi remains on the air, while Marti has been shut down. Who can Cuban exiles trust?

What? Me say FAFO?

 

[Cold Coffee]

I'm assured we're great again

Our enlightened generation is in power now. How are we doing?

 

[Echo4Thirty]

What actual proof is there that, in fact, anyone in China was able to use those mentioned services... and to do so without repercussions?

I have the feeling that the data is as inflated as the totally and absolutely undocumented claim of the VOA about reaching hundreds of millions of persons each week when reality suggests that they have their decimal point several places to far to the right.

What actual proof is that that, in fact, anyone in China did NOT use those mentioned services?

There is none either way, but one thing is absolute, no one is able to if it is shut down.

Same can be said of VOA. Maybe zero people were listening, maybe 82 million. With it off air, no one has the ability.

 

[fybush]

And again, we are going around in circles.

"Nobody listens to shortwave."

"There are still shortwave listeners out there."

It's nothing any of us can prove, so let's stop the back and forth on this, please?

 

[davideduardo]

Cuban exiles are abandoned by the US gov't. No surprise.

The "Cuban Exiles" that had any interest in Radio Martí or broadcasts to Cuba are all in their 80's and 90's today if they are even with us. To be part of that group, you had to have lived "the good life" in Cuba prior to Castro coming to power in 1959. Those who have immigrated more recently and those born here have minimal interest in Cuba, regime change and the like.

The US government did something even Soros didn't do to Radio Mambi. Cubans were furious when Latino Media bought the station. They launched a congressional opposition to the sale. Yet Mambi remains on the air, while Marti has been shut down. Who can Cuban exiles trust?

Mambí had the oldest average listener age of any radio station in the US, and was down below a 2 share before Univision sold it. All the most famous commentators like Pérez Roura had died, and there was not the same passion and vitriol in the programming.

And the Cuban population born here... which is now the majority of Miami Cubans... are not "exiles". And the ones who came later, such as during the Mariel boat-lift, consider themselves to be immigrants, not exiles. They want nothing to do with Cuba and would not return even if it became free tomorrow.

When Radio Martí was created, the majority of Cubans in Miami were exiles and many still dreamed of returning. That was about four decades ago, and the composition of the market has changed.

Do you think Marco Rubio has any desire to move to Cuba?

 

[davideduardo]

So to summarize, you don't like shortwave, and you also don't think the internet is very effective. What's left?

It's not that I don't like shortwave. I just understand and know that its time passed by several decades or more ago. Few available radios... nearly no international broadcasters are left and their offerings are quite meager.

The internet has the disadvantage of either being censored in some nations or having too many voices elsewhere. It's not a particularly good place for the kind of thing the VOA was doing because, mostly, the VOA material was staid, dated and rather boring.

 

[TheBigA]

When Radio Martí was created, the majority of Cubans in Miami were exiles and many still dreamed of returning. That was about four decades ago, and the composition of the market has changed. Do you think Marco Rubio has any desire to move to Cuba?

That's not the point. Without Marti, the Cuban government gets to spew its lies with no opposition. This isn't about exiles wanting to return. It's about opposing the Cuban regime and wanting the people there to be able to hear something other than what their government is telling them. That's what that article was talking about. But the current policy of our government is we don't care about anyone but ourselves.

The internet has the disadvantage of either being censored in some nations

The purpose of the Open Technology Fund is to allow people who live under repressive regimes to circumvent restrictions and access the internet.

 

[davideduardo]

That's not the point. Without Marti, the Cuban government gets to spew its lies with no opposition.

To whom? Their shortwave is in technical decadence, often off the air and frequently with very low modulation. The shortwave radio clubs find it to be a joke. Prensa Latina, their supposed equivalent to AP and Reuters, is not used anywhere and is barely operative anymore. Cuba is more concerned today about whether the electricity will be on than foreign propaganda.

This isn't about exiles wanting to return. It's about opposing the Cuban regime and wanting the people there to be able to hear something other than what their government is telling them.

Well, they could not hear Martí on any frequency due to jamming and very limited availability of SW radios. Listening to Martí, before the frequency was fully blocked, could cost a Cuban part of their food ration or put their job in jeopardy. Or worse.

That's what that article was talking about. But the current policy of our government is we don't care about anyone but ourselves.

In this case, a needless expense that nobody could hear was closed down.

The purpose of the Open Technology Fund: OTF was intended to allow people who live under repressive regimes to circumvent restrictions and access the internet.

And doing so in repressive regimes could get you put in jail or cause you to lose your job. The OTF is a pipe dream which does not take totalitarian governments into account.