The White House's release indicates opponents and critics of Donald Trump are not Americans. Whatever VOA becomes will be in "beet harvest" territory.
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Kari Lake previews her plans for Voice of America in the next Administration.
- Thread starter Bill Betten
- Start date
Thanks. I guess I'll have to take my chances.
You know, it's funny in a sad sort of way. When I was growing up and an adult listening to shortwave, it was for entertainment and pleasure. Yes, the signals didn't always come in when I wanted them to, and yes, I often caught signals off the backs of antennas aimed elsewhere. And I pitied those poor people who had to rely on shortwave (and despite the lack of evidence cited by David Eduardo and others, I'm quite sure they existed) to receive accurate information about the world they couldn't get from their own media. And here we are now, in a situation where I may be on the verge of becoming one of those poor fools with no real information on shortwave to be had...
Oh well! it was a wonderful life.
I don't think there's any way for him to do that. It appears that Marco is only there so that his boss can publicly humiliate him.
As for the VOA, I tend to agree with David that it is largely irrelevant, but then...that tracks as well. There probably aren't a lot of people tuning in on short wave in this day and age, but it is worth remembering that the administration's tariff policy is based on the President's admiration for the polices of William McKinley, who left office rather unceremoniously in 1901. When radio was still only able to send Morse Code.
The sec of state has a position on the USAGM board of directors. In a way, the state department oversees VOA, although it's supposed to be independent. Obviously all that will be changing.
Shortwave listening has probably always been a niche endeavor, and its followers generally fell into one or more of the following categories:
—Electronics enthusiasts who loved the technical aspect of radio
—DX enthusiasts who enjoyed discovering and receiving signals from faraway places
—International affairs junkies who sought a variety of news from around the world
—Intellectually curious people who wanted to broaden their horizons.
I started listening to shortwave almost 60 years ago. A huge part of what I know about the world around me came from all that experience. I’d like to think I fall into all four of the categories I described above.
Shortwave was the radio equivalent of the 78 rpm record, and similarly there are now newer and far better ways to access audio content. But when the day comes when the shortwave bands fall completely silent, I will nonetheless miss it, and say “thank you.”
Radio Marti might be off the air, but the Cuban jammers apparently haven’t gotten the word. Hearing jamming against nothing on the three Marti shortwave frequencies late Sunday evening.
Meanwhile the VOA Botswana relay is still airing music fill.
Meanwhile the VOA Botswana relay is still airing music fill.
Appears most of the various USAGM services are now completely off the air following transmitter shutdowns, as reported on SWDX forums. I’m not hearing any broadcasts directly, either.
Meanwhile: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/china/china-cheers-trump-cut-voice-of-america-intl-hnk/index.html
Also: Czechs appeal for EU help with Radio Free Europe after Trump cuts
Meanwhile: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/china/china-cheers-trump-cut-voice-of-america-intl-hnk/index.html
Also: Czechs appeal for EU help with Radio Free Europe after Trump cuts
I'm sure the Cuban chorus on 1180 will be around for quite some time since these stations carry regular programming in addition to their jamming function
Per an IRCA newsletter, the Greenville site was ordered shut down Sunday around 11am. The staff could not swipe time cards and had no communication with Washington until the Chief Engineer got a phone call.
Various reports that Greenville was shut down around 1630 UT (12:30pm ET) on Sunday March 16.
Other overseas transmitter sites reported to be shutting down throughout the day on Monday as orders go out from The Powers That Be in Washington, D.C.
That request from the Czek would certainly suggest that that government, at least, did not think that Radio Free Europe had outlived its usefulness. However, since the U.S. owns and controls RFE, I really don't expect the Czek request to have any effect.
I'll take your word on the research in third and fourth world areas, obviously you know more about that than I do, having worked in similar areas. Obviously I don't know about how radio is run in those regions, all I can know is what little is available to read about radio in third and fourth world areas. But I would wager that the way media is done in Africa and rural Asia is different than the way it is in Latin America.
I'll admit up front that I could be wrong on that.
As for Africa's cell-based phone banking systems. that undoubtedly works in the cities, but country wide it probably isn't so much the case, because cell coverage isn't as good as it is even in most of Latin America. There are cell coverage maps available for every country in the world, and the African maps in particular show vast swaths where there is no cell coverage. The areas with coverage are in the big cities, and along the main highways. But in the rural areas, where 55% of Africans live, there is very little cell coverage. Internet coverage isn't up to Latin American levels, either, especially as 60% of Africa is in dire poverty.
You're correct about languages, although most African nations have a lot less than 100 languages per country. Usually there are a handful, and a lingua franca, and in schools such lingua francas (French, English, Portuguese, or the native language of the largest majority tribal or ethnic group) are taught along with other subjects. In Zimbabwe, for example, despite the fact that there are 3-4 main native languages (Mashona, Ndebele, and some other dialects) English is taught and understood by the majority of the population. It's the same in Zambia, where the official language is English.
In the former French colonies French is widely spoken and understood.
The main point here being that VOA fulfills a mission, and like many other missions -- whether government or otherwise (religious broadcasting, for example, would be a similar case to what VOA tries to do), the metric is different from that used in commercial media. Either the US government determines that reaching rural Africa and Asia -- where hundreds of millions of people live -- with an American message is important, or it's not. If they think the only way to reach poor people in rural Africa is through an internet device, they might be mistaken. But it's their choice to make.
VOA costs the taxpayer, per year, much less than a $700 million B-21 Bomber or the $37 billion USS Gerald R Ford (and that was 2018 dollars) -- both of which may be already outdated in the day of high tech, drone warfare.
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Looks like the Administration has a beef with some of the content. But did anybody ever listen to VOA to hear most of what they broadcast?The white house explained why they shut down the VOA. As I said, it has nothing to do with shortwave or ratings:
The Voice of Radical America
President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Friday will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda. Dan Robinson,www.whitehouse.gov
They clearly didn't like what VOA had been reporting, and decided to stop it on Friday.
Undoubtedly not.
One thing they like to do is take the comments and opinions of one former employee and turn them as fact. But when one of their own former employees does the same thing about their administration, they say he's a disgruntled worthless employee. That's what the white house does in its release about VOA. They take the comments of Dan Robinson as unquestioned fact, and for the reasons he gives, VOA should be blown up. They don't take into account any opinions from anyone else. Just the one person they like. They do the same with Uri Berliner and NPR. That's not how one does a fair unbiased investigation and reaches conclusions. It's instead how one goes on a crazed rant, which is what that release from the white house is.
They claim in project 2025 that VOA and USAGM had no supervision. That's not true. USAGM has a board of directors appointed by the president who are supposed to oversee the content. If they didn't do their job, then they should be replaced. But what Kari Lake wants to do is put VOA under direct supervision of the president. In fact, she currently doesn't work for USAGM or VOA. She is a special assistant to the president. She should not have any supervisory role over any VOA employees. Yet the instructions given to employees came from her. That's wrong. They don't work for the president, and their job is not to simply present his views as though they are his personal publicists.
I find it both nauseating and disappointing to see such a nonsensical screed come from a supposedly official and trustworthy source.The white house explained why they shut down the VOA. As I said, it has nothing to do with shortwave or ratings:
The Voice of Radical America
President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Friday will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda. Dan Robinson,
They clearly didn't like what VOA had been reporting, and decided to stop it on Friday.
c
They're not listening to shortwave, either!
Are you talking about the white house or VOA?
Not anymore....
The White House. Specifically, the "Voice of Radical America" statement.
As for VOA itself, I have nothing against it. A year or so ago, I think I caught a VOA broadcast (on shortwave, in fact), and it sounded unremarkable, which, in this context, is a good thing. It was pretty much straight reporting, and I don't remember hearing much in the way of spin.
The sensationalism (what used to be called "yellow journalism") coming from all sides of the media gets very tiresome (especially cable news), and it's nice to hear bland, fact-based "Walter Cronkite" style reporting in the few places it still shows up.
Not that I'm complaining. The media we have, such as it is, is much better than the authoritarian propaganda people are stuck with in places like Russia, China, North Korea and the like.
I fear that that's about to change, however. The dismantling of VOA (which is illegal without an act of Congress, by the way) is only the beginning....
So, how does this relate to broadcasting? I don't really know. I must apologize to the admins for my posts lately, but I'm finding that it's exceedingly hard to not be political when responding in threads like this one, because the whole basis of the conversation is based on the reactions to and results of highly suspect, politically motivated actions of a vengeful and corrupt president who shows great contempt for virtually all broadcast and print media that doesn't idolize him.
c
My information is that Marathon went off the about 1130AM today.
Glenn Hauser is reporting that the staff at the USAGM transmitter site at Greenville has been ordered to shut off all power to the buildings. Bad for the equipment with no heat or air conditioning.
Yes it's hard to not make anything a political statement especially when the FCC, White House, Doge makes questionable moves that affect the First Amendment especially. Also when CPB and VOA gets targeted for cuts or "Defunding" it's ends up being how it affects domestic and international perception of Freedom of the Press and Transparency issues.