According to reports from BBC and Reuters, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 14 to scale back the operations of the US Agency for Global Media.
As a result, over 1,300 employees at Voice of America (VOA) were placed on administrative leave starting from March 15. Funding to other broadcasters, such as Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Radio Free Europe (RFE), has been suspended indefinitely.
BBC reported on March 16 that hundreds of employees at VOA, RFA, and RFE received company emails over the weekend notifying them they were banned from entering their offices. Employees were instructed to surrender their press credentials and return office equipment.
VOA Director Mike Abramowitz confirmed on March 15 that nearly 1,300 staff members, including journalists, producers, and assistants, were forced to take administrative leave, leaving the station unable to function. Listener feedback indicates that some local-language VOA broadcasts have ceased news reporting and switched to playing music to fill airtime.
VOA and its sister stations have long been regarded as instruments of US government propaganda abroad. However, Trump and his allies, such as Elon Musk, have criticized these media outlets for wasting taxpayer dollars. The timeline and format for their potential closure remain unclear.
An unnamed employee from RFA remarked that she had anticipated trouble since Trump's return to the White House and had already started searching for new job opportunities.
RFA Director Bay Fang sent an email to staff on March 16, urging them to report to work as usual on the next business day and vowed to challenge what he called the White House's "short-sighted decision" to cut funding.
(Source: Tai Kung Po)
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