To decrease what is being called unnecessary expenditure, the US administration is cutting jobs at Voice of America (VOA), the international broadcasting media network funded by the US government. That means about 85 per cent of the workforce of US Agency for Global Media, under which VOA operates, will be affected. In fact, this is as good as the closure of the news outlet. And as per reports these cuts are intended to do away with what the administration believes is a “dysfunctional” agency that has come to be associated with bias and wasteful expenditure.
These cuts weren’t really a surprise because the contract staff of VOA had already been notified in May, so a move like this was being expected. Now, over 600 more have been notified last week, including employees (reporters and journalists) of the Persian-language service. The affected reporters and journalists have all been officially informed that they would cease to exist on the payroll with effect from Labour Day.
These job cuts at VOA are also in line with the administration’s goal of reducing headcount in the federal workforce. These measures are aimed at shifting shift the country’s focus in terms of worldwide communication.
Will this weaken the country’s stance in global media, or have an impact on the US in terms of its response to global propaganda from the likes of China, Russia, and Iran, remains to be seen.
As per reports, the US president has been pushing to stop funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) too.
