VOA Charter – BBG and USAGM Watch

4 minute read

AFGE: Journalists, Federal Workers, and Unions File Lawsuit to Challenge Closure of U.S. Agency for Global Media

March 24, 2025

USAGM Watch Commentary The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 820,000 government workers, and many U.S.…

1 minute read

ROBINSON How not to cover breaking news: VOA’s embarrassing performance on recent major stories | Washington Times op-ed

February 12, 2025

USAGM Watch Media Commentary The Voice of America (VOA) has frequently been slower than other media in reporting…

6 minute read

Voice of America Buries LA Fires Story, Ignores Bipartisan Criticism of Democratic Mayor

January 10, 2025

USAGM Watch Commentary The devastating fires in Los Angeles have been the number one news story on almost…

1 minute read

Kari Lake will face a harrowing task in fixing a very broken VOA | OPINION | LIPIEN | THE HILL

December 22, 2024

USAGM Watch Commentary Ted Lipien, a former Voice of America (VOA) broadcaster, reporter, editor, and executive, wrote in…

5 minute read

Urgent reform needed to stop anti-Trump hate by VOA’s partisan journalists | THE HILL Op-Ed

August 5, 2024

USAGM Watch Media Commentary This op-ed by USAGM Watch sponsor and former Voice of America acting associate director…

6 minute read

Voice of America Whitewashes Terror Backgrounds of Gazan Journalists | Honest Reporting

March 20, 2024

USAGM Watch Commentary on “Voice of America Whitewashes Terror” Article by Honest Reporting HonestReporting, a media monitoring nonprofit…

2 minute read

Voice of America Staffers Posted Anti-Israel Content to Facebook | National Review

January 12, 2024

USAGM Watch Commentary In a comment on the Voice of America Alumni Facebook Page, Ted Lipien wrote: I…

2 minute read

The Hill Op-ed Against Anti-Semitism in Media and Walter Durnaty-Style Journalism at USAGM’s Voice of America (VOA)

December 29, 2023

USAGM Watch Commentary In his latest op-ed in The Hill, former Voice of America (VOA) acting associate director…

8 minute read

Voice of America Reporters and Editors Keep Calling Hamas Terrorists ‘Fighters’

December 8, 2023

U.S. government-funded Voice of America (VOA) in the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) keeps calling Hamas members…

2 minute read

Voice of America Reverses Ban On Calling Hamas ‘Terrorists’ After USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett Gets An Earful From Members of Congress

December 5, 2023

Voice of America (VOA) reverses its ban on calling Hamas “terrorists” after U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)…

Voice of America bans calling Hamas terrorists illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

2 minute read

Why I can’t be silent when Voice of America bans calling Hamas ‘terrorists’ | Washington Times op-ed by Ted Lipien

November 22, 2023

I cannot remain silent because those who refuse to expose terrorism or delay condemning it today will find…

2 minute read

U.S. media reports: Voice of America orders reporters not to call Hamas ‘terrorists’

October 27, 2023

Screenshot from two of several lengthy raw footage videos posted on social media by the Voice of America…

3 minute read

Voice of America Hours Late in Reporting on Trump Court Plea

August 4, 2023

VOA Late on Trump Plea Voice of America’s English News Global Website Lags for Over Three Hours on…

1 minute read

VOA’s Russian influence crisis calls for congressional intervention | The Hill op-ed

June 6, 2023

USAGM Watch Media Commentary

13 minute read

USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett Gave Evasive Answers About Internal Censorship of Voice of America News

March 15, 2023

USAGM Watch Commentary Testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related…

2 minute read

Leadership failure at Voice of America and US Agency for Global Media calls for bipartisan reform | Washington Examiner Op-Ed

March 8, 2023

USAGM Watch Media Commentary When both the Washington Post and National Review report on yet another senior management-created scandal at Voice of America,…

Congress needs to launch a bipartisan investigation of the recent censorship of the VOA Vietnamese Service news report and other similar incidents throughout the Voice of America in recent years.

8 minute read

Congress Needs to Investigate Censorship at the Voice of America

January 8, 2023

Commentary By Ted Lipien for Free Media Online There is a long history of censorship at the Voice…

8 minute read

‘Censorship and Falsehoods’ – Voice of America Vietnamese Journalists Blame VOA’s Senior Management | EXCLUSIVE

December 18, 2022

When the senior Voice of America management got caught by the Washington Post on their censoring of the…

7 minute read

Voice of America Management Censors VOA Vietnamese News Video – Timeline From Internal Sources EXCLUSIVE

December 12, 2022

USAGM Watch Commentary Sources at the Voice of America (VOA), who want to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals,…

3 minute read

Voice of America and USAGM Management Still Needs to Explain Censorship of VOA Vietnamese Video (Now Restored) and Apologize

December 11, 2022

Censorship by the Voice of America management of the VOA Vietnamese Service video, which has now been restored…

1 minute read

Voice of America’s lame excuse for censorship | Washington Examiner Op-Ed

December 7, 2022

The censorship was outrageous, as was the nonchalant manner in which senior leaders in charge of upholding the…

7 minute read

U.S. Agency for Global Media: Understating The Obvious

December 1, 2022

A Guest Commentary By The Federalist One of the resources we use to monitor the U.S. Agency for…

Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett in 2017. VOA Photo.

7 minute read

More Censorship at USAGM — VOA to Vietnam Censored by Management

November 17, 2022

Censorship at USAGM — U.S. Agency for Global Media has returned at the Voice of America (VOA) under…

VOA Director Amanda Bennett holding a USAGM umbrella for a publicity photo. In 2018, the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal agency in charge of VOA, changed its name to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). President Biden nominated Bennett to be USAGM CEO and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 60-36 vote. She faces accusations of mismanagement and security lapses in her previous U.S. government position as the Voice of America (VOA) director.

7 minute read

Big Mistake in Rewarding Failed Voice of America (VOA) and U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Managers

November 11, 2022

Big Mistake To Reward Failed Voice of America Managers A Commentary By The Federalist Quite possibly the worst…

Image included in a 2022 message to staff from VOA Acting Director Yolanda Lopez.

10 minute read

USAGM: Why the Latest OIG Report Matters

October 15, 2022

Commentary By Dan Robinson Inspector General reports likely don’t rank high on anyone’s list of favorite reading material,…

Amanda Bennett being sworn as VOA Director by Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) CEO John Lansing, April 18, 2016. Kelu Chao, a longtime VOA senior executive and later acting CEO of USAGM (BBG's name since 2018) is also in the photo.

7 minute read

USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett and her top aides ran a loose ship at the Voice of America, an OIG report shows

October 14, 2022

Amanda Bennett, the current CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and a former Voice of…

7 minute read

Despite Scandals at Voice of America, Amanda Bennett Appears Cleared for Senate Confirmation as U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO

September 22, 2022

Despite a long record of unprecedented management scandals during her tenure as Voice of America (VOA) director and…

6 minute read

Voice of America Acting Director Tweets ‘Iran Denies Link to Rushdie Stabbing’, But Why?

August 22, 2022

Acting Director of the Voice of America Yolanda López hopes to send a VOA correspondent to Afghanistan, has…

Afghanistan Image Brian Williamson VOA News Screen Shot 2021-08-20 at 4.59.56 PM

4 minute read

U.S. Agency for Global Media – The Absurd, The Surreal USAGM

July 29, 2022

The Absurd, The Surreal USAGM The surreal USAGM – U.S. Agency for Global Media’s Voice of America (VOA)…

2 minute read

USAGM Head Calls on VOA Journalists to Volunteer for Homeland Security Border Work

July 19, 2022

USAGM Watch Media Commentary The Daily Caller has reported that “U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Acting Chief…

11 minute read

Voice of America and USAGM Need Rescue

July 9, 2022

Voice of America and USAGM need rescue and good leadership as the U.S. Senate contemplates the nomination of…

3 minute read

Sen. Menendez sets meeting to review USAGM CEO nomination of Amanda Bennett

June 20, 2022

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled a business meeting for Thursday, June 23, 2022, to review several…

Voice of America VOA propaganda video from Russia on reopening of a former McDonald's restaurant, June 12 2022.

5 minute read

Former Voice of America Reporters Shocked by VOA Propaganda Video from Russia

June 13, 2022

Some call it a VOA propaganda video from Russia. USAGM Watch Commentary Raw video footage from the reopening…

5 minute read

McCaul Calls for Additional Scrutiny of USAGM CEO Nominee Amanda Bennett

June 9, 2022

McCaul Calls for Additional Scrutiny of USAGM CEO Nominee Press Release 06.09.22 Media Contact 202-225-5021 Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs…

Amanda Bennett at the Senate Foreign Relations hearing, June 7, 2022, to discuss her nomination for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO position.

2 minute read

Senator Menendez Hints At Tough Questions for Amanda Bennett About USAGM Job

June 8, 2022

Amanda Bennett is likely to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the position of the CEO of…

6 minute read

Mismanagement Charges Against USAGM CEO Nominee Amanda Bennett

June 6, 2022

Former Voice of America director Amanda Bennett, a nominee for U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO position,…

12 minute read

Beware of Government Propaganda “Experts”

June 5, 2022

Disinformation governance by government propaganda experts can be dangerous, judging by the record of the early officials in…

2 minute read

Rep. Scott Perry: VOA Misallocates Funds and Suppresses Negative Stories About Iran

May 13, 2022

Voice of America – VOA misallocates funds, said Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.) who accused VOA and U.S.…

VOA Photo: At the UNESCO conference, a panel moderated by Jessica Jerreat, VOA Press Freedom Editor (Center) with Acting VOA Director Yolanda López (R) delivering the keynote as scholars presented new research.

10 minute read

Voice of America Refuses to Disclose Review of Deleted Work by Former VOA Freelance Reporter Questioned in Ukraine and Arrested in Poland for Alleged Spying for Russia

May 10, 2022

Voice of America refuses requests to disclose the results of its review of VOA news reports by its…

In 2013, the then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was "practically defunct" in its capacity to tell America's message around the world. Since then, what is now the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and the Voice of America (VOA) have become even more dysfunctional and poorly managed.

2 minute read

U. S. Agency for Global Media USAGM and Ukraine

March 20, 2022

The U.S. Agency for Global Media still shows a press release about its poll in the Russian-occupied part…

4 minute read

Voice of America Corrected Aid to Ukraine Map to Include Poland and Slovakia – Hungary and Other Countries Still Missing

March 5, 2022

While the Voice of America corrected its “Aid to Ukraine” map to include Poland and Slovakia after protests…

5 minute read

Voice of America and Ukraine

March 3, 2022

Voice of America and Ukraine: As Putin Threatens, VOA Misses Opportunity to Carry Live Blinken Message to Russian…

2 minute read

Where are U.S.-funded global media in discussion of Russia’s war against Ukraine?, former Voice of America Reporter Dan Robinson Asks About USAGM

March 1, 2022

On Ukraine, former Voice of America reporter Dan Robinson writes, “Yet again, not a single mention of USAGM…

Photograph: New York, New York. A. Marcus Garveyite reading the OWI (Office of War Information) publication Negroes and the War, April 1943. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540, USA. OWI was the Executive Branch agency under the control of the White House. Its Overseas Division produced World War II shortwave radio broadcasts, which were later named the Voice of America (VOA).

2 minute read

Black history hero Homer Smith fought racism at home and Soviet propaganda abroad

February 28, 2022

Smith should be recognized for his principled refusal to contribute to the manipulation of the Western media by…

3 minute read

Russia’s War on Ukraine and DC Public Media

February 26, 2022

COMMENTARY By Ted Lipien Privileged American public media executives, editors, and reporters may not realize how insensitive some…

4 minute read

Horror of Russia’s War on Ukraine Made Trivial in VOA Tweets

February 25, 2022

Under the current U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) leadership, the horror of Russia’s war on Ukraine is…

9 minute read

Russia’s War on Ukraine – BBG conducted a faulty poll in Russian-occupied Crimea – what will USAGM leadership do now?

February 24, 2022

Russia’s war on Ukraine U.S. government-funded reporting is now in the hands of the dysfunctional U.S. Agency for…

9 minute read

USAGM performance in Afghanistan – a threat to journalists in Ukraine

February 13, 2022

USAGM leadership’s approach to Ukraine is dangerous for U.S. Agency for Global Media journalists, including those from Voice…

16 minute read

80 Years of VOA: Different Names of the Voice of America

January 31, 2022

USAGM Watch Commentary 80 years ago today, on February 1, 1942, the first Voice of America (VOA) radio…

Howard Fast OWI Personnel Record Card Voice of America at 80

6 minute read

Voice of America at 80 – VOA’s Pro-Soviet Fellow Travelers and Lessons for Today

January 24, 2022

Voice of America at 80 – the hidden record of VOA’s pro-Soviet fellow travelers, Howard Fast and John…