Voice of America Journalists: New CEO Endangers Reporters, Harms U.S. Aims

[Nevilledog]

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/31/907764105/voice-of-america-journalists-new-ceo-endangers-reporters-harms-u-s-aims

A group of veteran journalists for the Voice of America delivered a letter of protest Monday denouncing their parent agency's new CEO, Michael Pack, and alleging Pack's remarks in a recent interview prove he has a damaging agenda for the international broadcasters he oversees.

Pack's comments and decisions "endanger the personal security of VOA reporters at home and abroad, as well as threatening to harm U.S. national security objectives," the letter to VOA Acting Director Elez Biberaj read.

The protest was triggered by Pack's interview with the conservative and pro-Trump website The Federalist but came after a long line of sweeping changes and purges at the federally funded networks overseen by Pack, an appointee of President Trump.

During the half-hour conversation, Pack joked with The Federalist's host, senior editor Chris Bedford, about deporting his own employees and forcing them to adopt unsafe workplace practices that could expose them to COVID-19. Pack said the agency was ripe for espionage and possibly rife with spies.

*snip*

[Whiskeytide]

1. Тяцмр could not care less about ...

...VOA. He’s probably never heard a broadcast. May have never even heard of it. Certainly has no idea what it does.

But ask yourself who probably DOES care a lot about it and it’s reach/influence? Hmmm.

[crickets]

2. Everything trump touches dies.

In this case, the killing of VOA is intentional.

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/18/21295549/trump-bannon-pack-global-media-china-wednesday-massacre

Trump and Steve Bannon want to turn a US-funded global media network into Breitbart 2.0
Michael Pack’s purge of the US Agency for Global Media, and his effort to produce tough-on-China journalism, explained.

Gee, wonder how involved Bannon is now?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213674450

Does this explain the recent purges at VOA?
BUSTED: Trump engaged in 3-week ‘flurry of communication’ with Putin this year – and the White House hid some of the calls
Published 4 hours ago on June 29, 2020 By David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement

“President Donald Trump engaged in an unprecedented – and previously unknown – “flurry of communication” with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a three-week period earlier this year, according to a sister-network of Voice of America.” [with links]