VOA Staffers Seek Hill Probe

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VOA staffers seek Hill probe

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July 6, 2004

VOA staffers seek Hill probe
By Tom Sullivan

Nearly half the staff of the Voice of America (VoA) has signed a petition that will be sent to members of Congress today accusing the Broadcasting Board of Governors of “dismantling the nation’s radio beacon” and calling on Congress to investigate the board.

The petition also accuses the board, an independent entity responsible for all government-sponsored broadcasting, of launching new services in the Middle East with no editorial accountability at the expense of VoA programs serving the same areas and cutting back on broadcasts to Eastern Europe and in English around the world.

“We’re being bled white to support this expensive and ill-advised operation to the Middle East,” a VoA English-language editor and supervisor told The Hill. The VoA employee, who said he feared reprisals if he were identified, added, “It’s shameful and also very sad that we’re missing an opportunity to be doing what we should be doing.”
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The petitioners also expressed concerns about increasing politicization of the VoA itself. Both Heil and another VoA journalist who spoke on the condition of anonymity said reporters and editors are convinced that the demotion of Andre DeNesnera as news director in a reorganization announced Thursday is evidence that is happening.
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Thanks to RadioIntel for the link.