Semafor’s Ben Smith is right. Sadly, VOA had already lost relevance
That’s it for now, from the Voice of America (VOA). It’s hung up the mic. Literally.
Hard not to disapprove of the violence being done by the Trump administration to 20th century American institutions such as VOA even as one has to wholeheartedly agree with the commonsense view taken by Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith.
Mr Smith recently pointed out that that VOA and Radio Free Europe, were “electrifying” during the Cold War but “had been hollowed out by technology and politics years ago, and had already lost much of their relevance”.
He continued in this clear-eyed vein: “Trump may have pushed the final brick out of the wall, but he’s not the reason that the acronym city of Washington, from USAID to the WHCA, is so vulnerable to his attacks.”
That is undoubtedly true. The reason VOA and Radio Free Europe are vulnerable is because no one cares much about them or thinks they pack a heavy punch in the information sphere. While it’s possible that they still provide some factual information to people who might find it hard to come by, VOA etc are no longer key tools in the fight against propaganda, lies and illiberalism.
In fact, as Mr Smith points out: “A 21st century approach to media soft power might look more like Russia’s or the early CIA’s, backing a spray of destabilizing new media voices — Encounter Magazine in the 1950s, money-hungry YouTubers today.”
The dismal message (‘prepare to die’) was already on the wall the minute Donald Trump appointed Kari Lake senior advisor at the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA etc. Ms Lake, a former television news anchor, is a MAGA true believer who will fight to the last minute of airtime to propound the alternative facts. For instance, after running unsuccessfully as Republican Party nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, Ms Lake refused to believe she had lost. She tried every legal strategy possible but never reconciled to her defeat. [Highly recommend The News Agents’ Emily Maitliss’s interview with Ms Lake on the fringes of last year’s Republican convention. Ms Lake told Ms Maitliss she needed to have her head examined for daring to question her claims of election interference!]
Anyway, Ms Lake was always going to be bad news for VOA but it’s inescapable that the channel’s own weakness in 2025 made it an appropriate candidate for overhaul if not overnight shuttering.
This is not to criticise VOA’s instincts or journalists. In 2005, I spent nearly a month in war-wracked Iraq with a VOA journalist, among others from the wider international media firmament. The country was about to have its first democratic election after the end of the Saddam regime. My VOA colleague could not have been a more switched-on journalist, hot on the trail of multiple stories and eager to tell the story of a changing Iraq with a distinctive American accent.
Even then, VOA might have been said to have a purpose. Of sorts.
Now, what might it be?
As a matter of fact, here’s a good question: What message would VOA be expected to convey today and to whom when the power centre in Washington, DC itself is opposed to the very habits of thought, politics and process once considered the right path and the American way?
Originally published at https://www.rashmee.com
