The Silencing of the Voice of America

The Silencing of the Voice of America

            “We are living in an age when communication has achieved fabulous importance. The human race has a new decisive force, more powerful than all the tyrants. It is the force of massed thought- thought which has been provoked by words, strongly spoken.”

Robert Sherwood spoke these words. He is often called the “Father of the Voice of America (VOA).” He was Theodore Roosevelt’s speechwriter and the primary voice for the program Voice of America to be initiated. According to Brittanica, Voice of America (VOA for short) was a state-run radio broadcast network aimed at striking back against Nazi propaganda in the 1940s. The U.S. Information Agency ran 3,200 programs a week in 40 different languages across the entire World.

The long historical run and patriotic force shocked many when President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that effectively gutted the program. To understand the scope of this decision, it is important to analyze the long-standing history of the program and how it works, as well as the actions of the President, to understand what this means for VOA and its counterparts moving forward.

History

            To begin, it only makes sense to talk about how VOA works. Voices of America is broadcast worldwide on various frequencies (satellite, cable, FM, and MW). Each of these is then put farther out by different networks in the area, which carry over 3,500 affiliate stations (“Mission and Values”). Throughout this, VOA has various branches that are designated to target specific areas and provide reliable world news. These include Radio for Europe, Radio for Asia, and Alhurra.

            VOA started as a way of allowing people in foreign, dictatorial nations to get free and reliable news about what was happening in the World. VOA was almost always illegal in these countries due to the lack of censorship by foreign governments. Even at the core of VOA is the ability to prevent censorship. In 1994, the U.S. Congress passed the International Broadcasting Act, which protected the journalists’ opinions and gave the journalists the final say over any news story they decided to publish.

            Before 1939, the United States of America was the only nation without an international broadcasting agency. One of the reasons for this was the fear of the idea of state-run media. This is one of the killers of democracy and was feared by Americans. However, as Germany grew in power, a response from America was desperately needed. Despite four previous bills by New York congressman Emmanuel Celler in the 1930s, it was not until the 1940s that the United States went on the attack against Germany and Japan. Losing the information war, the United States created the VOA (unofficially) to deliver news to people overseas under the Japanese and Nazi regimes.

            Only two months after officially entering into war with Germany and Japan, the United States began broadcasting amongst European and Asian airways. William Harlan Hale’s first lines on air were, “We bring you Voices from America. Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad. But we shall tell you the truth (VOA).”

            After World War II, the air around VOA became stagnant as politicians were uncertain of their next steps, still wary of state-run media. In the mid-1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower and Senator Joe McCarthy (the leader in anticommunist movements in the United States), considering the rising concerns of communism in the World and the growing Red Fever, separated VOA from the State Department and provided the VOA with its legs to stand on. This established the U.S. Department of Information Agency. Along with this new growth, VOA was also able to expand. Aside from the general Voice of America. There now was a permanent sub-broadcast titled “Radio Free Europe.” Radio Free Europe was tasked with combatting the growing popularity of communism. It swiftly began broadcasting in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Radio Free Europe was a direct combatant to the biased, state-run media that hid the truth from Eastern Europe.

            VOA continued to grow, quickly becoming the World’s largest international broadcaster. This was largely due to the constant fight against communism in the World. During this time was the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Both of these countries had citizens from Vietnam and Eastern Europe relying heavily upon VOA for clarity on the war. The VOA was widely recognized for its complete, comprehensive, and objective coverage of the wars.

            As the VOA moved into the 1980s, it continued to expand its coverage with Radio Marti, which was a direct combatant to the communist Castro regime. Furthermore, this expansion did not stop in the 1990s as VOA expanded to communist China with “Radio Free Asia.” Radio Free Asia has reached almost sixty million different people during its broadcasting time and provided them with proper, unbiased news and media.

The final expansion of VOA came in the early 2000s in the Middle East. President Bush signed off on the broadcasting network “Alhurra” and the news station “Sawa.” This was to combat the growing terrorist organizations in the Middle East and certify a positive image of America and Israel in extremist nations. While the youngest, it has also been the least productive over its time active. Often dealing with language gaps and a cloudy pathway to reaching the Arab people.

The End of VOA

            On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump made a shocking move when he cut funding to U.S.-funded media, specifically including VOA and Radio Free Europe. This was a shocking move to many when considering the eighty-year history of the VOA program founded by Theodore Roosevelt.

            Many people have harshly criticized President Trump’s decision. Radio Free Europe CEO Stephen Capus stated, “The Iranian Ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the demise of RFE/RL after 75 years. Handing our adversaries a win would make them stronger and America weaker (Leali).”

            Many people cited President Trump’s decision as a win for the communists and, more often, an attack on free press across the World. Even world leaders were critical of President Trump. Jan Lipavsky is the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Czech Republic. On X, Jan Lipavksy stated,” From Belarus to Iran, from Russia to Afghanistan, RFE and Voice of America are among the few free sources for people living without freedom (Layne and Oliphant).”

            On the other hand, the President’s camp largely defended the move to cut funding for VOA. A senior adviser to USA Global Media, Kari Lake, was one of the largest supporters of the order. Kari Lake got her non-political career started by being the nightly news anchor for KSAZ-TV or Fox 10 Phoenix. She stated, “This agency is not salvageable…from top-to-bottom, this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer (Leali).”

            This move has also accompanied some of the negative verbiage President Trump has used about VOA in his first campaign. He has previously accused the site of being “anti-Trump” and “radical (Mackintosh and Thomas).”

            It is well established that companies, people, and everything in between suffer when they go after President Trump. From the Associated Press being not allowed into the Oval Office because of their biased coverage to this. Donald Trump is very possessive of imagery surrounding himself if he can control it. This is an action of the Voices of America refusing to post anything pro-Trump or in his favor. Often the news was like modern day CNN news where it is very political and attacking of Trump instead of unbiased, informative, and insightful.

            The largest reason for the closing of Voices of America is budgetary reasons. One of the reasons that President Trump got elected by such a wide margin was because of his plan for a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and an attempt to put America in a better financial situation. For instance DOGE has saved the government a total of $160 billion according to the DOGE government website. That is a lot of cash that has been saved especially when considering the current size of the U.S. debt. It has not scratched the surface, but it is more progress than many Presidents have made. Voices of America is another place that DOGE has looked at to save the government money. Voices of America has an annual budget of roughly $270 million. While that is not too extreme in the scope of government, it is a sum of money that could possibly be saved if leaders feel VOA is not worthy of being salvaged.

            Some of this appeal to not salvaging Voices of America can be looked at the trend of the world. In all areas of the world, people are moving away from radio. Many people across the world get the news from television. With, it can be hard to acquire a radio because they have become old technology. There is not widespread production of radios for this very reason. Additionally, the cost of putting out these messages and news via radio is getting increasingly harder, more expensive, and more dangerous. As humans live in a world of new media, radio media gets more expensive to keep up to date and work. Not to mention the harder it is to get messages out. This poses an expensive threat to the radio news industry, especially one that is illegal in the countries it operates in. These radio stations must be discreet and underground as to avoid attacks from foreign countries. With, it is not terribly difficult to see why President Trump and Kari Lake are having such high concerns over the future of Voices of America.

            To conclude, as time goes on, it is uncertain what effect the funding cut that VOA will take will have on the United States and the world outlook. American taxpayers have already spent $500 million on Alhurra and Sawa alone (Linzer). This may be just another example of Trump doing what he said he would: cut wasteful government spending. On the other hand, it allows opportunities for a void in national media to settle in. This is especially the case where the only other alternative is government propaganda. Some countries are looking into funding some of the media outlets that have been slashed, such as “Radio Free Europe,” but that is not guaranteed. While deeply rooted in the fight against communism and the dominance and hope that America has stood for the last eighty years, VOA has been the voice in millions of homes around the World. It has been a guide and a lifeline for many. The effect of Voice of America’s silence is uncertain, but it will be heard in due time.

References

• “DOGE: Department of Government Efficiency.” DOGE: Department of Government Efficiency, 2025, doge.gov/savings.
• Layne, Nathan, and James Oliphant. “Voice of America Staff Put on Leave, Trump Ally Says Agency “Not Salvageable.”” Reuters, 16 Mar. 2025, www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-signs-order-gut-voice-america-other-agencies-2025-03-15/.
• Leali, Giorgio. “Trump’s Move to Silence Pro-Democracy Media Sparks Outrage.” POLITICO, 16 Mar. 2025, www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-move-silence-pro-democracy-media-voice-of-america-radio-free/.
• Linzer, Dafna. “Lost in Translation: Alhurra — America’s Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds.” ProPublica, 22 June 2008, www.propublica.org/article/alhurra-middle-east-hearts-and-minds-622. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
• Mackintosh, Thomas, and Merlyn Thomas. “Trump Dismantles Voice of America with Executive Order.” BBC, 16 Mar. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvge4l109r3o.
• “Mission and Values.” VOA, 2016, www.insidevoa.com/p/5831.html.
• “Our History.” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, about.rferl.org/our-history/.
• “RFA Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary.” Radio Free Asia, 29 Sept. 2021, www.rfa.org/english/about/releases/rfa-celebrates-its-25th-anniversary/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
• The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Voice of America | United States Radio Network | Britannica.” britannica.com, 12 Apr. 2025, www.britannica.com/topic/Voice-of-America.
• “USAGM.” USAGM, www.usagm.gov/networks/voa/.
• “VOA through the Years.” Voice of America, Voice of America Office of Public Relations, 3 Apr. 2017, www.insidevoa.com/a/3794247.html#THE%20POST-WAR%20BLUES. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.