Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station in North Carolina
A Note to Our Readers: On the USAGM Shutdowns and Keeping the Conversation Respectful
At the SWLing Post, we’ve always strived to keep this space a safe haven — free from the divisive politics that so often cloud the media landscape. Our focus remains on sharing the joy of radio, supporting international broadcasting, and fostering a welcoming community for all.
That said, some stories, like the abrupt shutdown of U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) broadcasters, inevitably carry political weight. While we may wish otherwise, it’s impossible to separate the politics from the reality of this significant event. As one of the few remaining government-supported shortwave broadcasters, the sudden silencing of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Martí, and others deserves our attention.
I’ve personally confirmed with multiple trusted sources that the transmitters at the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station were shut down on Sunday, March 16, 2025, marking a stark and sudden end to these broadcasts from US soil.
We recognize this news may stir strong opinions — and that’s okay. However, we kindly ask that all comments remain respectful and constructive. Share your thoughts, but please avoid name-calling, trolling, or inflammatory language. Our moderators will step in without hesitation to ensure the discussion remains civil.
In the past, we’ve occasionally disabled comments on similarly charged topics. This time, though, given the importance of the event, we’ll keep the conversation open — provided it stays respectful.
Below, you’ll find a collection of reports shared by our readerships from various sources that offer different perspectives on this unprecedented moment in international broadcasting.
Thank you for being part of this community and for helping us keep the SWLing Post a place for thoughtful dialogue and mutual respect.
“Rather Brash”: Jeff White on the USAGM Shutdowns (Radio World)
A conversation with a shortwave veteran
For many in the world of radio, the move by the Trump administration this weekend to shut down U.S. international broadcasting was shocking. Jeff White used the term “rather brash.”
White is general manager of WRMI Radio Miami International as well as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB) and a 40 years-plus veteran of shortwave radio.
He has a lot of experience in this area, so Radio World reached out to him on Monday for his thoughts about the effective silencing of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Martí, Radio Free Asia and other broadcasting entities operated by the U.S. Agency for Global Media. That all is based on an executive order to reduce “elements of the federal bureaucracy that the president has determined are unnecessary.”
Radio World: When you heard the news of VOA and its sister services shutting down transmissions worldwide, what was your reaction to it?
Jeff White: Holy cow!
In a way some of this had been expected, but when it happened all of a sudden like that on Saturday morning it was pretty shocking.
I started getting emails early Saturday morning from people at the VOA who said, “Hey, everybody’s been laid off and everything’s shut down.” And they said that they had talked to some of the people at the overseas relay stations, and the managers had gotten word about the shutdown, but the employees had not.
Now those employees are hired by the local embassies, and so they kept these relay stations operating, and if they didn’t get programming coming from Washington, they filled with music. [Continue reading interview…]
Congress must save the good journalists at VOA (The Hill)
by Ted Lipien, Opinion Contributor – 03/17/25 10:00 AM ET
President Trump’s decision to shut down the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio y Televisión Martí in Cuba and other U.S. government-funded media entities overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, was sudden, harmful and deeply unfair. It places journalists in foreign language services who have devoted years of their lives to their jobs and have done nothing wrong in an impossible position.
To be sure, these agencies have suffered from terrible management decisions in recent years. But to break things by stopping all programming does not make these agencies better. Rather, it weakens their usefulness to U.S. national security.
Members of Congress from both parties must pressure the White House to allow these broadcasters to resume their work as soon as possible, even while supporting the administration’s efforts to restructure, downsize and reform the agency’s bloated and dysfunctional bureaucracy. [Continue reading…]
What is Voice of America and why Trump is dismantling the broadcaster (PBS via YouTube)
For the better part of a century, Voice of America has broadcast into countries whose governments censored free information. The Trump administration has dismantled VOA’s parent organization, put all of its employees on leave and ended funding for independent media agencies. Nick Schifrin discussed the move with Mike Abramovitz, the president of Voice of America since last year.
Chinese state media celebrates Trump’s cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia (The Guardian)
Global Times hails US president’s order to strip back government funding to news organisations he deems ‘radical’
Chinese state media has reacted gleefully to the Trump administration’s decision to slash government funding to media organisations such as Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA).
The Global Times, a daily English-language tabloid and Chinese Communist party mouthpiece, celebrated the cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees broadcasters such as VOA and RFA.
“When it comes to China-related reporting, VOA has an appalling track record,” the Global Times said in an editorial on Monday.
“From smearing human rights in China’s Xinjiang … to hyping up disputes in the South China Sea … from fabricating the so-called China virus narrative to promoting the claim of China’s ‘overcapacity’, almost every malicious falsehood about China has VOA’s fingerprints all over it,” the editorial said.
The Beijing Daily, a newspaper run by the Chinese Communist party (CCP), also published a column commending the cuts. [Continue reading…]
The Voice of Radical America (The White House – WhiteHouse.gov)
President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Friday will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.
Dan Robinson, a 34-year veteran of Voice of America and its former White House correspondent, wrote last year: “I have monitored the agency’s bureaucracy along with many of its reporters and concluded that it has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media. It has sought to avoid accountability for violations of journalistic standards and mismanagement.”
- Voice of America’s management told staff not to call Hamas and its members terrorists, “except when quoting statements.”
- Daily Caller: “Multiple Voice Of America Reporters Have Posted Anti-Trump Content On Social Media”
- “Multiple Voice of America (VOA) reporters have repeatedly posted anti-Trump comments on their professional Twitter accounts, despite a social media policy requiring employee impartiality on social media platforms.”
- Rep. Scott Perry wrote in a 2022 letter that Voice of America has “grown exceedingly partisan over the past several years.”
- A 2016 report from Office of Personnel Management cited by Rep. Perry revealed that Voice of America Persian employees said that outlet tolerated “coercion for partisan political purposes.”
- The Washington Free Beacon: “VOA Misallocates Funds and Suppresses Negative Stories About Iran. This Lawmaker Wants To Investigate.”
- Voice of America: “What Is ‘White Privilege’ and Whom Does It Help?”
- “Today, the phrase is used passionately and widely in the context of racial profiling — police treatment of people as criminal suspects based on their race.”
- A 2022 lawsuit claimed Voice of America has “been infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic state interests, and that the message of VOA had been compromised in a manner that was biased toward the Islamic state factions in Iran.”
- In October 2020, Voice of America wrote that the “allegations that Russia played a role in perpetuating the scandal to benefit Trump could undermine the emails’ credibility” downplaying the validity of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
- In July 2020, Voice of America faced criticism for “sharing a story and video appearing too favorable to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.”
- In September 2019, the Daily Caller reported that Voice of America employed a Russian anti-U.S. propagandist.
- In May 2019, Voice of America fired reporters for their roles in canceling a broadcast midstream after pressure from the Chinese government.
- In March 2019, Voice of America ran a segment about transgender migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
Czechs appeal for EU help with Radio Free Europe after Trump cuts (BBC)
The Czech Republic is pushing for EU support to keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) running after the Trump administration cut funding for the global broadcaster.
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said RFE/RL, based in Prague, “is one of the few credible sources in dictatorships like Iran, Belarus, and Afghanistan”.
In Eastern Europe, the US government-funded outlet reached millions of listeners during the Cold War, helping to spread democratic values while communist authorities tightly controlled local media. [Continue reading…]
Czech Foreign Minister Lipavský trying to save RFE/RL after US announces funding cut (Radio Prague international)
The US government is halting financial support for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), whose headquarters is based in Prague. The organization has 21 bureaus and broadcasts in 27 languages to 23 countries, promoting independent journalism. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský is discussing whether the EU can take over and continue broadcasting at the Council of Europe meeting in Brussels on Monday. [Continue reading…]
Voice of America journalists sound off on ‘betrayal’ after Trump dismantles broadcaster (The Independent)
‘A silencing of VOA will be celebrated by communists, autocrats and ayatollahs whose lies we shed light on,’ VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb tweeted over the weekend
In what is being described as “Bloody Saturday,” over 1,300 employees at Voice of America were placed on indefinite suspension this weekend after President Donald Trump issued a Friday night edict ordering the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the network’s parent agency, to eliminate its workforce and activities not required by law.
With the state-funded broadcaster — which has been seen as a vital part of America’s soft diplomacy — going largely silent after more than 80 years on the air, VOA journalists and executives are sounding off over what they see as a “betrayal of the ideals” that drove the organization, adding that it will only be “celebrated” by America’s adversaries.
Two days after Trump bristled at a VOA reporter for asking the Irish prime minister about the president’s proposal to displace all Palestinians from Gaza, the White House released an executive order on Friday night that outright gutted the USAGM, which also oversees Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, as well as other non-profit international media outlets. [Continue reading…]
What shuttering of Voice of America, other US-funded media would mean to millions worldwide (WTOP)
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively eliminates the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees outlets such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Radio Liberty and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.
It’s a move seen by many as Trump’s effort to silence prodemocracy media around the world.
“Hundreds of millions of people are affected,” said Steve Herman, chief national correspondent at Voice of America, who agreed to speak with WTOP in a personal capacity, not as a representative of VOA.
He is currently on administrative leave, along with about 1,300 other VOA employees.
He said the firings could have a chilling effect on prodemocracy media, saying people who live in censored countries where the government controls the news will be at a disadvantage. [Continue reading…]
I read somewhere that a conservative is someone who knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing. Sums up this situation quite neatly, it seems.
I’d been following for the last week the announcements and development of the USAGM shutdowns. Different opinions and repercussions around the world.
The duty of any media is to inform and entertain without any bias. This said, I realize that USAGM as a government agency sometimes do need to adjust their views in order to comply with its mission or policy of the government but besides any internal or external causes or deviations from the standards and transparency the main role of the affected services Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, VOA and R. Martí are fulfilled. I understand that short-wave may no be cost-effective and nowadays internet is today the main means of information. Curtailing them is taking away our rights as citizens to be informed.
The usual arguments regarding the audience of SW radio, the risk of censored internet and so on come forward but every time a new conflict or whatever arises short-wave is revamped. And this is a fact.
What is the appeal of information agencies now that the Cold War is over (although new conflicts start every month) to the peoples of Africa, Asia or Latin America? The fears that we had in the glory days of short-wave are long gone but replaced by others albeit of a different nature.
To overcome those we the people need to understand them and be able to reason and judge and this can be achieved by having trustworthy sources of information.
Once we are able to separate the wheat from the chaff we are good to go.
China applauded the executive order. Very soon we will see those slots occupied by CRI.
A few opinions criticised and others congratulated on the move.
Whatever the outcome and results in the long run is something to be studied and if a reversal is in order I really hope in the good judgement and the now diminished power of the citizens of the world. Today a great damage has been inflicted on freedom.
In the mean time I am learning mandarin language.
Best to all of us.
Waldo (Uruguay)
VOA needs more fiscally responsible management and a return to unbiased reporting. Shortwave still has a play I for the US on the world stage – let’s lead not follow.
Abrupt changes in the back office are required – not on the front steps!
It’s not politics, folks. If the action of the current US administration to curtail VoA/USAGM has any significance, it is but a single nail in the coffin of an institution whose interment began decades ago. I read an article many years ago about a farmer in some third-world country who plowed his field with a radio strapped around the horn of his ox. Evidence seems to suggest that mode of communication is no longer the best way to reach a man’s heart and mind.
Consider a few of the significant international broadcasters whose transmitters have either gone silent or are mere shadows of their former selves: United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, Canada, even Cuba (but not for lack of trying).
It has been a long time coming. Let’s pay our respects and get back to enjoying all that’s still good about radio.
VOA Africa on 15580kHz has been a permanent fixture of my radios for decades, so it has been quite a shock to have it disappear overnight like this.
When the first rumblings against VOA started recently, I was worried it would suddenly turn into an American version of Radio Moscow or Radio Tirana.
Given the choice, it feels better for it to disappear fully focused on it’s original mission (even with its flaws), than to be warped into something grotesque.
I was recording 15580kHz on Sunday just before the usual 20:00 shutoff, thinking there might be some kind of announcement. There was just some music followed by a few seconds of carrier and then nothing but static. It’s been like that ever since.
What SHOULD’Ve been done is to rectify VOA’s (perceived or real) transgressions is to address them with those responsible and remove those that fail to comply. The overtly visceral solution to shut down the entire VOA operation because of poor performance at the top heavy management levels is a classic example of “throwing g out the baby with the bathwater”.
Jock Elliott makes the point that I believe we can all agree with. Even if these services are being done poorly (allegations of poor journalism standards have been circulating for decades as well as corruption and mismanagement), it doesn’t mean they are not needed.
Dan Robinson is someone who has “been there, done that,” and I respect his opinion:
“Dan Robinson, a 34-year veteran of Voice of America and its former White House correspondent, wrote last year: “I have monitored the agency’s bureaucracy along with many of its reporters and concluded that it has essentially become a hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media. It has sought to avoid accountability for violations of journalistic standards and mismanagement.””
At the same time, I sincerely hope that the Federal Government will not abandon shortwave radio as a means of communicating with Global Audiences.
Previously, I sent this through the White House contact page:
“Mr. President;
First, I am not, and never have been, employed by Voice of America or Radio Free Europe.
But you might want to think twice before you shut them down.
If the electronic networks such as internet and mobile phones are ever shut down, you might want a means of communicating with the populations overseas; you might want to factor that into your decision-making process.
Radio can be an essential resource when the crunch comes, as was demonstrated recently in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee: https://swling.com/blog/2024/11/a-shining-moment-for-ham-radio/
You might want to keep international broadcasting — with appropriate messaging — as “another club in your bag.”
Sincerely, Jock Elliott”