{"id":10156,"date":"2014-07-03T10:52:29","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T14:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=10156"},"modified":"2014-07-03T10:52:29","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T14:52:29","slug":"ny-times-journalists-at-odds-with-union-over-voas-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/ny-times-journalists-at-odds-with-union-over-voas-role\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Times: Journalists “at Odds With Union” over VOA’s role"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nytLogo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0New York Times, <\/em>in a \u00a0recent article, describes\u00a0a growing\u00a0split between the VOA Union (American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812) and VOA journalists over the proposed changes to the VOA mission (via H.R. 4490<\/a>), which would make it an active voice of American policy. (Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> reader, Marty, for sharing this relevant article<\/a>)<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Below is an excerpt from The\u00a0Times;<\/em>\u00a0click here for the full article:<\/a><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Voice of America journalists who are fighting to maintain what they say is their editorial independence are now at odds not only with Congress, but also with their own union.<\/p>\n

The union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812, recently endorsed a bill that would change language in the charter for the 72-year-old news agency and require it to actively support American policy. That came as a surprise to some Voice of America employees, who said the legislation would make them mouthpieces for government policy. They want the union to withdraw its letter of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of us would welcome change and reform, but not at the cost of undermining V.O.A.\u2019s journalistic credibility,\u201d said Jim Malone, a senior national correspondent at the government-financed news agency who is not a member of the union.<\/p>\n

In its letter, union leaders said the agency\u2019s managers had lost sight of their mission and were trying to turn the \u201cV.O.A. into something they envisioned as a global variant of CNN.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, some of the currently entrenched senior management represent a far greater threat to V.O.A.\u2019s journalistic independence, indeed to the very existence of the V.O.A.,\u201d the union wrote.<\/p>\n

The danger, said the union\u2019s president, Tim Shamble, is that the government could withdraw its financial support if the agency continued its current course. The federation represents about 40 percent of all Voice of America workers and 11 percent of the journalists in the central news division.<\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For other posts about this topic, please follow the tag: HR4490<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0New York Times, in a \u00a0recent article, describes\u00a0a growing\u00a0split between the VOA Union (American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812) and VOA journalists over the proposed changes to the VOA mission (via H.R. 4490), which would make it an active voice of American policy. (Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Marty, for sharing this relevant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,81,960,3,43],"tags":[406,936,2810,3081,3082,1106,1531,2809,2811,10,402,182],"class_list":["post-10156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-current-events","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bbg","tag-broadcasting-board-of-governors","tag-consolidated-grantee-organization","tag-h-r-4490","tag-hr4490","tag-ibb","tag-international-broadcasting-bureau","tag-united-states-international-communications-agency","tag-united-states-international-communications-reform-act-of-2014","tag-voa","tag-voa-cuts","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2DO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10387,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/us-house-passes-h-r-4490\/","url_meta":{"origin":10156,"position":0},"title":"US House passes H.R. 4490","author":"Thomas","date":"July 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014 (H.R. 4490)\u00a0has just passed the the House today, next it will go before the US Senate. This bill proposes major changes to the overall structure of US international broadcasting. Click here to read previous posts about the bill\u00a0and read the press release\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of the Capitol Building from the roof of the Voice of America on 330 Independence Ave., S.W.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10389,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/bbg-watch-voa-coverage-of-h-r-4490-lacks-balance\/","url_meta":{"origin":10156,"position":1},"title":"BBG Watch: VOA coverage of H.R.4490 “lacks balance”","author":"Thomas","date":"July 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBG Watch) \"It took Voice of America a few hours to post a report, which includes quotes by two outside opponents of the bill: former VOA deputy director Alan Heil and Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire, but has no quotes from any outside supporters of the bill, including\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"VOA-Screen-Shot-2014-07-28-at-9.53PM-EDT","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/VOA-Screen-Shot-2014-07-28-at-9.53PM-EDT.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10094,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/amendment-to-h-r-4490-protects-critical-shortwave-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":10156,"position":2},"title":"Amendment to H.R. 4490 protects “critical” shortwave services","author":"Thomas","date":"June 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to yesterday's\u00a0post\u00a0regarding sweeping cuts to VOA's shortwave service, an\u00a0SWLing Post reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) writes: \"HR4490 contains the following amendment attached to the bill by Cong Lowenthal of CA. Cong Lowenthal has the largest Cambodian community in the US in his constituency as well as Vietnamese.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of the Capitol Building from the roof of the Voice of America on 330 Independence Ave., S.W.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9934,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/washington-post-voa-needs-to-keep-an-objective-voice\/","url_meta":{"origin":10156,"position":3},"title":"Washington Post: VOA needs to keep an “objective voice”","author":"Thomas","date":"June 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Richard Cuff for sharing this editorial from the Washington Post: (Source: Washington Post) AS AUTHORITARIAN states such as Russia and China ramp up well-funded and sophisticated global propaganda operations, U.S. officials and members of Congress fret that the U.S. government\u2019s information operations are lagging behind.\u00a0[...] A bipartisan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"WashingtonPostLogo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/WashingtonPostLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9696,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/change-to-voas-mission-drawing-intense-debate\/","url_meta":{"origin":10156,"position":4},"title":"Change to VOA\u2019s mission draws “intense debate”","author":"Thomas","date":"May 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Dan Robinson for pointing out this article by Ron Nixon in the New York Times. \u00a0Here's a clip: \"A bill to overhaul Voice of America has prompted an intense debate among supporters of the legislation who say it will better enable the broadcast news service to counter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of the Capitol Building from the roof of the Voice of America on 330 Independence Ave., S.W.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9422,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/draft-bill-outlines-major-changes-to-bbg-and-us-international-broadcasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":10156,"position":5},"title":"Draft bill outlines major changes to BBG and US International Broadcasting","author":"Thomas","date":"April 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Dan Robinson who shares this post on the BBG Watch which outlines major changes to US International Broadcasting. The draft bill, originating in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is known as the United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014. The bill outlines: \"the creation of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BBG-Logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}