USAGM Watch Comentary
West Wing Reads page on the WhiteHouse.gov official White House website has a link to an op-ed article in the New York Post in which Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Director of the Policy Planning Staff, comments on the Voice of America (VOA) programs to Iran managed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
The White House has been pushing for the confirmation by the U.S. Senate of Michael Pack to be USAGM CEO. Current VOA Director Amanda Bennett, under whose tenure the organization has seen a number of major management and programming scandals, was appointed to her position during the Obama Administration.
A description for the West Wing Reads page says “Read what the White House is reading: Get daily articles and analysis recommended by leaders in the Trump Administration.”
“As the US special representative for Iran, I receive complaints regularly about Voice of America’s Persian service. Iranian viewers say its American taxpayer-funded programming often sounds more like the ‘Voice of the mullahs’ than the ‘Voice of America,’” US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook writes in the New York Post.
“This is a priority for the Trump administration, because supporting the Iranian people includes giving them access to independent and truthful reporting.”
Why are US taxpayers funding a ‘Voice of the Mullahs’ in Iran? Brian Hook, New York Post, May 27, 2020
Iranian-Americans, including Iran scholars, are supportive of calls for reforming the Voice of America.
Current and Former Voice of America Journalists Look at Resignation of VOA Director Amanda Bennett
USAGM Watch Commentary By Current and Former VOA Journalists VOA Director Amanda Bennett and her deputy, Sandy Sugawara, resigned on Monday, a widely expected development as the federal agency that runs VOA transitions to a new CEO nominated two years ago by President Donald Trump and recently confirmed by the Republican-led U.S. Senate. In a […]
Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett Resigned Amid Accusations of Failing to Stop China and Iran Propaganda in VOA Programs
USAGM Watch Commentary UPDATE Voice of America Amanda Bennett and her deputy Sandy Sugawara have submitted their resignations on June 15, 2020 to the newly Senate-confirmed U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO Michael Pack amid continuing accusations from China and Iran experts at U.S. universities and think tanks, leaders of Chinese-American and Iranian-American immigrant […]
Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett Says ‘VOA’s protest coverage…nothing short of extraordinary’ as New CEO Starts Work
USAGM Watch Commentary Michael Pack, President Trump’s appointee to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) was sworn in and assumed his position as USAGM CEO after his nomination was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate with all but one among Democratic senators who voted opposing his appointment. The final vote in favor […]
JAMSHID CHALANGI Voice of America, or Voice of the ‘Mullahs in Iran’?
USAGM Watch Commentary Jamshid Chalangi, one of the well-known and respected Iranian refugee journalists, has published an article strongly critical of the Voice of America (VOA) programming to Iran. He speaks fluent Arabic and has reported from the region for many years. Another journalist who had worked with him both at Radio Farda and Voice […]
WHITE HOUSE on VOICE OF AMERICA (VOA) Why are US Taxpayers Funding a ‘Voice of the Mullahs’ in Iran?
USAGM Watch Comentary West Wing Reads page on the WhiteHouse.gov official White House website has a link to an op-ed article in the New York Post in which Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Director of the Policy Planning Staff, comments on […]
U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State Says Voice of America Is Letting Down Iranian People
USAGM Watch Commentary Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Director of the Policy Planning Staff, wrote in an op-ed article in the New York Post that the Voice of America (VOA) Persian Service in the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) […]
ALIREZA NADER Voice of America to Iran Has Self-Destructed
USAGM Watch Commentary Alireza Nader (@AlirezaNader), a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (@FDD), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security, has written an op-ed for Washington Examiner in which he argues that the Voice of America (VOA) Persian news network, which he describes as “once a […]
Amanda Bennett Is First Voice of America Director at War with Refugees From Communism and Iran EXCLUSIVE
USAGM WATCH COMMENTARY Amanda Bennett @abennett·Apr 9·16.7K Followers: “At the @VOANews, we love facts. The fact is Wuhan has ended their lockdown and this video shows exactly that.” 一土 @Jessie201907· Apr 11·14.9K Followers: “VOA has become a propaganda tool of the CCP, can you give yourself some dignity?” No Voice of America (VOA) director prior to current […]
Expert Who Gave Anti-Iran Regime Protesters the Finger Returns to Greta Van Susteren Voice of America TV
USAGM WATCH COMMENTARY On January 15, 2020, Barbara Slavin returned to the Voice of America by appearing in “Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren” Voice of America TV news program. She was welcomed back by VOA despite her unusual behavior toward anti-Iranian regime demonstrators in an incident in New York in 2017 when she was […]
Iran scholars criticize Voice of America management
With increasing frequency and frustration, Iran scholars and journalists based in the West, as well as anti-regime activists in Iran, are posting highly critical comments on social media about the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM) management of taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) Persian programs. The agency, previously known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, […]
