VOA staff put on leave, RFE/RFA funding cut

[Ct Yankee]

Have been unable to determine whether transmissions are impacted.  There are no VOA broadcasts, nor RFE/RFA, that I can receive at this hour (2000 UTC). Although Radio Martí (also part of USAGM) is being received.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/trump-signs-order-gut-voice-america-other-agencies-2025-03-15/

[atrainradio]

I have conflicting feelings about this. Considering he is/was turning VOA into nothing more than the Voice Of Trump - it's almost for the best that the transmitters are turned off.

On the other hand - I can't help but hate to see the shortwaves get less and less populated. And to know that the money they're "saving" is going into the greedy hands of Musk, Trump & associates.

(There's no way to comment on this without getting political to one degree or another. I'm merely stating my opinion. If it breaks the rules, I apologize, but I hope I made my case.)

[East Troy Don]

HFU is supposed to be a politics free zone.  Please respect the guidelines of the site.

[radioartisan]

I have conflicting feelings about this.

Me, too.  I think VOA was inevitably going to get shutdown sometime in our lives as the value of shortwave broadcasting and its propaganda value has been decreasing over the years.  The reasons cited for the shutdown are rather frightening.  Like all government shortwave stations in history, VOA had a very specific mission and a reason it existed. 

[Ct Yankee]

Tuned into several VOA frequencies* (Hausa/French services) shortly after they signed on at 2030 UTC from three separate transmission facilities (for short - The Vatican, Botswana, and UK), all broadcasts were straight music.  Perhaps the legislative mandate requires VOA to broadcast but shies from dictating content/staffing, which the current administration of USAGM is advising.

*9765, 11850, 11900, 11975, 13750

[Synclair]

Very disappointing. I can't get any broadcasts from VOA today, I think they have shut down.

Their website (https://www.voanews.com/ and https://voa.gove/) is still up as of now but who knows for how long. The latest post on it is from March 15, 2025 1:13 AM (I'm assuming its UTC but could be a US time zone).

Let's hope the BBC steps up to take the slack. People in oppressed countries need independent, or at least alternative news sources.

A dreadful day for SW broadcast radio.

[n2avh]

HFU is supposed to be a politics free zone.  Please respect the guidelines of the site.

I think there's a legitimate distinction between dragging politics into the site for no good reason, and acknowledging the political aspect of something that's our bread-and-butter...especially when the government's rationale was so explicitly political. 

[radioartisan]

Let's hope the BBC steps up to take the slack.

Not very likely.  It's up to the pirates now.  Perhaps we're going to see the emergence of *clandestine* US broadcasters?

[ThaDood]

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/news-makers/rather-brash-jeff-white-on-the-usagm-shutdowns

[KnowFear]

Hopefully not too political:

With censorship here and there in the world apparently on the rise, a newly revamped VOA could resume it's job that it faithfully did in cold-war times - pumping out western/freedom oriented info to those who only heard one side of everything.

As a casual listener prior to "the whack", I am glad the old boring propagandists are gone.

Looking forward (I hope) to the new guys/gal of VOA ---- hopefully with TOURS of massive TRANSMITTING FACILITIES and ANTENNA FARMS 

[Molvania Poacher]

Getting interesting...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/business/voice-of-america-lawsuit-trump.html