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Welcome to The Logoff: At present I’m centered on the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine Voice of America, a US-funded information community that brings data to folks all over the world — together with folks residing below repressive regimes.
What’s the newest? The administration fired about 600 contractors Thursday who work for the community, greater than a 3rd of the group’s employees.
What about the remainder of the employees? In March, the administration put nearly your complete employees on depart, however they efficiently sued to dam these de facto firings, at the least briefly. Litigation is ongoing over whether or not the administration has the authority to chop the company, which is funded by Congress.
Why is the administration doing this? Voice of America is, by legislation, editorially unbiased, which means the Trump administration can not management the community’s content material. Which means it typically publishes information that displays poorly on the president or his insurance policies — one thing this administration can not abide.
What’s the large image? Like every outlet, Voice of America has its shortcomings, and there are respectable disagreements over the way it covers the information. However for thousands and thousands of individuals whose governments block entry to the information, Voice of America and its associates are their finest likelihood of studying about what’s occurring on this planet round them — together with what their very own governments are as much as. Now, Trump is making an attempt to take that away.
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
Right here’s an award-winning Voice of America story about what occurs to accountability right here within the US when native information organizations are pushed out of enterprise. It’s a terrific piece, however if you wish to put it aside for a non-Friday afternoon, there’s at all times the fantastic livestream of a bald eagles’ nest. Thanks a lot for studying, and I’ll see you again right here Monday.
