Thread: It may seem like some quaint vestige of a time gone by.
But let me spell out why I think developments at the Voice of America and its parent agency are important to track, even as so many crises are unfolding before our eyes. /cont
The VOA reaches 280MM+ people abroad each week. It provides a service for lands that don't have a free press and serves as a symbol of American political liberty & open debate by covering all sides.
Staffers tell me its credibility is being damaged by its CEO, appointed by Trump
Trump & WH routinely seek to thwart flow of independent information.
Right now, a key part of the WH crisis is credibility: can you trust what it says on the pandemic, on Trump's own health, on the economy & so on.
You've seen that during the Trump years with National Parks Service, NOAA, EPA, DHS, DOJ, intel communities, now CDC & NIH - and the effort to kill the military paper Stars & Stripes too con't /
There's a direct line to what's happening at the Voice of America
Two pro-Trump political appointees, in the heat of the 2020 election, have investigated VOA's top political reporter, @W7VOA
They found "conflict of interest" because, they claim, he is biased against Trump. Why? /
It's not because of undisclosed family ties or partisan affiliation.
Instead, these two Trump fans claim, Herman's stories and tweets *prove* him to be anti-Trump; he acted unethically, they say, by failing to disclose that conflict.
I've reported on incidents in the Urdu service; the French to Africa service, and the Spanish language service. Each involved coverage of Trump or Bidens.
No concrete transgressions by Herman were identified. Yet they called for recusal & delivered report to acting VOA chief.
Regardless, USAGM's CEO is not supposed to direct coverage. "Firewall" affords legal protection.
Don't take my word for it. From USAGM:
"The firewall prohibits interference by U.S. government officials, including the USAGM’s Chief Executive Officer"
The two USAGM aides appointed by Pack are named Frank Wuco and Samuel Dewey. Wuco is a former right-wing talk show host & conspiracy theorist who worked for DHS under Trump; Dewey worked for awhile as an investigator for Congressional Republicans and has pro MAGA twitter stream.
If two highly partisan political appointees can force the reassignment of the VOA's top political and White House reporter in campaign season, what use is that "firewall"?
What message does that send through the rest of the newsroom?
What future reports will be blocked?
Americans rarely come across VOA or its sister networks.
Yet People inside VOA and others who believe in its "soft power" of diplomacy by example say its credibility is under assault.
They say this is what it looks like when the levers of government are used against the press.
NEWS: 14 veteran journalists at the Voice of America send letter of protest against Trump's appointee as parent agency's CEO, Michael Pack, saying he is harming US aims and imperiling its reporters / more
Pack's comments and decisions "endanger the personal security of VOA reporters at home and abroad, as well as threatening to harm U.S. national security objectives," the letter to VOA Acting Director Elez Biberaj reads. / more
The protest came after a long line of sweeping changes and purges at the federally funded networks overseen by Pack. But it was triggered by interview Pack gave to conservative site the Federalist.
"It's a great pace to put a foreign spy," Pack said/ MORE
Pittsburgh PG executive editor Keith Burris re @alexisjreports:
“No fair person could make the case that our actions were race-based. We will not apologize for upholding professional standards in journalism or attempting to eliminate bias.” /MORE post-gazette.com/local/region/2…
2/ Burris says Johnson was barred from coverage because her tweet betrayed bias.
Does not address case of white colleague warned about tweet disparaging man accused of looting was allowed to keep writing about protests until union pointed out disparity - as NPR reported Monday /
3/ Burris confirmed tgat 80 Post-Gazette journalists, including Michael Santiago, were also sidelined from covering protests for retweeting @alexisjreports’ original offending tweet in solidarity with her.
It compares looters to those who trashed area after concert tailgate.
Secretary Pompeo asserts (without evidence) that NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly lied twice - saying their interview was only to focus on Iran and that post-interview exchange was to be off record.
A point about each: /con’t
In interview, transcript shows Pompeo did not contradict @NPRKelly when she noted she confirmed w his aides she’d ask about Ukraine too. (Aide was in room.)
Also, Kelly told listeners she was then asked to speak w Pompeo without colleagues or recorder - but that no one sought to place off record. And she said she would not have accepted that. Her account: npr.org/transcripts/79…
NEWS: Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman was targeting a female reporter wearing a purple bracelet on domestic violence.
She has tweeted frequently on DV; he complained about her tweets offering info on DV hotlines when Roberto Osuna appeared in Astros games in 2018. My story:
This account is based on interviews with three witnesses to Saturday's incident and another four interviews. Osuna was considered damaged goods when his contract was obtained in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays - in financial terms, a distressed asset acquired at a discount.
In a statement late this afternoon, Taubman offered an apology of sorts, saying he was exuberant in defense of Osuna, a star reliever who had given up a two-run home run; Taubman protested he was "progressive" and misunderstood.
Here's my story on how the media fell short on covering Epstein, with case studies on Vanity Fair, ABC & the NYT. It's a story of society ties, fears of legal threats, and working class victims.
In this story, Maria and Annie Farmer confirmed to me for the first time that they spoke of their experiences on the record to Vanity Fair. Their account was cut from the story.
You also hear the voice of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was interviewed 4+ years ago by ABC NEWS. The network tells NPR it will broadcast the fruits of its investigation in coming months.
@Isikoff's new investigative podcast #Conspiracyland goes deep on the figures and wild theories fueling the Seth Rich fever swamps, as well as the Fox story. He focuses a lot on Butowsky.
In Conspiracyland, @Isikoff reports several new wrinkles.