Government-Funded Media

Pentagon announces overhaul of Stars and Stripes to eliminate ‘woke distractions’

Department of Defense leaders announced they will overhaul the Stars and Stripes, a department-owned outlet covering the armed forces, so that it includes more government releases and less “woke” content. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X that the Stripes would stop reprinting content from The Associated Press and focus on “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY” instead of “woke distractions that syphon morale.” The new Stripes will also feature content written by active-duty service members instead of civilian journalists, and half of the Stripes website will be devoted to material created by Defense staff, such as photos from combat cameras, The Daily Wire reported. Stripes journalists have objected to the overhaul, which they fear will interfere with the paper’s mandate from Congress to be editorially independent. 

Stars and Stripes asks job applicants about support for Trump’s policies

Since at least November, candidates applying for jobs at Stars and Stripes through a federal portal have faced questions about how they would advance President Donald Trump’s agenda, according to The Washington Post. Though the Stripes is editorially independent, it is owned by the Department of Defense, which contributes half of the publication’s funding. Job seekers must apply through the federal government’s employment portal, which asks applicants questions like, “How would you advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?” and, “Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.” Stripes leaders said the Office of Personnel Management added the questions without consulting them and that answering the questions is optional. They added that the paper remains committed to its goal of objectivity in covering the United States armed forces. 

Voice of America closes six overseas bureaus

U.S. Agency for Global Media adviser Kari Lake informed Congress that international broadcaster Voice of America, which USAGM funds, will close six bureaus, four marketing offices and six transmitting stations overseas. The closures include spaces in Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Kenya, Botswana, Djibouti, Germany and the Czech Republic. The closures mark the latest attempt by the Trump administration to stifle Voice of America, which it has called biased and a waste of federal resources. Critics, however, say that the broadcaster is a vital source of reliable information and news for audiences living in authoritarian countries that lack a free press. USAGM, under Lake’s direction, has previously executed multiple rounds of mass layoffs at Voice of America — actions that are now subject to a federal lawsuit.

More from Poynter:

• ‘I am angry most of the time’: Inside a small VOA cohort’s return to work
• What the attempted dismantling of Voice of America means for press freedom in the US and the world
• Trump gutted Voice of America. Six staff members are fighting back.
• President Trump’s latest press target: Voice of America

US Agency for Global Media lays off 532 workers, including Voice of America staff

U.S. Agency for Global Media senior adviser Kari Lake announced that the organization is laying off 532 employees, including 486 Voice of America staff. The cuts leave roughly 100 employees left at Voice of America, the international broadcaster that once had more than 1,000 journalists broadcasting to residents living in countries lacking a free press. The layoffs come two months after Lake attempted another round of widespread cuts that she later had to rescind after workers found that the documents they received contained errors. On X, Lake posted that she was cutting staff to uphold President Donald Trump’s instructions to “reduce federal bureaucracy.”

US Agency for Global Media fires Voice of America director

The U.S. Agency for Global Media fired Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz after he refused to accept a position as chief management officer at VOA’s transmitting station in Greenville, North Carolina. In a court filing, Abramowitz said the proposed reassignment and decision to fire him was illegal since the law states he can only be removed from his position as VOA director with the approval of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board. President Donald Trump dismissed all the board’s members during his first week in office, and it has not been active since. As VOA director, Abramowitz repeatedly pushed back against the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle his outlet, which relies on government funding to provide reliable news to audiences in countries that lack press freedoms. In March, he sued the administration for placing all of VOA’s employees on leave in an attempt to shut it down. 

More from Poynter:

• Trump gutted Voice of America. Six staff members are fighting back.
• What the attempted dismantling of Voice of America means for press freedom in the US and the world
• President Trump’s latest press target: Voice of America

US Agency for Global Media lays off 639 employees

The U.S. Agency for Global Media laid off 639 employees, including those at broadcaster Voice of America, to help fulfill President Donald Trump’s March 14 executive order calling for the gutting of the agency. Thanks to the layoffs and previous rounds of cuts, USAGM had 250 employees remaining — an 85% reduction compared to the agency’s March staffing levels. USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake claimed the cuts were part of an effort to “dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy.” Supporters of VOA and its affiliate newsrooms, however, point out that its journalists help deliver reliable information and news to residents of countries that lack a free press.

Voice of America lays off nearly 600 employees

Voice of America, the federally funded broadcaster that falls under the U.S. Agency for Global Media, laid off more than a third of its staff, or 600 employees. The cuts affected several noncitizen journalists who were in the U.S. on work visas and subsequently lost their legal status as a result of losing their jobs. Those journalists, some of whom are from countries that lack a free press, were given until the end of June to leave the U.S. The layoffs marked the latest attempt by President Donald Trump’s administration to gut VOA, which provides reliable news and information to audiences in authoritarian regimes. In March, VOA placed its more than 1300 employees on leave — an action that was subsequently challenged in court. 

More from Poynter:

• What the attempted dismantling of Voice of America means for press freedom in the US and the world
• ‘I am angry most of the time’: Inside a small VOA cohort’s return to work

Trump proposes budget cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the US Agency for Global Media

In his 2026 discretionary budget request to Congress, President Donald Trump proposed the complete elimination of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Agency for Global Media. CPB is an independent nonprofit that receives federal funding from Congress, which it then redistributes to public broadcasters, while USAGM is a federal agency that both employs and funds multiple media outlets in the interest of providing audiences in authoritarian regimes with reliable news and information. The budget request also proposes eliminating funding for the National Endowment for Democracy because the fund had previously “targeted and blacklisted” several conservative outlets like Newsmax, The Federalist and The Blaze. NED called this statement “inaccurate and misleading” as the fund only supports globally focused work, and the listed outlets are American and therefore outside of the fund’s scope. 

More from Poynter:

• In his executive order on NPR and PBS, Trump leapfrogs Congress to target a private organization

US Agency for Global Media places journalists on leave and defunds media outlets

The U.S. Agency for Global Media placed more than 1,000 employees at broadcast organizations Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting on leave. It also stopped disbursing congressionally approved grants to independent, nonprofit broadcasters Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. All five media organizations sought to provide reliable news and information to audiences living in countries without a free press. The suspension of journalists and cessation of funds came one day after President Donald Trump ordered the elimination of USAGM’s nonstatutory activities.

More from Poynter:

• President Trump’s latest press target: Voice of America

US Agency for Global Media cancels contracts with news wire services

U.S. Agency for Global Media senior adviser Kari Lake announced that she is canceling the agency contracts with news wire companies like The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. USAGM operates both Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, organizations that provide reliable news and information to people in countries that lack a free press. Part of that effort included the republication of content from wire services. 

Voice of America journalists investigated for anti-Trump comments

Voice of America, the federally funded but editorially independent broadcaster overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, opened human resources investigations into several journalists for their reporting and comments about President Donald Trump. VOA placed its chief national correspondent on leave and reassigned its White House bureau chief to a different beat. Several VOA employees reported that the outlet had spiked or edited articles that included criticism of Trump. 

More from Poynter:

• What the attempted dismantling of Voice of America means for press freedom in the US and the world

Trump pauses foreign aid, affecting international media outlets

In an executive order, President Donald Trump implemented a 90-day pause on foreign aid. That pause includes more than $268 million that Congress allocated to support “independent media and the free flow of information.” Foreign news outlets that relied on aid from the United States had to halt their operations. A now offline factsheet from the United States Agency for International Development reported that in 2023, the agency helped fund more than 6,200 journalists and 707 non-state news organizations, according to Reporters Without Borders.