FROM OUR OMBUDSMAN: Given the overall press restrictions and the moves to take over editorial control of Stars and Stripes, the future of a reputable newspaper that dates to the Civil War is in danger. Here's what's happening, why & what you can do about it. Gift article🔗: bit.ly/4k7MF6F #Flashes

The authoritarian government of Belarus is purging the country’s ham operators, charging them with treason and seizing their radio equipment. steanlab.medium.com/mayday-389f5...

RSF launched a number of key projects, including "filing of its first complaint against the Trump administration to defend the international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA),..."

About the Voice of America’s Leo Sarkisian (Who, when I saw him in the VOA corridors, would always tell me “It’s going to be all right!”)

Asia Times - MAGA mouthpiece Kari Lake claims US-funded broadcasts effectively serve Iranians and Venezuelans, but she presides over Potemkin airwaves. asiatimes.com/2026/01/the-...

“Congress is speaking loudly and clearly. They are rejecting the Administration's effort to cancel VOA," said Government Accountability Project Senior Counsel, David Z. Seide.

“Democrats were able to say that the U.S. Agency for Global Media (which includes Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Asia, and which Trump has tried to defund) was, in fact, funded to the tune of $643 million, not $0.”

Radio in Greenland; an image from a 1936 German "radio atlas":

VOA journalist & Medill alum @chriscasquejo.bsky.social reflects on the power of VOA in Asia—and what was lost after VOA went dark last year. Read more here: 🔗

From jammed signals in Iran to MAGA content in Mandarin, Kari Lake’s hastily attempted resurrection of US international broadcasting rings hollow. newsguy.substack.com/p/potemkin-a...

But the Starlink hardware must be somehow acquired …

“The measure would restore funding cut by President Trump’s austerity order but at levels below recent appropriations.”

From GH's WOR mailing list: The Worlds Last Chance ministry has apparently gone bankrupt and has abandoned shortwave radio and WBCQ. The following message is now posted on wbcq.com: Superstation available One of the most powerful and versatile shortwave stations is now available for your lease...

#SWL #DXing #Shortwave Interesting

“It seems to be a notable expression of congressional dissatisfaction with the direction of the administration’s efforts to dismantle U.S. international broadcasting.”

The Office of Personnel Management is asking applicants for US military newspaper Stars and Stripes if they back Trump's policies; its EIC says he was unaware (Liam Scott/Washington Post) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

NEW >> Congressional appropriators agreed to provide $653 million to fund Voice of America’s parent agency, rejecting President Donald Trump's demand to defund the international broadcaster and shut it down. My latest for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

A bipartisan bill agrees to provide $653M to USAGM, down from $867M in 2025, but over Trump's $153M request, as part of a package needing Congressional approval (Scott Nover/Washington Post) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

The BBC files a motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit over how his January 6 speech was edited in Panorama, saying the Florida court lacks "personal jurisdiction" (Yang Tian/BBC) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

"Iran’s digital blackout has now deployed military jammers to shut down access to Starlink. ... Monitoring the sudden drop in Starlink data packets supports reports on the ground that satellite connectivity has been heavily affected." www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...

No VOA Spanish. No VOA anything to Africa. No VOA English, ceding field to RT, CGTN, Al Jazeera etc. No comprehensive news (incl US/world) in any USAGM language. Vital SW/MW relay stations, which can sidestep internet disruptions, shut down and maybe dismantled. x.com/KariLake/sta...

VOA Spanish was among the services silenced. Only Radio MartÍ remains, and while it does provide some reporting about Venezuela (and much reporting about what Trump says), Radio MartÍ is nominally intended for Cuba.

RFE/RL "resumed shortwave radio broadcasts into Iran following the imposition of an internet blackout by the Islamic Republic. Working with several commercial vendors ... Radio Farda is once again providing an alternative to state-controlled media." about.rferl.org/article/radi...

How independent Venezuelan outlets, operating from exile and in alliance with reporters who remain in the country, managed to cover Maduro's ouster (César López Linares/LatAm Journalism Review) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

Radio Canada International has had an "Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project" for years, but now it is especially relevant. www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-a...

In an alternate reality, VOA Spanish would have covered the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro comprehensively, providing context and history to 100 million audience members in Latin America. Instead, we’ve crossed over to The VOA Twilight Zone.

"People of Iran: The world still hears and sees you!" [But the people of Iran do not hear VOA Farsi or Radio Farda, because USAGM shortwave and medium wave relay transmitters in the region have been shut down by the Trump Administration.] x.com/VOAfarsi/sta...

"As authorities scramble to protect cables and build satellite-based backup systems, some citizens are turning to amateur radio as a solution." www.dw.com/en/could-ham...

We have not given up. We are fighting in court to get back to work. We want to fulfill our mandate to tell America’s story to the world through factual, balanced and comprehensive news. If you care about press freedom and American soft power, call your reps in Congress and urge them to #SaveVOA.

For VOA Farsi (Persian), which in theory Tells America's Story, this speech by Treasury Secretary Bessent to the Minnesota Economic Club is the news from Minnesota, not the incident involving the ICE agent, which goes unreported. x.com/VOAfarsi/sta...

BBC Director General Tim Davie says the broadcaster will stay on X to try to counteract a flood of global misinformation, despite pressure to leave (Michael Savage/The Guardian) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink

THIS is why shortwave radio matters!

For the past 2 days (7/ 8 January UT) for RNZ's 1650 UT DRM transmission on 11690, I noticed that while I have a very strong signal with up to a 20 db signal to noise ratio, no audio decodes, there are no scrolling headlines. I contacted Adrian Sainsbury at RNZ & he replied: 🧵1/3 @drmna.bsky.social

BREAKING: Internet access and telephone lines cut out in Iran after demonstrators joined protests called by the exiled crown prince.

I spoke to the NBC affiliate in Phoenix for its story about speculation Kari Lake, who lost two Republican-held statewide offices in Arizona, will leave DC and run for office in Iowa. www.12news.com/article/news...

Includes ... "(x) Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict; (xi) ... of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict; (xii) ... of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children;"

See also: bsky.app/profile/kaed...

With a skeletal staff and almost no resources, VOA's coverage of Venezuela is but a shadow of what we would have done had we not been effectively silenced.

"Kari Lake, the State Department official who oversaw last year’s gutting of Voice of America after losing two separate bids for political office in Arizona, recently purchased a $60,000 condo in her home community of eastern Iowa." www.ms.now/news/kari-la...

Video from March 18, 2025, just after VOA was (mostly) shut down ...

"Seventy-five years ago, Radio Free Europe started broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. ... Rachel Naylor speaks to former deputy director, Arch Puddington." www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

For all those in Afghanistan with an interest in Greenland, VOA Dari is putting a fine point on it ... x.com/VOADari/stat...

This translated VOA Chinese story provides a look at VOA journalism under the present regime. It concludes by teasing the possibility of a 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for Trump. www.voachinese.com/a/trump-comb...

While most US-focused posts on X by VOA Farsi (Persian) refer to statements by Trump and members of his administration, here is an acknowledgment of an opposition view. x.com/VOAfarsi/sta...

Today's Reliable Sources lead: Where's the MAGA-approved "new" Pentagon press corps? That's what some veteran defense and intel reporters are asking in the wake of the US attack in Venezuela... cnn.it/49qQi2A

NPR's statement on CPB's closure: "The end of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) marks the close of a defining chapter in American public media. It does not mark the end of our mission."

Stunning: Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes itself out of existence apnews.com/article/publ...

The only Spanish service USAGM has is Radio Martí and martinoticias.com, nominally directed to Cuba. Except for statements by Chavista and Cuban leaders, its report cites praise for Trump's action -- including a tweet from the Trump-appointed head of USAGM. www.martinoticias.com/a/explosione...

"VOA's programs will increase, the Kurdish section will reopen, the Afghan section will be strengthened ... "we will have more live programs, more hours ... Soon, official VOA recruitment will be announced ... "we will carry out the U.S. government's policy regarding Iran." x.com/VOAfarsi/sta...

Today's home pages of VOA Persian (one of five surviving VOA language services), RFE/RL's Radio Farda, and BBC Persian, translated to English ...