Trump announces Kari Lake as director of the Voice of America

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Arizona television host and politician Kari Lake as the next director of the government-funded international media outlet, Voice of America.

“I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will be our next director of the Voice of America,” Trump wrote Wednesday night on his Truth Social network.

The former president, who will return to the White House for a second term on January 20, also announced that he will soon report on his election for the new leadership of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which in turn will appoint Lake.

USAGM oversees the VOAthe Cuban Broadcasting Office, as well as the stations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and the Open Technology Fund.

Lake “will work closely with him (new USAGM leader) to ensure that American values ​​of freedom and autonomy are conveyed around the world FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the fake news media,” Trump stated.

Kari Lake was a news anchor in Phoenix for nearly three decades until she left her position in 2021 to pursue a career in politics, running as a Republican candidate for governor of Arizona and then for the US Senate. .

The Voice of America is an international broadcast media network funded by the US federal government. Founded during World War II to offer reliable information to communities outside the United States, it remains the largest and oldest international media in the country.

Every day, the VOA produces digital, television and radio content in 48 languages, which it distributes to affiliate stations around the world. Its audience across all its platforms is made up of hundreds of millions of people on all continents.

In a communication to the workers of the VOAthe current director, Michael Abramowitz, assured that he is in favor of “a smooth transition of power, both for USAGM and for VOA”

“I intend to cooperate with the new administration and follow the process established by Congress for the appointment of the VOA Director,” Abramowitz said.

A 2020 law restructured the agency’s administration

USAGM’s CEO has the power to hire or fire service chiefs, but under a bipartisan bill passed in December 2020, service chief changes require a majority vote of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board .

The board is made up of six members appointed by the president who serve staggered terms, in addition to the secretary of state. Their role is to advise the chief executive to ensure that editorial independence and the integrity of services and beneficiaries are respected, and that the highest standards of journalism are maintained.

In a post on social media platform VOA. He said it is a “vital international means of communication” that promotes “democracy and truth.”

“Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: to record America’s achievements around the world.” VOA attempted to contact Lake for comment through the media section of his campaign website, but had not received a response as of press time.

VOA broadcasts to a weekly audience of 354 million people in 49 languages. Its current director, Abramowitz, is the former president of Freedom House and was a reporter and editor for the Washington Post for 24 years.

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