Voice of America was founded in 1942. It provides pivotal news and information in nearly 50 languages and reaches a weekly audience of more than 354 million people across the world through digital, television, and radio platforms.

Its purpose, as stated on its website, is to provide “comprehensive coverage of the news and telling audiences the truth. Through World War II, the Cold War, the fight against global terrorism, and the struggle for freedom around the globe today, VOA exemplifies the principles of a free press.”

But, sadly and alarmingly, Voice of America is being silenced by President Donald Trump and his administration. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that called for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA, to eliminate all activities to “the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The Agency for Global Media also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

Michael Abramowitz, the director of VOA, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that he was placed on leave, along with “virtually the entire staff” of 1,300. The New York Times’ David French reported that “hundreds of journalists, executives and other employees at the organization’s headquarters in Washington were informed that they were being put on paid leave. Employees said they quickly lost access to their work email and other communications programs.”

While some stations that carried VOA content went dark or began playing music, another troubling trend began. As French noted, “In other cases, radio, television and digital outlets that used Voice of America programming will remain online but without contributions from the United States. Some of those affiliates also carry content provided by state media from countries like Russia and China, which Voice of America’s programming had, in effect, countered.”

Grant Turner, the former chief financial officer at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told NPR’s David Folkenflik that it was “Bloody Saturday” for the agency and its networks, adding, “USAGM networks share important news, information and American values around the world. It took decades to build this goodwill and an audience of hundreds of millions every week. Seeing arsonists just set fire to it all is awful.”

VOA seemed to be in trouble from the moment Trump took office. He had complained about VOA during his first presidency over such things as COVID-19 reporting and what he felt was anti-Trump coverage. Back in the White House for the second time, Trump named Republican Kari Lake, a former news anchor who lost races for both Arizona governor and U.S. Senate, to lead the agency. There were reports that an internal White House memo said VOA’s mission should be to “clearly and effectively present the policies of the Trump Administration around the world.”

But simply carrying out the mission of a president is not real media. In fact, that would be the kind of state-run media that you see in dictatorships.

Yet, in an incredibly brazen comment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told USA Today, “American taxpayers should not be funding anti-American propaganda in the name of journalism.”

Anti-American propaganda? Seriously?

The Washington Post’s Sarah Ellison, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Aaron Schaffer wrote, “Trump and his allies have attacked the federally run news outlet in the same way they have criticized mainstream media generally, accusing its journalists of publishing unfair and inaccurate reports. The outlet has also devoted significant attention to covering antidemocratic regimes, such as those in Russia and Hungary, that Trump regularly admires. It is another chilling sign of Trump’s desire to upend the United States’ relationship with the world, press freedom advocates say — and to eliminate the flow of information he doesn’t like.”

Consider Lake one of those allies. Her post on X on Sunday supported the work of Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, which she wrote, “are here to do a job: root-out fraud, waste, and abuse and reduce the size & scope of the federal government.” She put out a video, too, talking about cutting costs, including a building Washington, D.C., office building lease which she called “a colossal waste of money.”

This is a sad moment for a country long known for championing press freedom and valuing an independent press to report the truth.

As Abramowitz wrote in his Facebook post, “I am deeply saddened that for the 1st time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced. VOA needs thoughtful reform and we have made progress in that regard. But today’s action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission.”

He added, “VOA promotes freedom and democracy around the world by telling America’s story and by providing objective and balanced news and information, especially for those living under tyranny.”

Pro-Trump network settles lawsuit with voting tech company

Newsmax, the pro-Trump network, settled its lawsuit with Smartmatic by agreeing to pay $40 million to the voting technology company following coverage of the 2020 presidential election. The suit was actually settled last September, but the final dollar amount wasn’t learned until last week when Newsmax revealed the number in a public filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Smartmatic sued Newsmax, Fox News and One America News. It said the networks falsely claimed that their voting machines rigged the election in favor of Joe Biden over Trump.

Smartmatic also reached an agreement with One America News for an unknown sum. The suit against Fox News, for $2.7 billion, is ongoing.

You might remember that Fox News settled a similar case with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 by writing a check for — this number is still hard to believe — $787 million. However, Fox News continues to fight the suit by Smartmatic and, thus far, has denied any wrongdoing and is standing behind its coverage.

A Fox News spokeperson said in a statement, “Since Smartmatic filed this suit, we have provided expert financial evidence that their damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and intended to chill First Amendment freedoms. This reality has only been exacerbated over the last several months as Smartmatic’s executives have been indicted for bribery, among other findings. We are eager and ready to defend our case that we covered extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial.”

In reaction to the Newsmax settlement, Smartmatic’s lead attorney Erik Connolly said in a statement, “We are now focused on our litigation against Fox News for defaming Smartmatic and knowingly lying to their viewers about Smartmatic’s role in the 2020 election. We look forward to presenting our evidence to a jury and finally having the opportunity to hold Fox accountable for its harmful actions.”

Exchange of the day

CBS News “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan continues to be among the best in the business, and showed it again Sunday when she pushed back hard in an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Brennan asked Rubio about former Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and whose green card was revoked over his involvement in demonstrations at Columbia.

Brennan asked Rubio, “Can you substantiate any form of material support for terrorism, specifically to Hamas, from this Columbia student? Or was it simply that he was espousing a controversial political point of view?”

Rubio went on to say, “When you apply to enter the United States and you get a visa, you are a guest. And in it, you have to make certain assertions. And if you tell us, when you apply for a visa, I’m coming to the U.S. to participate in pro-Hamas events, that runs counter to the foreign policy interest of the United States of America. It’s that simple.”

Rubio said that if someone said they were coming to the U.S. to engage in those activities, they wouldn’t get a visa. And if someone did come to the U.S. and engaged in those things, then they lied on their application. He added, “So, you lied to us. You’re out. It’s that simple. It’s that straightforward.”

But Brennan smartly asked, “But is there any evidence of a link to terrorism, or is it just his point of view?”

Rubio snapped back, “Yeah, they take over, I mean — do you not, I mean, you should watch the news. These guys take over entire buildings. They vandalize colleges. They shut down colleges.”

Brennan came back with a smart and accurate response: “We covered it intensely.”

Meanwhile, on his HBO “Real Time” show, Bill Maher talked about Khalil and said, “I don’t agree with his point of view, but you know what? If you’re an honest person, you have to defend him if you believe in free speech, because that’s what free speech means. I say it all the time when it’s on the other foot, and I can’t change because it’s now this guy. It’s defending the dirtbags you hate.”

A poll about DOGE

A poll released by NBC News over the weekend shows that many voters like the idea of DOGE — Elon Musk’s agency looking to cut government waste and increase efficiency. But that same poll shows voters just don’t like the way it’s being done.

When asked about DOGE, 46% said it’s a good idea, compared to 40% who say it’s a bad idea. (14% have no opinion or aren’t sure.)

“However,” NBC News’ Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar write, “when voters are asked more broadly to rate their feelings toward DOGE, the findings flip: 41% say they hold positive views of the effort and 47% hold negative views. And Musk himself is unpopular, with 51% holding negative views of the tech mogul and 39% viewing him positively.”

From sacks to suits

In a photo from last year, former NFL players from the New York Jets, known as the Sack Exchange: from left to right, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, Abdul Salaam and Mark Gastineau. (Joe Buglewicz/AP Content Services for the NFL)

A former NFL player is suing a bunch of people over something seen in one of ESPN’s recent “30 for 30” films.

First, some background: New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau used to hold the record for most quarterback sacks in a season. He had 22 in 1984. But in 2001, Michael Strahan broke that record with 22 and a half while playing for the New York Giants. (Yes, it’s the same Strahan who is now a co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America.”) But what was always a little suspicious about Strahan’s record is that the record-breaking sack came against Green Bay legend Brett Favre, who some argue purposefully laid down for Strahan, allowing him to get the record.

Recently, ESPN aired a “30 for 30” about Gastineau and his Jets teammates, who were known as the “New York Sack Exchange.” In the film, Gastineau was shown confronting Favre in 2023 at a sports memorabilia event. In the exchange, Gastineau angrily tells Favre, “I’m going to get my sack back, dude.”

Favre said, “You probably would hurt me.”

“Well, I don’t care,” Gastineau says. “You hurt me. You hurt me! You hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Favre says.

“You really hurt me. You hurt me, Brett,” Gastineau said before Favre was led away.

At the beginning of the exchange, Favre extended his hand for a handshake, but Gastineau did not return it. Gastineau claims the two did shake hands but that it “intentionally and maliciously” left out of the film.

Gastineau is suing ESPN, NFL, NFL Films and “30 for 30” co-directors James Weiner and Ken Rodgers over the moment. He wants $25 million. According to The Athletic’s Jayna Bardahl, “The lawsuit acknowledges Gastineau entered into a ‘talent agreement’ with ESPN in January 2024 in which Gastineau was to be paid $10,000. The lawsuit claims the defendants breached that agreement with the ‘unauthorized use’ of the exchange with Favre. The lawsuit claims the defendants ‘misused and misappropriated’ footage of the exchange and ‘brazenly continues to exploit the Plaintiff, Mark Gastineau, image for commercial gain.’”

ESPN did not comment to Bardahl, who has more details about the interesting moment caught on film. Oh, by the way, Strahan’s record has since been tied by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt in 2021 — two years before the Gastineau-Favre exchange at the card store.

Media tidbits

• The New York Times’ Shawn McCreesh with “At Gridiron Dinner, Jokes About Trump, Musk and Russia Abound.”
• Deadline’s Ted Johnson with “Fox News’ Benjamin Hall On Ukraine’s Desire For Peace, His Resilience In Recovery And How His Trauma Made Him A Better Reporter.”
• The Los Angeles Times’ Melissa Gomez with “K.W. Lee, known as the ‘godfather of Asian American journalism,’ dies.”

Hot type

• For Politico Magazine, Michael Hirsh with “‘Beyond My Wildest Dreams’: The Architect of Project 2025 Is Ready for His Victory Lap.”
• “CBS News Sunday Morning” and contributor Faith Salie profiled the former “Succession” star now starring on Broadway in “Sarah Snook on her multifaceted performance in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray.’” And here’s an extended interview with Snook.
• It’s March Madness time! Here’s ESPN’s Myron Medcalf with “Men’s March Madness 2025 bracket: Get to know all 68 teams.” And here’s ESPN’s breakdown of the women’s tournament.

More resources for journalists

• This Poynter Leadership Academy is our flagship workshop for experienced managers and leaders. Apply by March 24.
• Gain a deeper understanding of Immigration policy with Poynter’s Beat Academy training. Enroll now.
• Learn the Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism. Enroll now.
• Turn your reporting into a compelling non-fiction book concept. Apply by April 25.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Fox News about the lawsuit involving Smartmatic.

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