President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Arizona politician and journalist Kari Lake to head the government-funded international news broadcaster Voice of America.
Trump shared the appointment to Truth Social on Wednesday. Lake will serve under the next U.S. Head for Global Media, who Trump has yet to announce. In her role, Lake will “ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by Fake News Media,” Trump said in his post.
A prominent Trump supporter, Lake failed in runs for Arizona governor in 2022 and U.S. Senate this November. Lake has routinely displayed hostility toward media. During a 2022 campaign stop, she called reporters “monsters” and she has urged Americans to ignore “fake news.” Lake has regularly participated in conservative talk shows, including in the weeks following the November General Election.
Sharing the news on her own X profile, Lake thanked Trump for putting his trust in her.
“Under my leadership, the VOA will excel in its mission: chronicling America’s achievements worldwide,” Lake said in her post.
Here’s what to know about Voice of America.
Kari Lake called reporters ‘monsters’:Now she’ll lead Voice of America for Donald Trump
According to its website, Voice of America, or VOA, is the largest United States international broadcaster, providing news in 50 languages to more than 354 million people. The broadcaster produces digital, television and radio content.
Voice of America is a part of the United States Agency for Global Media, a government agency that oversees all non-military, international broadcasting. The U.S. Agency for Global Media is funded by Congress.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Voice of America − then, the United States Foreign Information Service − in 1941, according to the Voice of America website. Screenwriter Robert Sherwood was named the first director and initially lead a group of journalists in New York City. In the beginning, the Foreign Information Service produced material for distribution by shortwave radio station in Europe.
Roosevelt established the Foreign Information Service after several other countries had already well-established international news broadcasters. The Netherlands was the first country to direct radio news broadcasts internationally, starting in 1927, according to the Voice of America website.
On Feb. 1, 1942, the Foreign Information Service broadcast its first production to Europe via BBC transmitters. According to the Voice of America website, announcer William Harlan Hale opened the first German-language program from the service.
“We bring you Voices from America,” Hale said, per the Voice of America website. “Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad. But we shall tell you the truth.”
Despite being maintained by the government, a “firewall” established in the 1994 U.S. International Broadcasting Act prohibits government officials to interfere with Voice of America’s “objective, independent” reporting, according to the Voice of America website.
“The firewall ensures that VOA can make the final decisions on what stories to cover, and how they are covered,” the website reads.
Michael Abramowitz has been Voice of America’s director since June. Ahead of his appointment, he was the president of Freedom House, a political advocacy nonprofit in Washington, D.C. And for about 25 years before that, Abramowitz was a reporter at The Washington Post.
Contributing: Ronald J. Hansen, USA TODAY Network
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.
