NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0In a strongly worded decision this week, a federal judge ordered that the Voice of America \u2014 an international broadcaster with the mission to provide news for countries around the world that was largely shut down for the last year by the Trump administration \u2014 come roaring back to life.<\/p>\n
Whether or not that actually happens is uncertain. <\/p>\n
The government filed notice Thursday to appeal U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth\u2019s order two days earlier to put hundreds of VOA employees who have been on paid leave the last year back to work. Lamberth had ruled on March 7 that Kari Lake, President Trump\u2019s choice to oversee the bureaucratic parent U.S. Agency for Global Media, didn\u2019t have the authority to reduce VOA to a skeleton.<\/p>\n
The Voice of America was established as a news source in World War II, beaming reports to many countries that had no tradition of a free press. Before Trump took office again last year, Voice of America was operating in 49 different languages, heard by an estimated 362 million people.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s team contended that government-run news sources, which also include Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, were an example of bloated government and that it wanted news reporting more favorable to the current administration. With a greatly reduced staff, VOA currently operates in Iran, Afghanistan, China, North Korea and in countries with a large population of Kurds.<\/p>\n
Lamberth, in his decision, said Lake had \u201crepeatedly thumbed her nose\u201d at laws mandating VOA\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n
Time to turn the page at VOA?<\/p>\n
VOA director Michael Abramowitz said legislators in both parties understand the need for a strong operation and have set aside enough funding for the job to be done. \u201cIt is time for all parties to come together and work to rebuild and strengthen the agency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t expect that to happen soon. \u201cPresident Trump was elected to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse across the administration, including the Voice of America \u2014 and efforts to improve efficiency at USAGM have been a tremendous success,\u201d said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. \u201cThis will not be the final say on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA\u2019s White House bureau chief and a plaintiff in the lawsuit to bring it back, said that \u201crestoring the physical infrastructure is going to take a lot of money and some time, but it can be done. What is more difficult is recovering from the trauma that our newsroom has gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an open question whether the administration wants a real news organization or a mouthpiece, said David Ensor, a former Voice of America director between 2010 and 2014. \u201cWe don\u2019t know \u2014 maybe no one does at the moment \u2014 what the future holds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n