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New US Global Media Chief Fires Agency Heads in Major Reshuffle

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - The new chief of U.S.-funded international broadcasting on
   Wednesday fired the heads of at least three outlets he oversees and
   replaced their boards with allies, in a move likely to raise fears that
   he intends to turn the Voice of America and its sister outlets into
   Trump administration propaganda machines.

   U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack informed those he
   dismissed in email notices sent late Wednesday, just hours after he had
   sought to play down those concerns in an email to staff saying he is
   committed to ensuring the independence of the broadcasters who are
   charged with delivering independent news and information to audiences
   around the world.

   Two congressional aides said that among those removed from their
   positions were the head of Radio Free Asia, Bay Fang; the head of Radio
   Liberty/Radio Free Europe, Jamie Fly; and the head of the Middle East
   Broadcasting Network, Alberto Fernandez. The director and deputy
   director of the Voice of America, Amanda Bennett and Sandy Sugawara,
   had resigned from their positions on Monday.

   Pack, a conservative filmmaker and one-time associate of President
   Donald Trump's former political adviser Steve Bannon, said in notices
   to those fired that he was taking the step consistent with his
   authority as the new CEO of the overall agency. It gave no reason for
   his decision.

   He added in the notices that he expected the agency's new board of
   directors, chaired by himself, to approve the decision. In a separate
   message, Pack also announced that he had removed all the current
   members of the broadcasters' respective boards and installed his own
   team, with officials from various agencies, including the Office of
   Management and Budget and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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