VOA, Other International News Services, Marked for Cuts

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The US Agency for Global Media has been marked for defunding. Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and Radio Marti are among the international news services that the White House says it is preparing to dismantle. Kent Peterson KCØDGY gives us the details.

Voice of America, a shortwave service launched in 1942 during the Second World to bring news to countries under authoritarian control, is among US-based news programming for overseas audiences targeted in a deep cut by the Trump administration. According to various media reports, VOA employees have been notified that they were all being placed on paid administrative leave with full benefits - effective immediately.

“to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy”
— The Agency for Global Media's mission statement

Cuts to VOA, as well as Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Radio Marti and others are the result of reductions taking place inside the US Agency for Global Media, where these programs originate. These cuts are part of the ongoing downsizing of the US government. The agency operates with congressional funding to deliver news in 64 languages to listeners around the world via six networks, some of which were created during the Cold War. VOA’s first broadcast, made in 1942, was in German and was transmitted to German listeners to counter Nazi propaganda.

On Friday the 15th of March, Trump signed the executive order for the cuts, noting in the language of the order itself that the services earmarked for reduction have been deemed “unnecessary.”

Questions Loom After Cuts at United States Weather Agency

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Questions Loom After Cuts at United States Weather Agency

With the Atlantic hurricane season on the horizon, ongoing job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, are throwing the agency's future into question among forecasters, scientists, SKYWARN spotters and other hams responding to weather disasters around the nation.

Published reports about the downsizing of a number of US federal agencies indicate that NOAA, the government's climate and weather agency, is bracing for another 1,000 job cuts on top of its recent loss of an estimated 1,300 staffers. The National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, announced earlier this month that it was temporarily halting launches of some of its weather balloons because of staffing shortages. Data gathered by the weather balloons have been, among other things, an important source of data used by hams and others who regularly track the solar cycle.

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FCC Seeks Public Suggestions On Possible Deregulation

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The FCC is looking for public input on what rules, regulations or other forms of guidance should be eliminated as part of the commission's efforts at deregulation. A public notice has set a deadline of Friday 11th April 2025 for initial comments. Reply comments are due by Monday, 28th April 2025. The commission is hoping to hear recommendations based on changes in technology and the market, cost-benefit considerations and regulations that are a barrier to entry in the communications marketplace. All filings must reference Docket Number 25-133. On its website, the FCC refers to the document as the "Delete, Delete, Delete" docket.