VOA nears its mic-drop moment

Termination notices are expected to go out to all remaining Voice of America employees this week, Politico reported on Wednesday, likely marking the end for a media broadcaster founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda.

The termination notices would affect the 800 remaining workers at the agency, which operates in nearly 50 languages and broadcasts to authoritarian regimes, Politico reported, citing four VOA employees familiar with the matter.

VOA has been on the chopping block since March, when President Donald Trump ordered the gutting of the government-funded media outlet’s parent, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), along with six other federal agencies.

Earlier this month, nearly 600 VOA contractors were dismissed, leaving the roughly 800 remaining workers. Prior to the cuts, VOA reached 360 million people a week, many living under authoritarian regimes.