Episode 24 Global Motherhood: The Stories and People that Shape Us

With all of the cuts to public broadcasting in general and to the voice of America specifically, what do you think or what are you seeing

now that's different? It's a good question.

I'm going to back up a little bit and say, yes, absolutely, working with local journalists was essential when I was in the field, when I was still a reporter, writer, editor, producer.

I eventually, when we moved back to the United States, I got a job as an editor and program manager, which meant, so in my position as chief of the English to Africa service in Washington, D.C., I managed a team of 48 journalists in Washington.

They were writers, editors, producers, hosts of programs everywhere.

et cetera.

But we also had a network of reporters on the continent and all 54 countries of Africa.

We covered all 54 countries.

And so we had a network of local reporters.

And so then it was my job to manage the programming, the radio, the television, and the digital programming that we put out 24-7 about Africa, but to look after our teams, not only in Washington, but also in the field.

So there were times when I had to evacuate reporters, for example, from South Sudan during a particularly dangerous time when they were targeted.

And I managed that from Washington, but it was essential and I didn't want to wait for there to be a tragedy.

Now, you know, with my different sort of manager hat on, you know, I was trying to ensure that we had the resources for our reporters, make sure that they were safe and that we were getting good, you know, essential news out quickly and accurately to our audiences.

And we grew our audience in English to Africa from 6 million to 25 million over the course of that period.

And, you know, we were all very proud of that.

But on March 15th, 2025.

And this is where I'm headed.

My

friend, I want to, I want to make sure listeners understand that the Voice of America was not a sinking ship in March 2025, when you and so many others were let go from the organization.

So the Voice of America on March 15 2025.

We had an audience of around 360 million people worldwide, in 49 languages.

And it was growing.

But on that day, we got notice that this administration, the president had signed an executive order to reduce VOA to its statutory minimum.

That still remains unclear and there's some legal cases underway to adjudicate this.

But in practical terms, the new management at the US Agency for Global Media, which is the parent agency for Voice of America and others, began to shut down operations.

With all of the cuts to public broadcasting in general and to the voice of America specifically, what do you think or what are you seeing

now that's different? It's a good question.

I'm going to back up a little bit and say, yes, absolutely, working with local journalists was essential when I was in the field, when I was still a reporter, writer, editor, producer.

I eventually, when we moved back to the United States, I got a job as an editor and program manager, which meant, so in my position as chief of the English to Africa service in Washington, D.C., I managed a team of 48 journalists in Washington.

They were writers, editors, producers, hosts of programs everywhere.

et cetera.

But we also had a network of reporters on the continent and all 54 countries of Africa.

We covered all 54 countries.

And so we had a network of local reporters.

And so then it was my job to manage the programming, the radio, the television, and the digital programming that we put out 24-7 about Africa, but to look after our teams, not only in Washington, but also in the field.

So there were times when I had to evacuate reporters, for example, from South Sudan during a particularly dangerous time when they were targeted.

And I managed that from Washington, but it was essential and I didn't want to wait for there to be a tragedy.

Now, you know, with my different sort of manager hat on, you know, I was trying to ensure that we had the resources for our reporters, make sure that they were safe and that we were getting good, you know, essential news out quickly and accurately to our audiences.

And we grew our audience in English to Africa from 6 million to 25 million over the course of that period.

And, you know, we were all very proud of that.

But on March 15th, 2025.

And this is where I'm headed.

My

friend, I want to, I want to make sure listeners understand that the Voice of America was not a sinking ship in March 2025, when you and so many others were let go from the organization.

So the Voice of America on March 15 2025.

We had an audience of around 360 million people worldwide, in 49 languages.

And it was growing.

But on that day, we got notice that this administration, the president had signed an executive order to reduce VOA to its statutory minimum.

That still remains unclear and there's some legal cases underway to adjudicate this.

But in practical terms, the new management at the US Agency for Global Media, which is the parent agency for Voice of America and others, began to shut down operations.