The contentious confirmation of Michael Pack as CEO and Director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) by the Senate in June marked the beginning of a swift downturn in the character of the U.S. international media. During Pack’s five-month tenure as USAGM head, partisan policies have shifted the priorities of the USAGM and diminished the accessibility and objectivity of U.S. state-sponsored media.

The USAGM, which houses the Voice of America (VOA) network, Radio Free Europe, and several other widely accessible international outlets, has an estimated weekly reach exceeding 300 million, and its programming penetrates some of the most heavily censored states around the world. Pack, a conservative political filmmaker, is sufficiently qualified for the position on paper; however, his strong partisan leanings— coupled with Trump’s criticisms of VOA just a month before the Senate confirmation hearing— indicated that Pack’s agenda as CEO of the media network was troubled from the start.

Less than two weeks after his confirmation, Pack targeted the Open Technology Fund (OTF), an independent nonprofit and the leading source of funding for media assistance in foreign states, which is sustained by annual grants from USAGM. The OTF’s bipartisan board of directors was replaced by representatives from a number of bureaucratic offices (as well as members of the right-wing advocacy group Liberty Council Action), and the fund’s approximately $20 million in Congressionally-mandated grants was frozen under Pack’s direction.  

The OTF provides technology that supports individuals and activist groups living under authoritarian regimes, helping to circumvent censorship by the government and provide access to international media, including USAGM’s outlets. Earlier this year, OTF projects provided critical support for pro-democracy groups in Belarus, Hong Kong, and Iran before its grant was frozen. The OTF represents an effective tool for fighting censorship and disinformation in authoritarian states, and has reported that over 2 billion people around the world routinely utilize OTF-funded technology. 

In June, Pack refused to renew the visas of several dozen international VOA journalists, suggesting that the reporters could be spies for foreign intelligence agencies. Among them included journalists from authoritarian states where VOA content is one of the few sources of accessible international media—namely, Venezuela, China, Russia, and Iran. Journalists also feared persecution by their governments upon their return as a result of their contributions to the U.S. media. Pack’s skepticism of international journalists has mirrored the Trump administration’s hostility toward the media. The impact of these choices has been a significant decrease in the content produced by VOA’s foreign language service, as well as a successful lawsuit against Pack by five former VOA journalists for indiscriminate firings and a breach of the network’s own “editorial firewall”.

Shortly into his tenure, Pack also announced the “revitalization” of VOA’s editorial format on all of its regional outlets, which had previously served as a channel for communicating the U.S. government’s official positions on domestic and international policies. Editorials are now available in various multimedia formats, including audiocasts and videos. Under VOA’s new direction, however, the revised editorials serve not only to communicate positions on policy, but also to “express the foundational American principles and values in which policies are grounded,” according to Pack in a June press release. Under the guise of “revitalization”, many editorials have shifted to outward criticism of U.S. rivals like China, Russia, and Iran. 

President-elect Joe Biden has already vowed to have Pack replaced as USAGM head. In addition, Congress should move to restore, if not expand, funding for the OTF in order to continue its work supporting democratic movements and oppressed populations worldwide. The USAGM should also restore the OTF’s bipartisan board of directors, and reinstate editors and supervisors responsible for ensuring editorial standards and independence at VOA and all other networks.