New York, April 2, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) filed three amicus briefs on Friday, March 28, responding to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and freeze congressionally-appropriated funds to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA).
The amicus briefs assert that allowing the Trump administration’s March 14 executive order to take effect would destroy RFE/RL and VOA’s editorial independence, with grave implications for these organizations’ mission and the safety of their journalists. Under U.S. law, the editorial operations of USAGM entities are protected from political interference to ensure editorial independence.
“For generations, VOA and RFE/RL have delivered reporting that broke the stranglehold of propaganda in closed societies. In doing so, their journalists have empowered millions of people across the world with the facts,” said CPJ Chief Global Affairs Officer Gypsy Guillén Kaiser. “By dismantling USAGM, the U.S. government is weakening the critical role of a free media and causing greater risk to journalists who have already paid a high price for reporting the facts.”
CPJ’s research shows that RFE/RL and VOA journalists often put themselves at risk by reporting in highly censored countries.
CPJ has documented at least nine journalists and media workers who worked for or contributed to VOA or its regional outlets who have been killed in connection with their work since 2003.
Another nine have been imprisoned over the same period, with two currently in prison: Sithu Aung Myint, a freelancer serving a prison term in Myanmar for sedition, and Pham Chi Dung, the founding chairman of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam and a freelance contributor to VOA.
CPJ reporting found that at least 13 journalists and media workers who worked for or contributed to RFE/RL or its regional outlets have been killed in connection with their work since 2000.
At present, four journalists who work for or contribute to RFE/RL or its regional outlets are in prison. Over the last 20 years, 18 journalists and media workers who worked for or contributed to RFE/RL or its regional outlets have been imprisoned, including CPJ 2024 International Press Freedom Awardee Alsu Kurmasheva.
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About the Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
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