NEW YORK – The Trump administration, which has fought to dismantle or hollow out government-run outlets that provide news to other countries, has agreed to use the conservative media network OAN’s feed on Voice of America and other services.
Voice of America hasn’t operated since mid-March because of funding cuts ordered by President Donald Trump, who has criticized it and similar services like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as promoting a news agenda with a liberal bias.
That has triggered court fights that are still unresolved. But Kari Lake, Trump’s representative at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the funding arm for these services, said she had reached out to OAN, which has offered to provide its news and video free of charge.
In an announcement, Lake called it “an enormous benefit to the American taxpayer.” She said she initially reached out to OAN at the suggestion of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. It was unclear on Wednesday how or when the OAN material will be used.
The One America News Network is pro-Trump in its outlook. Recently, the network promoted an “investigation” of Trump’s early days in office, titled “100 Golden Days.” Its White House correspondent, Daniel Baldwin, said that “President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of American prosperity in just 100 days — the closed border, inflation eradicated, women protected, investments galore.”
Baldwin has also endeared himself to the president through questions asked at press availabilities. In one Oval Office meeting, Baldwin said that previous American leaders lacked the conviction to begin talks with Russia. “What gave you the moral courage and conviction to step forward and lead that?” he asked Trump.
“Oh, I love this guy!” Trump said.
How OAN is used on Voice of America is in VOA’s hands, Charles Herring, OAN’s president, told The Associated Press. “We simply wished to help when asked,” he said.
Shortly before stopping operations in mid-March, Voice of America canceled contracts with news services like the AP, Reuters and AFP. By law, VOA is obligated to provide a balanced news diet to countries where it operates, said Steve Herman, former long-time correspondent there. Lake’s Agency for Global Media is also not supposed to dictate its content, he said.
“VOA is not to be the voice of left America nor the voice of right America,” Herman said.
In a message on social media, Lake acknowledged that she doesn’t have editorial control over what is aired on Voice of America. “But,” she said, “I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.”
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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
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