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Radio Free Asia says it is shutting down its news operations on Friday because its financial situation has become dire due to the US government shutdown. trump The administration’s moves against government-funded news services.
Since 1996, Radio Free Asia has been an independent news source working online and on broadcast throughout the region, especially in areas where the free flow of information is suppressed.
It has been operating with a reduced staff for the past few months, primarily producing a few stories online as the administration has tried to cut off its funding. Trump’s team has argued that operations such as RFA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and voice of america Poorly run and a waste of government resources.
“In an effort to preserve limited resources and the possibility of resuming operations if continued funding becomes available, RFA is taking further steps to responsibly reduce its already reduced footprint,” said Bei Fang, president of RFA. ceo,
Radio Free Asia will begin closing foreign bureaus, laying off staff and paying employees, most of whom have been on unpaid leave since last March, Fang said.
With its own journalists and contractors in Asia, RFA has aggressively reported on stories that some governments don’t want to see – the suppression of Uyghur In China, in Myanmar after the 2021 military coup and the plight of defectors in North Korea. The outlet was growing; Visitors to its website increased by 20% between 2023 and 2024.
RFE/Radio Liberty, a government-funded private corporation similar to RFE, said its own news services remain operational, “and we plan to continue reaching our audiences for the foreseeable future,” the organization said this week. It operates in Eastern Europe, Central Asia And Middle East. Seva had launched its own case against the administration.
RFE/Radio Liberty says it received its last federal funding in September. It is operating on reserves, and has taken cost-cutting steps such as cutting contracts with freelancers, reducing programming, and placing some staff members on partially paid leave.
It was not immediately clear why the two organizations, with essentially the same structure, were taking different approaches to continuing their operations at this point.
Voice of America, which focused on providing news about the United States to audiences in other countries, was operating on a very limited basis after its funding was cut and essentially closed due to the government shutdown. Some employees have filed lawsuits to block the administration’s plans.
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Associated Press writers Didi Tang and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. David Bodmer writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social