David Folkenflik

Of all the disruptions unleashed by the Trump White House on how the federal government typically works, the saga of one small project, called the Open Technology Fund, stands out. The fantastical tale incorporates the spiritual movement Falun Gong, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, the daughter of a late liberal congressman and a zealous appointee of former President Donald Trump.

Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad - including the Voice of America - appears to be coming to a close. Yet President Donald Trump's appointee has sparked an internal outcry by taking bold steps to try to cement his control over at least two of the networks and to shape the course of their journalism well into the Biden administration. Pack, the CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, also serves as chairman of the boards of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

The Trump appointee who runs the government's overseas broadcasters reassigned the head of the Voice of America as part of a broad effort to install supporters of the president before the Biden administration comes to power. US Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack is intending to name as VOA director Robert Reilly, an outspoken conservative ally who briefly served in the job under President George W. Bush nearly two decades ago. Pack informed acting director Elez Biberaj of his ouster at his routinely scheduled noon meeting.

The chief executive over the Voice of America and its sister networks has acted unconstitutionally in investigating what he claimed was a deep-seated bias against President Trump by his own journalists, Chief US District Judge for the District of Columbia Beryl Howell has ruled. Citing the journalists' First Amendment protections, Judge Howell ordered US Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack to stop interfering in the news service's news coverage and editorial personnel matters.

A regulatory "firewall" intended to protect Voice of America and its affiliated newsrooms from political interference in their journalism was swept aside by Michael Pack, a Trump appointee who assumed leadership of the US Agency for Global Media in June.

A group of veteran journalists for the Voice of America delivered a letter of protest Aug 31 denouncing their parent agency's new CEO, Michael Pack, and alleging Pack's remarks in a recent interview prove he has a damaging agenda for the international broadcasters he oversees. Pack's comments and decisions "endanger the personal security of VOA reporters at home and abroad, as well as threatening to harm U.S. national security objectives," the letter to VOA Acting Director Elez Biberaj read.

Dozens of foreign nationals working as journalists in the US for Voice of America, the federal government's international broadcaster, will not have their visas extended once they expire. Michael Pack, the new CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, signaled he will not approve the visa extensions. The foreign journalists are particularly valued for their language skills, which are crucial to VOA's mission as an international broadcaster.

New US Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack swept into office like a man on a mission, firing the top executives and advisory boards of federally funded international broadcasters.

One of the nation's oldest and most prestigious regional newspapers, The Chicago Tribune, could soon have a unionized staff. On April 11, journalists from its newsroom informed management that they are preparing to organize and that they have collected signatures from dozens of colleagues. This is a historic move at a paper that, for decades, had taken a hard-line stance against unions.

The Trump era has opened with the promise of a White House foothold for media mogul Rupert Murdoch. It looks to be the kind of warm and solicitous reception in the corridors of presidential power that he has long enjoyed abroad. Murdoch has told close associates that the nation's 45th president calls to confer frequently — as often as multiple times a week — and that he has visited the White House to meet with President Trump more than once. The rapport forged by Murdoch and President Trump may prove handy for both men. Murdoch's news outlets often shine a favorable light on the new president; meanwhile, his media properties have many interests pending before the federal government.

Several examples:
1) Murdoch wants the planned acquisition of the rival entertainment conglomerate Time Warner by telecommunications giant AT&T tempered by federal regulators or lawyers, if not killed. (President Trump has denounced the deal but major government intervention currently appears unlikely.) New York magazine reported that Murdoch advised President Trump ahead of his selection of the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai.
2) Murdoch, who has long had his eye on the Los Angeles Times, would like federal regulators to ease or lift restrictions that prevent the owners of television stations acquiring major newspapers in the same big city.
3) Federal prosecutors in New York City are investigating Fox News over whether it broke securities laws by masking payments to women who had alleged sexual harassment by former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes and others at the network. Executives at parent company 21st Century Fox say they are cooperating with the investigation.