Broadcasting Board of Governors Employees Fear Breitbartization of Its Media Outlets

Employees at the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a US government-supported international media arm, are sounding alarm bells of a “coup attempt” behind closed doors to install new leaders allied with Steve Bannon, the right-wing firebrand and former White House strategist. André Mendes, a longtime BBG official, and Jeffrey Shapiro, a former Breitbart contributor-turned-senior advisor to the BBG, conspired to oust the current leadership, four current and former BBG officials say. The plan, they contend, is to stack the top with ideologues aligned with President Donald Trump and to dissolve the BBG board, with expectations that the White House would nominate Mendes as the new CEO. Employees fear that if the move is carried out, it could undermine the independent and fact-based reporting of the outlets under the BBG, including Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. “They’re planning a blatant power grab,” one BBG official says.