On 1 July, Andre deNesnera was removed from his position as news director of the Voice of America (VOA) and assigned a reporting job as VOA diplomatic correspondent. The reorganisation to the newsroom was carried out by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) without warning and left many staff feeling concerned.
VOA news director since March 2000, deNesnera oversaw a newsroom that emphasised editorial independence and affirmed fair and balanced news reporting. In September 2001, deNesnera withstood pressure from the state department to suppress an interview with the leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
When writing to staff on the subject of the Mullah Omar interview, deNesnera said, “I want to commend you for the sterling work all of you have done during these trying times
Speaking of deNesnera’s removal, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said, “I am worried that this is the first step in dismantling the VOA’s news structure. As news director, deNesnera stood for the fundamental right of editors and journalists to set the news agenda themselves and his demotion sends the wrong message to both his former staff and any successor.”
“From now on, VOA journalists will be fearful for their jobs if they dare criticise decisions and the future news director will have a clear precedent that says, ‘If you defy the BBG or the state department’ there is a price to be paid.’ The net effect will be that individuals unconnected to the news service will play a greater role in deciding content; something which is profoundly damaging to the credibility of the organisation.”
“I am also concerned that deNesnera’s removal is one of a series of decisions that reveal a disregard for the editorial independence and news values that have served the United States well in the past. At a time when there is a desperate need for a greater understanding of America’s policies, particularly in the Middle East, the VOA, which for decades has successfully undertaken this role, appears to have been neglected in favour of other organisations.”
“News services such as Radio Sawa, the satellite television station al-Hurra and Radio Farda, are not governed by the VOA’s charter which entrenches balanced reporting. Their formats also radically depart from that of the VOA’s. Several of the services emphasise music and soft-news over hard breaking news with the consequence that many important news stories are not reported as and when they happen,” Fritz added.
“By taking this route, I am afraid the good work of U.S. international broadcasting services will be undermined. The U.S. government should remember that it takes decades of hard work to build a solid reputation for balanced and fair news reporting but only seconds to lose it.”– and I urge you not to fall under the spell of ‘self-censorship.’ If you do, ‘they’ have won.” In June 2002, deNesnera received a “constructive dissent” award from the American Foreign Service Association for preserving the integrity of the VOA’s news broadcasts.
