An essential guarantee of the journalistic credibility of Voice of America (VOA) content is the “firewall” enshrined in the 1994 U.S. International Broadcasting Act. The firewall prohibits interference by any U.S. government official in the objective, independent reporting of news, thereby safeguarding the ability of our journalists to develop content that reflects the highest professional standards of journalism, free of political interference. The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) reforms contained in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 maintained the longstanding statutory firewall language protecting the professional independence of VOA and all other USAGM journalists. The firewall ensures that VOA can make the final decisions on what stories to cover, and how they are covered.
Click here to view to a VOA firewall training course video and here for a course transcript.
