What could possibly go wrong with this? Last week’s National Defense Authorization Act disbands the bipartisan board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors—which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other networks—and lets the president appoint a CEO. Oh, and the network is also now allowed access to U.S. audiences.
To date, the nine-member board — which consists of four Republicans and four Democrats appointed by the president, as well as the secretary of state — has been a part-time operation, but it served as a firewall with the mission of preserving the integrity of the agency’s broadcasts. The organization's charter calls for "accuracy, balance, comprehensiveness, and objectivity." [...]
Because of the modification of the Smith-Mundt Act in 2013, the BBG can now broadcast in the U.S., too. But the influence on the domestic market could be even more subtle, the Republican official warned.
A BBG CEO influenced by the administration could penetrate established media outlets with packages, series or other news products produced by the BBG’s networks but picked up and aired by traditional media like Fox News or Breitbart. Many U.S. outlets currently use content from VOA.
Sounds like we should prepare for hours of uncritical coverage of Donald Trump’s ramblings and promotion of his Trump-branded properties. (So ... basically like the media’s campaign coverage.) But that’s the best-case scenario, because if you can’t think of a dozen dangerous things Trump would do with control of a state-funded media network, you are seriously lacking in imagination.