VOA’s English newsroom upheld editorial standards for the global news agency

At VOA’s headquarters in downtown Washington, around 100 Central Newsroom journalists focused on producing digital and broadcast content under the VOA Charter, a 1976 law requiring VOA to serve as “a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.”

Central Newsroom journalists delivered stories for digital, radio and television in English, framing them with non-American audiences in mind. They crafted stories that could be easily adapted in newsrooms across VOA’s 48 other broadcast languages.

The journalists included key Washington beat correspondents: the White House, Congress, State Department, Justice Department, the Pentagon, Immigration and Press Freedom. These correspondents are U.S. citizens with extensive experience working closely with VOA language services to frame stories for international audiences with perspectives grounded in a deep understanding of America.

VOA editors work during President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address to help produce and share content in all of VOA’s 49 languages. (Laurie Moy | USAGM)

All VOA journalists were trained on the editorial requirements of the VOA Charter, the standards that it imposed on VOA’s journalism, and the processes the agency used to ensure all news content met that standard.

VOA Newsroom editors, together with language services and the agency’s Standards Editor, produced and trained journalists on the “Best Practices Guide” that outlined how VOA journalists must identify and conduct themselves in public.

“Voice of America is a beacon of American ideals and truthfulness,” former commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Joseph Votel told the SaveVOA campaign. “For decades, it has been the instrument that the U.S. government has used to reach isolated and suppressed populations to provide them truthful information and share the benefits of an open and free press that characterize democratic peoples and nations,” he said.

Ever since the newsroom was silenced in March 2025, the robust editorial controls that helped maintain journalistic standards across VOA have disappeared. Minimal programming has resumed in just a handful of languages, but not English. Without the newsroom operating, VOA has also lost many of its other critical functions, including covering high-profile events and fulfilling its mission to explain all aspects of America to its foreign audiences.

 

Balanced and fact-based reporting

Balanced journalism

Before last March, all Central Newsroom copy was reviewed by at least two editors before publication, and many stories required an additional “balance check” by a senior editor to ensure they met the VOA Charter’s rigorous standards for balance and fairness.

“Sometimes I would ask reporters to reach out further to one side or the other for comment. Sometimes I would move a balancing comment higher in the story so that both sides received equal weight,” says a former balance editor. “The goal was to stick as much as possible to the facts, and whenever we quoted one side in an argument, to give equal weight to the other.”

All newsroom content shared for translation was also published on VOANews.com, providing transparency into the news organization’s journalism and reporting. Various media monitors that rate news organizations for bias consistently placed VOA close to dead center.

 

Media analysts consistently rate VOA’s English-language news as balanced

According to Media Bias / Fact Check

“Overall, we rate Voice of America Least Biased based on balanced story selection and minimal use of loaded words. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact-check record.”

If there were internal or external complaints about whether a story met the Charter’s editorial requirements, the VOA standards editor and other senior editors would evaluate the merit of the complaint and take action if necessary, posting public corrections and holding journalists accountable.

VOA’s newsroom has defended its editorial independence throughout its history, including during the Nixon administration when it covered the Watergate scandal and in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when it faced pressure to censor an interview with reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

A bipartisan group of former VOA directors wrote to Congress after VOA was silenced in March 2025 to defend its editorial process and to urge that the broadcaster be able to continue its “critical” mission.

“VOA’s news programs are, by law, not allowed to be false or unbalanced. If they are, that law can be enforced. With a mission to provide reliable news and to tell America’s story, VOA has a profound impact,” they wrote.

The letter was signed by nine of the ten then-living former VOA directors, including Robert Reilly, appointed in the first Trump administration, and President Ronald Reagan’s appointee, the late Richard W. Carlson, who died just days after joining the signatories.

Coordinating coverage across VOACoordinating coverage

Voice of America’s Central Newsroom was the primary hub for producing news in English and for sharing content across all VOA divisions. It helped to coordinate reporting on major stories and events such as elections, wars, international summits and disasters, so that VOA’s reporting was consistent across all its 49 broadcast languages.

Newsroom editors met with representatives from all VOA’s language services each day to determine the news stories that most aligned with the agency’s mission and foreign audience interests. They held regular planning meetings about major upcoming events, such as NATO summits, the G7 and G20, presidential trips and the release of State Department reports.

Consistent planning and coordination ensured that VOA was not scrambling when news broke. It also protected resources, allowing for journalists, crews and equipment to be deployed where they mattered most and for coverage to be shared across the agency.

The result can be seen during major news events, including the 2024 election, when VOA deployed teams across the country to cover both campaigns as well as Americans voting at the polls. The organization-wide effort kept up with a surge of interest from foreign audiences around the globe.

During major U.S. events, as VOA language service journalists conducted hundreds of “live hits” — or on-scene, live reports — with foreign news networks in dozens of languages, Central Newsroom correspondents did the same in English with media partners abroad.

The newsroom’s coordination efforts of high-profile events and its regular production of high-quality content, including nearly a dozen television packages ready-made for translation every day, helped VOA’s language services to gain the large audiences that they amassed around the world.

Global coverage

VOA’s mandate to deliver news that is accurate, objective and comprehensive cannot be met from within the United States alone. In countries where VOA audiences most depend on its reporting, the decisive facts are on the ground — in war zones, protests, refugee camps, courtrooms and hospitals where people often take real risks to speak. Foreign bureaus allow VOA journalists to verify information independently, respond quickly to breaking events, and report with the local knowledge needed to avoid distortion and misinformation.

VOA’s foreign bureaus represent America abroad by explaining U.S. policy and institutions through credible, independent reporting that connects with local issues. Especially in parts of the world where U.S. policy is misrepresented or unpopular, VOA has built large audiences by establishing credibility through accurate, objective and comprehensive journalism about U.S. issues and international events.

VOA reporters visit a Damascus market in Syria on Dec. 11, 2024, shortly after the collapse of the government.

For decades, VOA foreign bureau reporters have documented major geopolitical shifts from the ground, often working in places where access is limited and local media face restrictions or lack resources. The journalists in these bureaus bring deep sourcing and extensive knowledge of the local landscape, enabling them to quickly get into the heart of key stories.

In the weeks before VOA’s foreign bureaus were forced to halt operations, reporters were covering the newly formed Syrian government, rebel attacks in Pakistan, war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and countless other critical developments. Their work provided audiences with independent reporting from regions where many local outlets are closely tied to governments or non-state actors, and where most international media report primarily for audiences at home.

Back in Washington’s Central Newsroom, editors worked 24/7 with overseas reporters to coordinate their coverage. Overnight editors focused largely on East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, and daytime editors on the Americas, Europe and Africa. There was also a team of journalists in the newsroom that focused on debunking Chinese, Russian and Iranian propaganda. A China Abroad desk produced stories in English and Mandarin from datelines around the world where China is trying to boost its political, economic and military influence.