Dan Kubiske

TRANSCRIPT:

The BBC and Voice of America, at least the Voice of America before March 2025, are excellent examples of how the ideals of the systems of governments from their home countries transferred to news reporting, opened discussion of political and social differences, and the deficiencies in those societies. It’s all vital to good reporting and to stable democracies.

The journalists of the pre-March 2025 Voice of America are some of the top journalists in the world. I think they have received awards from just about every legitimate journalism organization in the world, including the Society of Professional Journalists here in the States. That’s something for people to really, really understand. This is a solid journalism organization that is sponsored by a government, but it is not government-run.

VOA has a reputation of more than 80 years of telling the truth and letting the chips fall where they may. That shows the strength of American democracy. A free press is the sign of a free society. A free press is a guarantor of a free society, and a free press is needed to make sure people address issues before problems fester and cause civil unrest.

Without a free press, you can’t move forward. If you don’t have free press, you’ll be living like an animal. Because a free press gives you the possibility of thinking and all the things that make up civilization — art, literature, dance — they all come from thinking, and thinking and understanding your situation comes from a free press.

Published February 25, 2026

Kubiske, a veteran journalist and co-chair of the international community at the Society of Professional Journalists, is a longtime advocate for press freedom, journalism standards and international media development.