TRANSCRIPT:
VOA is the embodiment, is the example, to those people who strove for freedom; that they can see from us that we respect a variety of opinions. We don’t hide them, and we allow for people to think and decide for themselves.
The responsibility of government officials, elected or otherwise, in any democracy, is to the people. And we know that you as journalists are not doing your job if you don’t ask us difficult questions. We are accountable to the citizens we represent. The expression of a vigorous, free, independent press is fundamental to achieving accountability. That is what is important for VOA to continue to represent.
If we are to be true to the ideals of the Founding Fathers, we owe it to our citizens, we owe it to the peoples of the world, who model their quest for liberty on our own. We owe it to them to maintain institutions like the Voice of America that show the world that we value freedom of the press. We value transparency. We value truth.
Published
Kostelancik is a former U.S. diplomat whose titles included foreign policy adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and deputy coordinator for terrorism prevention and detention in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. He spent 20 years in overseas postings, including at the U.S. Embassy in Hungary, Russia, Albania and Turkey.