Steve Herman

You're not hearing any programming. And most, I think, people in Iran watch VOA. It comes to them via satellite television. A lot of people in Tehran have satellite dishes up to watch it. So there's just a video loop running. There's no programming. It's just a promo.

You're not hearing any programming. And most, I think, people in Iran watch VOA. It comes to them via satellite television. A lot of people in Tehran have satellite dishes up to watch it. So there's just a video loop running. There's no programming. It's just a promo.

Explaining what the Voice of America is, which is kind of ironic because we're voiceless at the moment.

Explaining what the Voice of America is, which is kind of ironic because we're voiceless at the moment.

Explaining what the Voice of America is, which is kind of ironic because we're voiceless at the moment.

Oh, they're astounded. I can tell you, I've been a foreign correspondent, Sean, in a number of countries. And when state media, all of a sudden, that the programming would stop and maybe music would come on, that was indicative that there was a coup being carried out, right? It was something really dire.

Oh, they're astounded. I can tell you, I've been a foreign correspondent, Sean, in a number of countries. And when state media, all of a sudden, that the programming would stop and maybe music would come on, that was indicative that there was a coup being carried out, right? It was something really dire.

Oh, they're astounded. I can tell you, I've been a foreign correspondent, Sean, in a number of countries. And when state media, all of a sudden, that the programming would stop and maybe music would come on, that was indicative that there was a coup being carried out, right? It was something really dire.

And so a lot of people who are in these countries that don't have a free press or are autocratic are wondering – What is really going on in the United States? There's been no broadcast explaining to them why VOA is suddenly off the air. And the American people are not our audience, but they are stakeholders. Your taxpayers pay for this.

And so a lot of people who are in these countries that don't have a free press or are autocratic are wondering – What is really going on in the United States? There's been no broadcast explaining to them why VOA is suddenly off the air. And the American people are not our audience, but they are stakeholders. Your taxpayers pay for this.

And so a lot of people who are in these countries that don't have a free press or are autocratic are wondering – What is really going on in the United States? There's been no broadcast explaining to them why VOA is suddenly off the air. And the American people are not our audience, but they are stakeholders. Your taxpayers pay for this.

And a lot of people will tell you in the realm of public diplomacy, this is probably the biggest bang for our buck in terms of the hard edge of soft power.

And a lot of people will tell you in the realm of public diplomacy, this is probably the biggest bang for our buck in terms of the hard edge of soft power.

And a lot of people will tell you in the realm of public diplomacy, this is probably the biggest bang for our buck in terms of the hard edge of soft power.

They did not shut it down, but we're seeing actually some of the language that I've seen in recent days coming out of the administration echoed what we had seen during that time, which was accusations that there were – You know, subversives in the voice of America. In other words, that there were somehow there were some foreign spies.

They did not shut it down, but we're seeing actually some of the language that I've seen in recent days coming out of the administration echoed what we had seen during that time, which was accusations that there were – You know, subversives in the voice of America. In other words, that there were somehow there were some foreign spies.

They did not shut it down, but we're seeing actually some of the language that I've seen in recent days coming out of the administration echoed what we had seen during that time, which was accusations that there were – You know, subversives in the voice of America. In other words, that there were somehow there were some foreign spies.

And so what they did is they canceled all the people on the J-1 visas and sent some of them back home. And that appears to be happening again. Some of these people will be going back possibly to end up in prison or worse.

And so what they did is they canceled all the people on the J-1 visas and sent some of them back home. And that appears to be happening again. Some of these people will be going back possibly to end up in prison or worse.

And so what they did is they canceled all the people on the J-1 visas and sent some of them back home. And that appears to be happening again. Some of these people will be going back possibly to end up in prison or worse.