The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is concerned about the power of the CEO of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and is recommending Congress consider no longer allowing that CEO to unilaterally appoint or remove board members of the six broadcast networks it oversees.

GAO is also recommending that Congress define the firewall between USAGM (formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors) and those networks--and what is unacceptable interference with their editorial independence.

Also: Trump Seeks Cuts to International Media Funding

That is according to a new GAO report requested by Congress as it took steps to reverse some of the decisions of Congress during the Administration of President Donald Trump to centralize USAGM control under a CEO, rather than a board.

USAGM oversees government-funded independent news outlets providing info to countries where press freedom is problematic. Those outlets include the iconic Voice of America, whose news President Trump attacked at one point as "disgusting."  

In pushing for funding cuts for international broadcasting, the White House under Trump said that it had concluded that "information statecraft and public diplomacy programs by the U.S. Government have been tepid, fragmented, and not fully effective in countering the exploitation of information by U.S. rivals." The Administration had said it didn't want to continue to fund projects whose effectiveness was unknown and whose efforts were not coordinated across government agencies.

While the White House suggested it was about oversight and getting the most bang for the buck, critics saw it as a way to move the services from unbiased news to pro-U.S. propaganda.

VOA and the other outlets were formerly overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors in collaboration with a CEO, but the President moved to the CEO-led model.

The networks at issue are "federal broadcasting networks"—Voice of America (VOA) and Office of Cuba Broadcasting and three non-federal networks that get government grants--Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

Congressional calls for the GAO were also prompted by allegations that, under the Trump model, there were ongoing threats to the networks' editorial independence. The President appeared to be unhappy that the networks were not promoting the U.S. even though their charter is to report news of interest to those countries that they may not have access to otherwise, not to propagandize or politicize.

GAO pointed out that then Senator Joe Biden said that the U.S. International Broadcasting Act of 1994 created the "firewall" by recognizing that journalists and broadcasters need to remain independent to produce balanced and unbiased work product, including that "U.S. international broadcasting be conducted in accordance with the highest professional standards of broadcast journalism" and that it "include news that is consistently reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive."

US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO Michael Pack's rip-and-replace approach to the agency's Open Technology Fund last month has run into a big legal problem-a court has concluded he likely does not have the authority to do so. 

OTF is an independent nonprofit funded by USAGM that promotes internet freedom and opposes censorship and surveillance. It began as a program of Radio Free Asia but morphed into an independent operation with its own board of directors, though still funded by USAGM. 

After Pack removed the board members and directors, they sought an injunction against the collective removal. 

Related: CPJ Slams VOA Takeover 

In a ruling handed down Tuesday (July 21), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted the injunction and reinstated the former members, for now. 

"The officers and directors of OTF that were in those roles prior to the government’s actions on June 17, 2020, shall continue in their normal course throughout the tendency of this appeal," the court said.  

While there is a high bar for granting such injunctions, the court found the petitioners had met it, even pointing out they had satisfied the "stringent" requirements, which include likelihood of winning the underlying case and irreparable harm absent a stay. 

The appeals court said a district court was likely correct in holding that Pack lacks the authority to replace OTF staffers. 

Related: White House Slammed for Blocking VOA Access 

On the issue of irreparable harm, the court said: "Absent an injunction during the appellate process, OTF faces an increasing risk that its decision-making will be taken over by the government, that it will suffer reputational harm, and that it will lose the ability to effectively operate in light of the two dueling boards that presently exist." 

As to the harm to the government from an injunction: "The government has asserted no irreparable harm or injury to the public interest beyond the claimed right to exercise the very powers that are at the heart of this litigation and for which appellants have shown a likelihood of success on appeal. And an injunction pending appeal will be relatively short-lived because of the highly expedited schedule for this appeal." 

The Senate June 4 approved the nomination of conservative documentary filmmaker Michael Pack as head of the USAGM with the title CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA director Amanda Bennett and her deputy, Sandra Sugawara, resigned June 15, saying that gave Pack the freedom to replace them with his own picks, though such resignations are more associated with political appointees at the change of administrations.