Editing Voice of America (section)

=== Editorial policies ===
Voice of America's editorial policies are intended to cultivate a reputation for accuracy. It serves a propaganda function for the United States not by manipulating listeners or through always presenting the US in a positive light, but by embodying and demonstrating one of its core values: the freedom of the press. Aimed at people living in places where the government tightly controls what the press can say, it aims to become a trusted source of objective information rather than a channel for more traditional propaganda that only serves state interests.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voice of America Goes Quiet. And, Apocalypse Now? {{!}} On the Media |url=https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/articles/voice-of-america-goes-quiet-and-apocalypse-now?tab=transcript |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=WNYC Studios |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-17 |title=Voice of America is required by law to report the news accurately. Could Donald Trump change that? |url=https://apnews.com/article/voice-america-democracy-trump-lake-fake-news-90039c76a8915d7906f5d7608c9e05f4 |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> For these reasons, it has enacted several policies over time to avoid interference by politicians. 

Under the Eisenhower administration in 1959, VOA Director [[Henry Loomis (broadcasting executive)|Henry Loomis]] commissioned a formal statement of principles to protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, and was issued by Director [[George V. Allen]] as a directive in 1960 and was endorsed in 1962 by USIA director [[Edward R. Murrow]].<ref>{{harvp|Rugh|2006|pp=13–14}}</ref> VOA's charter was signed into law by President [[Gerald Ford]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=218}} The charter requires it to "present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Workneh |first=Téwodros W. |date=2019-06-26 |title=Journalistic Autonomy in Voice of America's Amharic Service: Actors, Deterrents, and Safeguards |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2019.1634484 |journal=Journalism Studies |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=217–235 |doi=10.1080/1461670x.2019.1634484 |issn=1461-670X}}</ref>{{Rp|page=218}} Academics including Téwodros W. Workneh have described this as a [[public diplomacy]] function.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=218}} VOA's charter also requires it to be "a reliable and authoritative source of news" which "shall be accurate, objective, and comprehensive".<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=218}} According to former VOA correspondent Alan Heil, the internal policy of VOA News is that any story broadcast must have two independently corroborating sources or have a staff correspondent witness an event.<ref>Columbia University Press. [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/publicity/heilinterview.html Interview with Alan Heil, author of ''Voice of America''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706051252/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/publicity/heilinterview.html|date=July 6, 2007}}</ref>

The Voice of America "Firewall" was put in place with the 1976 VOA Charter and laws passed in 1994 and 2016 as a way of ensuring the integrity of VOA's journalism. This policy fights against propaganda and promotes unbiased and objective journalistic standards in the agency. The charter is one part of this firewall and the other laws assist in ensuring high standards of journalism.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2, 2019 |title=VOA and the Firewall – Law for More than 40 Years |url=https://docs.voanews.eu/en-US-INSIDE/2019/07/02/a2cdade1-ffb3-41b5-a086-2a09861ae452.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723154331/https://docs.voanews.eu/en-US-INSIDE/2019/07/02/a2cdade1-ffb3-41b5-a086-2a09861ae452.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |access-date=July 23, 2019 |website=VOA}}</ref><ref name="Beitsch 4-6-2021">{{Cite news |last=Beitsch |first=Rebecca |date=April 6, 2021 |title=In departure from Trump, State affirms editorial freedom of Voice of America |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/546793-in-departure-from-trump-state-affirms-editorial-freedom-of-voice-of |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701170614/https://thehill.com/policy/international/546793-in-departure-from-trump-state-affirms-editorial-freedom-of-voice-of/ |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |access-date=23 October 2021 |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]}}</ref>

Voice of America is generally seen by scholars and listeners as having a positive impact and serving as [[Foreign policy of the United States|US diplomacy]], while others see it as [[American propaganda]].<ref name="Zhang-2002" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Dan |date=March 30, 2017 |title=Spare the indignation: Voice of America has never been independent |url=https://www.cjr.org/opinion/broadcasting_board_of_governors_house_trump.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520112752/https://www.cjr.org/opinion/broadcasting_board_of_governors_house_trump.php |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |access-date=June 25, 2022 |website=[[Columbia Journalism Review]]}}</ref>