Since visiting the studio in 1978 I've been of two minds about Voice of America's purpose. But that it should come to this at Putin's request makes my blood boil

https://rasmus.com/auctions/fUN0YO3wrCpTrGQDyZAi/a/Broadcasting-Studio-Equipment-Washington-DC-

Still, someone's getting a good deal on a Neumann BCM 104

#VoA

America loves to hate Kari Lake!

All the worst people are getting in on the deportation action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/13/2338082/-All-the-worst-people-are-getting-in-on-the-deportation-action

#KariLake #ICE #VOA #Immigration #GOPPOS #USPol

Linked is an article from the Austin Chronicle by Richard Whittaker (who is sadly not on the fediverse) that does a good job of chronicling the impact of the US legislature's (and #Trump's) recent public broadcasting cuts --- the Chronicle rightly uses the more appropriate term "rescission" --- to both #Austin and #Texas broadly. Austin #PBS, as well as #NPR television and radio stations #KUT and #KUTX, will all be impacted. KUTX was my favourite radio station when I lived in Austin. Its willingness to eschew the top-40 algorithm and branch out is refreshing; the rescission might impact available licensing arrangements for their music.

Here in #FortWorth #Dallas #dfw, the closest analog to KUTX that I've found is #KNTU, better known as 88.1 Indie. It is entirely (well, mostly) commercial free. I say mostly, because I still consider "sponsored by X, offering service/product Y" to be an advertisement (formally referred to as "underwriting"); albeit a more palatable one than the traditional fare of the medium. KNTU is definitely more pop-heavy (and repeat-heavy) than KUTX, but it also caters/panders heavily to a more #millennial audience (guilty).

All that being said...

>The greatest concern is that this economic assault isn’t the end, but simply the latest attack on editorially independent media. The CPB defunding came after the dismantling of Voice of America Radio, and now the question is, what’s next? If the end game is to destroy public radio and television, how long before broadcast licenses become a target?

The irony of putting editorial independence in the same paragraph as Voice of America is painful and invites a comparison that i suspect most folks working in public broadcasting would not appreciate.

>Even if Republican lawmakers have turned their backs on public media, the hope is that donors, including charitable foundations, will continue to see the value of its uniquely community-minded programming. For example, Austin PBS is already strategizing about filling that $400,000 cut to Ready to Learn’s budget. Patiño said, “Our hypothesis is that, once we go out to the marketplace and say, 'Hey, these are the needs that will go unmet, these are the communities that will no longer receive the educational services that we provide and have for years and years and years,’ we hope that people that fund and support educational services in other nonprofits will support us in some way to fill that gap.”

Cutting out the legislative middlemen between the public and their servants, by pivoting to a direct-donor-centered model, might prove to be a silver lining to this rain cloud (and perhaps an unintended and unwelcome threat to that legislative body's hard and soft power).

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2025-08-01/texas-public-media-grapples-with-funding-loss-from-gop-bill/

#PublicBroadcasting #CPB #AustinChronicle #atx #VOA #VoiceOfAmerica #InventingReality

#TheGremlinZoo #VOA

From AP News.com: Judge orders Trump administration to explain why order to restore Voice of America wasn't followed

https://apnews.com/article/voa-voice-america-media-trump-administration-b60d40621f41b2ff4460803de4e0142f

1980年末、寒い冬に聴いたVOAのベリカード。送信所はオハイオ州ベサニー、デザインはVOA本部と国会議事堂でした。#note #ベリカード #VOA

ベリカードコレクション 045 Voice of America（２枚目） 1980年｜トミーＴ @tomy_tmr https://note.com/tomy_tmr/n/nc420d0134cbc?sub_rt=share_pb

This article is from 2022, but I'm sure the problem has gotten way worse! Also, any #HUD studies about this have disappeared off of government websites, and of course, #VOA has had their funding cut!

Investors Snap Up Affordable Homes, Especially in Black Neighborhoods

October 15, 2022 6:32 AM
By Dora Mekouar

Excerpt: "The housing situation in Parramore isn’t unique. It’s being repeated in major U.S. cities across the country. More than 13% of all homes sold in 2021 were sold to investors, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). First-time homebuyers are 30% of the market right now. In a healthy market, 40% of buyers are first-time homebuyers, NAR says.

" 'It's been very difficult for homebuyers to find affordable or #StarterHomes. And when they're buying lower cost homes, they're competing with #investors who are coming in with cash offers and that's difficult to compete with,' says Anne Ray, a researcher at the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida.

"It’s a trend that accelerated during the pandemic, according to NAR.

" 'We have seen, during the pandemic especially, that investors, whether it's a mom-and-pop investor or an institutional investor, are coming into the marketplace for rental properties,' says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s vice president of demographics and behavioral insights. 'Investors are jumping into the market understanding there's demand for rental properties and this allows them to actually increase rents and to have this as an investment property that can be income generating.'

"And technology is making it easier for investors to buy affordable homes on a large scale.

" 'I think what's relatively new is these large investors picking up lots of properties and using a lot of automated tools and working at scale to acquire properties,' Ray says. 'That used to be harder to do.'

"When prospective buyers can’t afford to buy, the ripple effect can extend to the rental market.

" 'It also makes it more difficult for other people to find affordable rental housing,' Ray says, 'because people who would have moved on from a rental to an ownership unit are staying in the rental unit.' "

https://www.voanews.com/a/home-investors-buy-into-black-neighborhoods-displacing-long-time-residents-/6786585.html

#HousingForAll #Unhoused #AffordableHomes #Racism #UnaffordableHousing #USPol #TrumpSucks #AISucks #CorporateLandlords #Greed