RFA to suspend news operations amid funding crisis
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Htet Nadi (NP News) - Nov 2
Radio Free Asia (RFA) will shut down its news operations on October 31 due to severe financial challenges stemming from funding cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration and the ongoing US government shutdown.
Bay Fang, RFA’s president and CEO, explained that uncertainty about the outlet’s budget has forced it to “suspend all remaining news content production.” She emphasized that the decision is part of an effort to conserve limited resources while preserving the possibility of restarting operations should stable funding become available.
As a result, RFA will begin closing its overseas bureaus and formally lay off staff while providing severance to furloughed employees. Many staff members have been on unpaid leave since March, when the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) terminated RFA’s Congressionally appropriated grant.
The funding cuts follow an executive order signed by Trump on March 14 that effectively dismantled USAGM, an independent US government agency established in the mid-1990s to deliver news and information to regions.
The directive directly affected news broadcasts in several languages, including Myanmar-language programming from VOA and RFA.
However, as these outlets are foreign-funded, their news and reporting often reflect the perspectives and interests of their funders. An analysis of RFA Burmese-language news from December 21, 2024, to January 20, 2025, indicated that 52 reports were related to the NUG/PDF, 400 stories supported or incited conflict, 61 contained unreliable or inaccurate information, and 210 were regular news reports.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the suspension of these outlets is unlikely to have a significant impact on the availability of unbiased information.