Or to use the accurate quote by Joni Mitchell from 1970, “Don’t it always seem to go / That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”.
Well, now something’s gone. And it hurts.
The late winter and early spring of 2025 have seen some seismic changes to international radio from the USA. My opinion is that all this was unnecessary and deeply short-sighted. We, and others across the globe, miss them and their programmes dearly.
What follows is a series of roughly-curated cuttings, hasty notes, and considered observations.
And here to begin, as an example from the archive, is “pictures on the radio”. This is from James Cridland, radio professional, critic, and media analyst.
https://james.cridland.net/blog/2009/voa-khmer/
It’s a piece from 2009 that highlights the exceptionality of the Voice of America. VoA is a radio service and network that doesn’t broadcast domestically in the USA, which could explain why some hold it in disdain. Be aware, the VOA Khmer link James includes – at the time of writing (13/04/25) – appears to no longer work.
You can read about the sister affiliate service Radio Free Asia’s uncertain future as of March 2025 here.
And this very detailed account of events in March 2025 in Washington DC is from staff at National Public Radio:
I am dismayed by these happenings. In the late 1980s I worked for a time at the BBC World Service in Bush House, London. I’ve written about the World Service here:
I appreciate the work done in this sphere, both by VoA and the Beeb’s External Services, and the continued importance of international broadcasting. More recently I’ve been involved in a Christian charity, Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB), which uses shortwave radio.
But, back to events in March 2025 in the USA. This, about the VoA, is from BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvge4l109r3o
And this is in The Economist on p. 51, March 22nd 2025:
Be aware, that at the time of writing their website https://www.voanews.com/ remains in a type of frozen animation with the 15th March dateline. One journalist describes the site as being preserved in amber. A sad record of what has happened.
Steve Herman is the Chief National Correspondent at the Voice of America. He is a respected and experienced political analyst and reporter based in Washington DC. He describes himself as “a veteran journalist”, rightly so in my opinion. He wrote this excellent piece, originally on Substack, from his personal perspective: (it’s p. 10 you’ll need)
https://afsa.org/sites/default/files/flipping_book/040525/10/index.html
I also commend to you this summary from Enders Analysis, a media consultancy based in London… https://www.endersanalysis.com/ The report is here…
The sudden closure of the VoA occurred on the 15th of March 2025. By the 23rd of April some of the staff affected had taken legal measures through the courts. They wanted to return to their desks, their microphones and their radio studios. Read more here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0jz58zjllzo.
For a summary of events up to mid-May 2025, listen to this radio doco “The Trump Effect on Global Media” – compiled by colleagues at BBC Monitoring around the globe – and broadcast on 11 May on the BBC World Service. We live in worrying times.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct7yv6
Recent events are, if you will, an appropriation of the 1984 movie Once Upon a Time in America. I quote when I observe, “The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, and broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_America
Also, noted by The Economist, p. 34, March 22nd 2025
Which is most likely the reason this prayer is currently (spring 2025) on display at the base of one of the pillars in the nave of Durham Cathedral in the UK. It is a prayer to God for peace: an antidote to the effects just mentioned above and continued below.
Elsewhere, captured on video is this exchange between a politician, Marjorie Taylor Greene, as she snaps at Martha Kelner, a Sky News correspondent, when questioned about a leaked Signal chat:
Martha was determined and unflustered. Her fellow journo, evidently an American from another news organisation, supported her fully which is a sign of exceptional professionalism. There is always strength in unity.
Journalists like us can sometimes expect criticism and direct, perhaps vituperative, reactions – especially from politicians. I was once physically manhandled by security minders escorting Mrs Thatcher on a visit to Derby. Read more here:
And there’s my Norman Tebbit experience… when the then employment minister walked out of a radio interview that I was recording with him in the 1980s. His muttered comments as he left the studio were assiduously taken down by a Press Association stringer who then flogged the story to the nationals. A copy of one of the resulting articles hung for a time on a London newsroom notice board. Again, strength in unity. I also carried the utmost respect for my boss and the way he supported me at that moment. Click “Download” to read the full article.
So, what about grace and mercy? I offer this, from the post-inauguration service of prayer in January 2025. The sermon was given by the Bishop of Washington, the Rt. Revd. Mariann Edgar Budde, who spoke to the US President directly about compassion and mercy. He was not in a receptive mood.
Also: there’s the news about the deportation of three members of the UK Subs in March 2025. This from the NME:
The UK Subs have been a big part of my generation, we’re the same age and we’ve been making music and noise for decades – ever since punk’s birth pangs. They get a mention in my book about radio. See below.
But, back to the subject in hand. The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office issues travel advice on a regular basis for all countries across the world. Read the USA entry here. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements
On 14 March 2025, the extra sentence, “You may be liable…”, was added to make the para read as follows:
“You should comply with all entry, visa and other conditions of entry. The authorities in the US set and enforce entry rules strictly. You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”
There is, perhaps, an Orwellian paradox here. That by writing and publishing this piece, I myself like the UK Subs’ Gibbs, Häublein and Carrey, may find that in the future I’m not allowed entry to the USA. This article will most likely be produced as evidence. But then I remember the Groucho Marx quote:
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.
And to finish off, I pick up my old copy of 1066 And All That – the satire by WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman (Failed M.A., etc, Oxon). I was struck by their humorous reason for history “now being at an end”; a full-stop. Were they referring to MAGA avant lá lettre?
Is this an ominous and worrying prophecy from 1930, when this satire was first published? “A bad thing,” indeed.
My book https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/radios-legacy-in-popular-culture-9781501388231/ is available now.
Radio’s Legacy is the story of radio’s first 100 years as told through literature, movies, pop songs and art. You can get a preview – before you buy – about my methods. This link takes you to Chapter One – which is available to look at for free online: https://bloomsburycp3.codemantra.com/viewer/61c091c75f150300016f10af
And don’t forget to subscribe to these regular articles. Leave your details and I’ll send you one by e-mail around the 14th of every month. By the way, as well as the UK Subs, rock stars have always loved international radio. My book has more about The Clash (“London Calling”) and about this classic from Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe. I recall being entranced by the band as I stood in the audience and watched them perform in 1984 at Nottingham’s Rock City.
Pre-fade Listen 
A heady start to the week Martin. Some really chilling stuff here… and well done for flagging it all up.
LikeLike
My problem with all of this is that the writing has been loud and clear on the wall for many, many years. I’m now at the point of having very little sympathy for any practitioners in the arts community who make themselves vulnerable to cuts in public funding. If you’re dependent on it, you’d better have a plan B, and you should have known this for decades, because both sides of politics have been slashing, democrat and labour governments just as much (but pretending otherwise). And if you think trump’s bad… https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/march/as-the-met-bruised-in this is under a “labour” government…
LikeLike