Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President and CEO Jamie Fly was relieved of his duties on June 17 by the new chief of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack.
Pack declared the dismissal effective immediately. Daisy Sindelar, the company's vice president and editor in chief, has been named acting president.
In a note to staff, Fly called the job "the honor of a lifetime," and said his goal had been "to help ensure that RFE/RL is as impactful in the coming decades as it was over the last 70 years."
RFE/RL this year marks the 70th anniversary of its first broadcast and its mission to be an independent and trustworthy source of information in countries that lack a free press.
In addition to removing Fly, Pack also dismissed the heads of four other entities overseen by USAGM -- Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, the Cuba-focused Radio/TV Marti, and the Open Technology Fund. The director and deputy director of Voice of America had resigned from their positions two days earlier.
The Senate confirmed Pack, a conservative filmmaker, to take charge of the Agency on June 4.
RFE/RL relies on its networks of local reporters to provide accurate news and information to more than 37 million people in 27 languages and 23 countries where media freedom is restricted, or where a professional press has not fully developed. Its videos were viewed over 3.6 billion times on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram/IGTV in FY2019. RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Pack declared the dismissal effective immediately. Daisy Sindelar, the company's vice president and editor in chief, has been named acting president.
In a note to staff, Fly called the job "the honor of a lifetime," and said his goal had been "to help ensure that RFE/RL is as impactful in the coming decades as it was over the last 70 years."
RFE/RL this year marks the 70th anniversary of its first broadcast and its mission to be an independent and trustworthy source of information in countries that lack a free press.
In addition to removing Fly, Pack also dismissed the heads of four other entities overseen by USAGM -- Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network, the Cuba-focused Radio/TV Marti, and the Open Technology Fund. The director and deputy director of Voice of America had resigned from their positions two days earlier.
The Senate confirmed Pack, a conservative filmmaker, to take charge of the Agency on June 4.
RFE/RL relies on its networks of local reporters to provide accurate news and information to more than 37 million people in 27 languages and 23 countries where media freedom is restricted, or where a professional press has not fully developed. Its videos were viewed over 3.6 billion times on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram/IGTV in FY2019. RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
