Overview
- Radio Free Asia said it will stop all news production effective Friday due to the federal shutdown delaying new fiscal-year funding.
- RFA called the halt a first since its 1996 launch after months of deep cuts that followed the Trump administration’s decision in March to slash support for U.S.-funded media.
- President and CEO Bay Fang said remaining funds will cover layoffs and severance as the organization preserves capacity and seeks new revenue to restart.
- Voice of America largely ceased operations after the March cuts, compounding the loss of independent reporting into closed media environments.
- Tibetan exile leader Penpa Tsering urged funding restoration, and RFA reported China has already expanded Uyghur- and Tibetan-language broadcasts into frequencies it left vacant.