After the CNN “town hall” mess of last week, a suggestion here to start this new one. Especially if you are not American and would like to learn about the United States from a *reputable* U.S. media source, if you don’t know about it the Voice of America (VOA), which streams at VOANews.com, is an excellent one.
It is funded by the U.S. government, yes. However, that also means it does not need to chase ratings (as a CNN does; and clearly was doing with “Dear Leader” at its “town hall”) AND – most importantly – it is by law journalistically independent. Politicians are NOT permitted to try to influence its content and it is tasked with reporting in an “unbiased” manner.
Given it is aimed at an international audience, presidents have found that journalistic independence awkward at times, with the most outspoken and direct of them being (predictably) “Dear Leader.” As president from 2017-21, he intensely disliked it (“If you heard what’s coming out of the Voice of America, it’s disgusting. What – things they say are disgusting toward our country.”) and had hoped to transform it into essentially a mouthpiece that would report in a way only to try to make him look good. (Which would have been quite a challenge in itself.) Only his defeat in 2020 saved it from becoming yet another state-run propaganda outlet.
It has for decades provided good insights into U.S. politics and about life in the U.S. in general. It also presents some programs in a format it calls “Learning English” – meaning easier to understand spoken English. (Previously it was called “Special English.”) It is far from just a “talking” station, too…
Among various other programs, it also does a great regular one featuring that most American of music forms – jazz.
Just thought I would mention it. Have a good day, wherever you are in the world. 🙂
R. J. Nello 