VOA reassigns reporter after she sought to question Pompeo

Paul Farhi
Jan. 12, 2021 at 1:30 a.m. EST

The director of Voice of America ordered the reassignment of a reporter for the international news organization after she sought to ask questions of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a VOA-sponsored appearance on Monday, according to several people who attended the event.

Patsy Widakuswara, who covers the White House for VOA, was ordered off the beat by Director Robert Reilly after firing questions at Pompeo after his speech and a brief Q&A session conducted by Reilly ...

Reilly, a former VOA director and conservative writer, was appointed to head the government-funded agency last month by Michael Pack ...

Pack ... has replaced experienced managers with loyalists and has asserted his right to influence editorial judgments, despite regulations prohibiting political influence over news produced by the agencies ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/voice-of-america-reporter-demoted-pompeo/2021/01/12/caa1b22c-5496-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html