Obama administration hired at Voice of America people with known affiliations with the Islamic Republic of Iran

JUN 1, 2020 12:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER4 COMMENTS

Yet again we see it: the definition of treason is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. How is hiring agents of a regime that commands its citizens to scream “Death to America” not treason?

“Voice of America, or Voice of the ‘Mullahs in Iran’?,” by Jamshid Chalangi, American Thinker, May 28, 2020:

I began working at VOA in Washington, D.C. following three years on the newly established “Radio Farda” (the Persian-language “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty”) in Prague.  I did not know that my fate as a journalist would be again decided by the people connected to the Islamic regime in Iran, as happened before at “National Iranian Television” — only this time a mile away from the White House and even less from the United States Congress.

At the VOA, I was hopeful that my abilities and years of experience would be directed toward “a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thoughts” in line with the kind of values enshrined in the charter of the organization.  In October 2006 and with the help of other colleagues, I launched a program titled Tafsir Khabar(meaning “News Talk”) that was to have the highest ratings of any Persian-language TV show outside Iran for the next five years.

However, with the advent of the Obama administration and the start of a policy of appeasement toward the Iranian regime, there was a general change of atmosphere at the VOA, and as such, entry into the Persian section for those with known affiliations to the Islamic republic were facilitated.  This approach was justified on the grounds that it would help attain the compromise needed with Iran to secure a nuclear agreement with the “5+1.”

These developments took a disturbing turn when the annual task of assessing News Talk and other programs of VOA Persian was assigned to Mr. Hooman Majd, an official adviser and interpreter of the Iranian president, Ahmadinejad.  The outcome of such an appointment not only resulted in major changes in the outlook of programs broadcast by VOA Persian, but also led to my eventual dismissal from that organization in March 2012.

In its promotion of the policies of the Obama administration in a manner deliberately designed to ingratiate the Islamic Republic, the management at VOA Persian turned a blind eye not just to the stated goals of their charter, but also to the universally shared principles associated with a media, such as television shows trying to retain and further increase their viewership.  As a result, highly popular programs such as News Talk, Roundtable with You, The First Two Days, Parazit, and Ofogh were all replaced by programs that have in comparison proven to be far less popular and with much fewer viewers….

Read the rest here.