United States Agency for Global Media

The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) from 1994 to 2018, is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information for regions of the world with the lowest levels of press freedom.

The USAGM supervises Voice of America (VOA) and Office of Cuba Broadcasting as well as state-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and Open Technology Fund. Many credit Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in contributing to the defeat of the Soviet Union and Radio Free Asia for breaking the story on Xinjiang internment camps.

On March 14, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14238 that directed that the USAGM be eliminated "to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law", along with several other agencies. Between March and July 2025, 85% of the staff at USAGM and its subsidiaries were eliminated, leaving only 250 employees across the USAGM, VOA and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Only the OCB's complement of 33 employees has remained intact.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was formed in 1994 with the passing of the International Broadcasting Act. The act established a bipartisan board that consisted of nine voting members, eight of whom were to be appointed by the president for a three–year term. The ninth was the secretary of state, also a political appointee, who would serve as an ex officio board member for the duration of their term as secretary. At this point, BBG was considered a part of the United States Information Agency.

The first voting members of the BBG, confirmed on August 11, 1995, were David W. Burke, Ted Kaufman, Tom C. Korologos, Bette Bao Lord, Alberto J. Mora, Cheryl Halpern, Marc Nathanson, and Carl Spielvogel.

On October 1, 1999, the BBG was established as an independent agency by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998.

The Agency has five broadcasting entities that were established from 1942 - 2004. The Voice of America (VOA) has been in operation since World War II. William Harlan Hale, a journalist and writer, began the VOA's first radio show by saying "We bring you voices from America. Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about America and the War. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad. But we shall tell you the truth."

Then, in 1950, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) went on the air. The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) was started in 1985. Radio Free Asia (RFA) was founded in 1996.