Capturing News, Capturing Democracy

Kate Wright is an Associate Professor of Media and Communication, in the Politics and International Relations department at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She researches how different political economies and normative values shape the production of international news. She is the sole author of Who's Reporting Africa Now? Non-governmental Organizations, Journalists and Multimedia (2014) and co-authored Humanitarian Journalists (2022). She is also a former BBC journalist who worked on flagship news programs and investigative documentaries.Martin Scott is an Associate Professor of Media and Global Development, in the School of Global Development at the University of East Anglia in the UK. He has published research on media freedom, international journalism, foundation-funded news, media influence on aid, and news audiences. He authored Media and Development (2014), lead-authored Humanitarian Journalists (2022), and co-authored From Entertainment to Citizenship (2014).Mel Bunce is Professor of International Journalism and Politics, and Head of the Journalism Department at City, University of London, where she researches international news production, humanitarian journalism and media freedom. She is author of The Broken Estate: Journalism and Democracy in a Post-truth World (2019), co-author of Humanitarian Journalists (2022), and co-editor of Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century (2017).

• Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: The Voice of America: A history of ConflictChapter 3: Capturing Public Service Media around the WorldChapter 4: Indirect CaptureChapter 5: Direct Editorial InterventionsChapter 6: The Post-Election EndgameChapter 7: Resistance Strategies and Ongoing HarmChapter 8: Conclusion

A free and independent media is crucial to well-functioning societies worldwide. This book draws on a rich and comprehensive data set to analyse how Voice of America became dangerously politicized under the Trump administration -- and why VOA still remains vulnerable to government capture, while reminding us why avoiding that path is so crucial for democracies everywhere.