Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang Discusses Journalism, Democracy and Government-Funded Media
8For the last 25 years, the U.S.-government funded Radio Free Asia has been broadcasting and publishing online news and commentary in Asian countries where citizens living under authoritarian governments have little access to critical, uncensored information. RFA’s mission has become even more challenging lately, as authoritarians have begun to use social media to spin their own webs of disinformation while discrediting any independent reporting as “fake news.” Meanwhile, publicly-funded broadcasters worldwide are being challenged by their own governments who chafe at critical coverage and want them to stick more closely to the “official” line. Our speaker, RFA President Bay Fang, talks about the challenges of covering a region where democracy appears in retreat, RFA’s efforts to uphold its own editorial independence, and being an Asian-American woman at the top of an award-winning American news organization.