On Our Radar

US & Argentina

8 January 2026

On Our Radar this week, we look at the precarious situation facing public media in the United States, and the continued dismantling of national media in Argentina.

On Our Radar this week…

In the United States, personnel of the government-funded international public media network, U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), have been instructed to follow a new national security policy. In a memo dated 23 December 2025, Deputy CEO of USAGM, Kari Lake, advised all USAGM personnel to familiarise themselves with the Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy, that Lake says, “sets forth President Donald J. Trump’s foreign policy doctrine.” Specifically, Lake advised that the strategy’s identification of policy priorities in five regions of the world – the Western Hemisphere, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – must be the focus of the Agency’s broadcast networks. “All USAGM personnel should be familiar with this Strategy and use it, as appropriate, as a framework for programming, consistent with the broadcasting standards and principles set forth in the International Broadcasting Act,” she said. What this advice means in practice is yet to be seen but is of concern. With the strategy focusing on just five regions, espousing a broader America-first approach, there is concern on how this will align with the purpose of an international public media network designed to promote democracy, universality and access to information. Further, given the Trump Administration’s history of dismantling public media, the National Security Policy may represent a continuation of this course of action. While the International Broadcasting Act, under which USAGM is governed, does indeed identify a broadcasting standard of being “consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States”, we call on the USAGM management to ensure that the new security policy remains in harmony with other core broadcasting principles, such as prioritising information about developments in each significant region of the world as well as ensuring news is accurate, objective, and comprehensive.

Elsewhere in the US, we are sad to see that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) – the nonprofit organisation that stewarded federal funds for public service media for 58 years – has been dissolved by its Board following a decision by congress to remove federal funding for public media in July 2025. While there has been an uptick in donations for public service media across the country, the removal of federal funds has placed public media across the US in a precarious position, putting citizens’ access to trusted, accurate and reliable sources of news, information and education content, at significant risk – especially at a local level and during times of crisis. PMA continues to stand in solidarity with our public media colleagues as they work tirelessly to source alternative funding.

Meanwhile, Argentina continues to see major shifts to its national broadcasting services, with planned reforms and job cuts. Just before the end of 2025, the Argentine Congress passed the 2026 budget, the first to be passed since President Javier Milei was elected in December 2023. The 2026 budget aims to secure a zero deficit, mainly through spending cuts. National media was already in the crosshairs but now the government is reportedly moving forward with its plan to reduce the workforce of Radio y Televisión Argentina (RTA), the state-owned company that manages Public TV and National Radio, by 20% through voluntary retirements. This plan – which forms part of a wider “modernisation” reform package, including a merger and eventual privatisation – is intended for implementation before the end of the year. The proposed reforms, alongside recent actions such as the closure of Télam and cuts at Radio Nacional, will have significant consequences for the information ecosystem in Argentina, and especially for rural and isolated communities where the national media networks serve as vital communication links to the rest of the country and as sources of information, education, and entertainment. Read more from PMA’s recent Briefing.

We will continue to monitor these issues and issue updates via our website, newsletters and social media.  

This is not an exhaustive list of our concerns. If you would like to raise other concerns, please reach out and let us know. 

PMA Advocacy Team