The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has named Michael Abramowitz as the new director of Voice of America (VOA). Abramowitz is currently president of Freedom House – a nonpartisan organization that works to create a world where all are free – and will succeed VOA Acting Director John Lippman later this year.

“Michael is an esteemed journalist and a champion for human rights, and much of his work at Freedom House has informed our own efforts to counter disinformation and authoritarianism around the world,” said USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett. “I’m excited for his leadership, and eager to work alongside him to bring objective news and information to the world’s most restrictive media environments – especially at such a critical point in our global history.”

Abramowitz is an experienced, skilled, and respected journalist who most recently comes from Freedom House where, as president, he oversees analysis, advocacy, and direct support to frontline defenders of freedom. He previously directed the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Levine Institute for Holocaust Education, and led the museum’s genocide prevention efforts. He spent the first 24 years of his career at the Washington Post, where he rose to become national editor – one of the Post’s top leadership positions – and then White House correspondent. At the Post, he led a team which won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for its coverage of post-2001 efforts to capture Osama bin Laden. 

“I am deeply inspired by the mission of Voice of America to provide accurate, comprehensive, and objective news and to tell America’s story to people around the world, many of whom have no alternative source of information. The mission is especially vital at a time when authoritarian governments are flooding the airwaves and social media platforms with propaganda and disinformation,” said Michael Abramowitz. “VOA is a bulwark for truth and press freedom, and I am excited to take the helm of this organization and work alongside its talented journalists and staff. Together, we will win the information war.”

A graduate of Harvard College, Michael is a board member of the National Security Archive, a member of the Advisory Council for the George W. Bush Institute, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was formerly a Marshall Memorial fellow at the German Marshall Fund and Berlin Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin. 

After wrapping up his current duties at Freedom House and fulfilling certain administrative requirements, Michael is expected to start his new position this summer.

[Source: USAGM press release]