In Memoriam — Kevin Klose and Ted Turner

6 May 2026

In Memoriam — Kevin Klose and Ted Turner

The international broadcasting community is marking the loss of two figures whose influence helped shape the modern global media landscape: Kevin Klose and Ted Turner.

Kevin Klose, who died in April 2026, was widely respected for his leadership of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), an organisation central to the provision of independent news in societies where media freedom has often been constrained. Klose served as president and CEO during pivotal periods, including after the Cold War and again in later years when geopolitical tensions renewed the importance of trusted, fact-based international broadcasting. His career also spanned journalism and academia, including senior roles at National Public Radio, where he helped strengthen editorial standards and institutional resilience. Colleagues consistently highlighted his commitment to journalistic integrity and his belief in broadcasting as a public good.

Just weeks later, the industry was also mourning the death of Ted Turner, the visionary entrepreneur who founded CNN. Turner’s creation of the world’s first 24-hour television news channel in 1980 fundamentally altered the rhythm and expectations of news consumption. By making live, continuous coverage a global norm, CNN reshaped both audience behaviour and editorial practice, setting a template that broadcasters worldwide would follow. Turner’s broader media ventures, including the expansion of cable television and his role in building global media brands, left an enduring commercial and cultural legacy.

While their careers unfolded in different contexts – Klose within publicly funded international broadcasting and Turner within commercial media innovation – both shared a belief in the power of information to connect societies and influence global understanding. Each, in his own way, expanded the reach and relevance of broadcast journalism across borders.

Their deaths come at a moment when the media industry is confronting profound structural change, from digital disruption to shifting geopolitical pressures. The legacies of Klose and Turner serve as a reminder of the enduring importance of credible journalism, international perspective, and the institutions that sustain them.

Radio Farda Returns to Shortwave, Bypassing Iran’s Digital Blackout

10 January 2026

Radio Farda Returns to Shortwave, Bypassing Iran’s Digital Blackout

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on 10 January resumed shortwave radio broadcasts into Iran following the imposition of an internet blackout by the Islamic Republic. Working with several commercial vendors, RFE/RL’s Persian-language service Radio Farda is once again providing an alternative to state-controlled media. Radio Farda reaches 6.5 million Iranians inside the country each week across digital platforms.

As nationwide protests in Iran continue, Radio Farda remains a lifeline for the people of Iran, providing vital news and insight, amplifying the voices of activists, verifying the deaths of protesters, and delivering expert analysis on the developing U.S. response.

President & CEO Stephen Capus said:

“At this historic moment, when the Iranian people have been plunged into digital darkness by their government, Radio Farda’s return to the airwaves is an essential breakthrough. We’re reaching the people of Iran with the facts they need to stay safe – and ensuring their voices continue to be heard. Our journalists at Radio Farda are working nonstop to fulfill our commitment to the people of Iran.”

In the week leading up to the Islamic Republic’s internet blackout, Radio Farda’s digital reach surged. Between January 2-8, Radio Farda’s Instagram content was viewed at least 30 million times per day – 241.8 million views total – with 96% coming from Iran. Between December 28-January 5, Instagram video viewership rose by 411% over the previous seven-day period, with engagements soaring by 481%.

Radio Farda is a primary source of international perspectives on the crisis for Iranians, providing the latest statements from U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), as well as analyses of the crisis and its impact on U.S. and foreign policy debates and analysis by experts such as Jack Goldstone, Michael Sobolik, Michael Rubin, and Ilan Berman.

For the latest information on the protests, follow Radio Farda’s live blogs in English and Persian. [Source: RFE/RL press release]

RFE/RL journalist freed from Belarus detention

11 September 2025

RFE/RL journalist freed from Belarus detention

RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik and former Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow Alena Tsimashchuk have been freed from unjust imprisonment in Belarus.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said:

“We are immensely grateful to President Trump for securing Ihar and Alena’s release from wrongful detention by Belarusian authorities. We also thank Secretary Rubio, Deputy Special Envoy John Coale, the Lithuanian government, and the press freedom community for their strong support of RFE/RL’s imprisoned journalists.

Ihar suffered horribly because he was a journalist working for RFE/RL. This phase of his excruciating and wholly unfair ordeal, which stretched beyond five years, is finally over.

Alena is a young woman at the start of her career who had two years of her life stolen from her.”

Ihar Losik is a journalist for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service who was detained in Minsk in June 2020. In December 2021, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on false charges, including “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred.” While in detention, Ihar endured extremely harsh conditions, including long periods of incommunicado detention.

Alena Tsimashchuk, a former Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow, was also released. Alena was detained in September 2023 on extremism charges. In June 2024, she was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

Today’s releases come after the Trump administration secured the release of RFE/RL journalist Andrei Kuznechyk in February and former RFE/RL journalist Ihar Karnei in June. Both men were imprisoned in Belarus.

RFE/RL journalists Farid Mehralizada and Nika Novak remain unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan and Russia, respectively. Former RFE/RL journalist Reza Valizadeh remains imprisoned in Iran.

US District Court Orders USAGM to Pay RFE/RL for Rest of Fiscal Year

19 July 2025

US District Court Orders USAGM to Pay RFE/RL for Rest of Fiscal Year

Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s request for a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

In his ruling, the judge ordered USAGM to timely disburse RFE/RL’s remaining congressionally appropriated funds for fiscal year 2025, concluding that the agency’s conditioning of funds on the imposition of onerous new grant terms and failure to engage in good-faith negotiations with RFE/RL violate the law.

Judge Lamberth wrote: “As far as this Court is aware, it is unprecedented for an agency to demand that entirely new terms govern its decades-old working relationship with a grantee entity and then stop responding, particularly when the agency is statutorily obligated to grant yearly congressional appropriations to that specific entity by name.” The Court stated that “USAGM’s flagrant disregard for its funding responsibilities” has caused RFE/RL to suffer “mass furloughs, cancelation of programming, and inevitable damage to the global influence that RFE/RL has built over decades.”

President and CEO Stephen Capus said:

“Today’s ruling by the Court is the culmination of relentless legal efforts to compel USAGM to release the funding necessary to carry out RFE/RL’s vital mission. Time and again, the Court has ruled in our favor on the basic issue of the release of our congressionally appropriated funds.

This victory provides our journalists with the momentum necessary to continue reaching the nearly 47 million people each week who rely on our journalism for the facts and to counter malicious propaganda from authoritarian governments. Now more than ever, we cannot cede the information space to tyrants.

With this ruling, RFE/RL can continue to advance U.S. national security interests.”

Ukrainian RFE/RL Journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko Released from Custody in Occupied Crimea

23 June 2025

Ukrainian RFE/RL Journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko Released from Custody in Occupied Crimea

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) welcomes Vladyslav’s release and thanks the U.S. and Ukrainian governments for efforts to bring him home.

Ukrainian Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko has been released from Russian custody in occupied Crimea.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said: “For more than four years, Vlad was arbitrarily punished for a crime he did not commit. He paid too high of a price for reporting the truth about what was taking place inside Russia-occupied Crimea. For that, he was tortured, physically and psychologically. While we celebrate his joyous reunion with his wife Kateryna, and their young daughter Stefania, we cannot overlook this family’s pain at the hands of Russian authorities.

“RFE/RL extends its deepest gratitude to the U.S. and Ukrainian governments for working with us to ensure that Vlad’s unjust detention was not prolonged. We also thank the global press freedom community for their tireless advocacy on behalf of RFE/RL’s dedicated journalists.”

This follows the releases of former RFE/RL journalist Ihar Karnei on June 21 and RFE/RL journalist Andrei Kuznechyk in February from unjust detention in Belarus thanks to the significant efforts of the Trump administration.