Trump’s ‘worldwide network’ is a great idea. But it already exists. | Washington Post

A timely perspective from the director of Voice of America; later in the article: "Yet what is most important isn’t the size of our audience. It’s their trust: Eighty-five percent of our global audience say they trust us. [...] We export the First Amendment."

"“Something has to be done,” President Trump tweeted Monday.

Frustrated by CNN, with which he has an ongoing beef, Trump suggested that the United States create its own “worldwide network to show the World the way we really are — GREAT!”

Despite the proposal’s origin in conflict with the press, it’s a really good idea. So good, in fact, that under another president’s watch — Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 — it happened.

Seventy-six years ago, the world was a dark place. The radio broadcast that eventually became Voice of America was created to give people trapped behind Nazi lines accurate, truthful news about the war, in contrast with Nazi propaganda."

Trump’s ‘worldwide network’ is a great idea. But it already exists. | Washington Post