More than most government projects, Voice of America might almost have seemed to embody President Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again.” VOA correspondents as I observed them, from the Vietnam War to Tiananmen Square, from Japan and Korea, made a show of covering news related to U.S. interests from a distinctly American point of view.

Inevitably they would have to report news that did not enhance the American image, of course, but most of what they put out reflected on America as a beacon of democracy and free speech.

VOA correspondents did not imitate the legacy media’s edge of intellectual superiority or omniscience. Nor did VOA stories have the tone of NPR reports, which tend to cover controversial events in the understated accent of self-consciously dispassionate observers. VOA stories, for the benefit of foreign audiences, were not just bereft of annoying interpretation — they were often rather boring, in fact.

VOA reports might be available on the internet, but VOA did not broadcast to American stations. Banned by law from broadcasting in the U.S., VOA was unheard in the morning and evening rush hour “drive time” when radio news chalks up its greatest numbers of listeners.

For VOA, either straight, factual reporting or carefully balanced........

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