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On May 31, 2019, a highly anticipated debate took place on Fox Business network, between two news anchors. The event unfolded against the backdrop of US-China Trade War. The two anchors, Trish Regan, and Liu Xin of China's CGTN, had been sparring on social media over the trade war. On May 23, Trish tweeted, “Hey China State TV - let’s have an HONEST debate on trade. You accuse me of being ‘emotional’ and not knowing my facts. Wrong! You name the time and place, and I’ll be there!” Liu accepted the challenge and the two anchors decided to face off in a prime-time debate. What makes this news interesting is that Liu is no ordinary figure. She works for China’s CGTN, which is a state-run English news network that broadcasts globally. CGTN is a government media that projects the ambition of a rising economic and political power. It seeks to challenge the hegemony of CNN and BBC in setting the global news agenda. Hello, welcome back to COMM one twenty-two Podcast. I am your host, and in this episode, we will discuss government media.It is easy to spot content produced by government media. When watching a YouTube video, you might notice a line below the video that says “XYZ is funded in whole or in part by some government.” There are some notable examples of government media. Russia Today is a 24-hour, multi-language news channel funded by the Russian government. Al Jazeera, another news channel specializing in the coverage of the Middle East, is funded in whole or in part by the Qatari government. The American government also supported its very own media organization, called Voice of America.While government media of different countries vary greatly in editorial independence, they share some common attributes: for one, their major funding source comes from a national government. Secondly, they are controlled and operated by government offices and entities, to advance their ‘development agenda’, and as a source of ‘soft power.’Government media has caused quite a bit of political controversy in recent years. Political pundits and analysts accused Russia Today and another Russian outlet Sputnik of spreading disinformation to meddle in the 2016 election. China’s CGTN was also accused by western politicians of mischaracterizing and smearing the current protests in Hong Kong. These government media are widely seen as the mouthpieces of authoritarian or semi-authoritarian governments. Here in the states, the most notable example of government media is Voice of America, also known as V O A. V O A is set for international broadcasting and is part of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, USA GM. The mission of USA GM is to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. Government-funded the agency with budget of $753 million in the fiscal year of 2016. USA GM, as a government agency, is led by a single CEO appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.In theory, Voice of America seeks to represent American society and its value. This does not necessarily make it the mouthpiece of a particular US administration. The “firewall” enshrined in the 1994 US International Broadcasting Act, prohibits interference by any US government official, in the objective, independent reporting of Voice of America. With these characteristics in mind, what do you think are the limitations of government media? Perhaps, you would say, depending on their “governance structure” and who controls operations, government media tend to be more exposed to government interference and control. But, in my defense of government media, under some circumstances, government media become necessary. For instance, during the World War Two, V O A played a critical role in the information war against the Nazi Germany. During the cold war, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Asia, both are supported by the US government, brought uncensored news to an audience li