Will the president’s pick to lead the Broadcasting Board of Governors turn Voice Of America into the president’s megaphone?

Donald Trump intends to nominate Michael Pack, a controversial ally of Steve Bannon, as the next head of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), according to a recent statement by the White House. If confirmed by the Senate, Pack would replace the current CEO, John Lansing, who was appointed in 2015.

While the BBG may not be a household name, the $685m agency wields significant international influence through its news networks including Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. These government-funded outlets create and distribute news in more than 100 countries and 61 languages, reaching an audience of 278 million people.

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BBG has sometimes been accused of being a propaganda outlet; perhaps because some of the networks it manages were set up for precisely that purpose. Radio Free Europe, for example, was founded in 1949 to help with cold war efforts and was subsidized by the CIA until 1972. BBG insists that it is not propaganda, but “present[s] fair and accurate news”. In its most recent annual report BBG also describes itself as “a strong and nimble global media agency … [which] advances US foreign policy priorities and national security interests”.

In 2014, Jeff Shell, then chairman of the BBG, took umbrage with an article in Time which seemed to suggest the agency is analogous to the Kremlin-run Russia Today. Shell and wrote an op-ed stressing BBG’s “founding legislation mandates that our programs be conducted in accordance with the highest professional standards of broadcast journalism”.

Michael Pack. Photograph: Manifold Productions

Pack’s nomination as head of the BBG has reportedly been in the works for over a year, but was delayed while he removed himself from conflict of interest issues.

Pack has a long history in the media and of disseminating conservative ideas. He was previously head of the Claremont Institute, a conservative thinktank, where he also presided over the Claremont Review of Books, which has been described as the “bible of highbrow Trumpism”. Its editor, Charles Kesler, has called Trump’s election “a liberating moment for conservatism”.

Previously, Pack served on the National Council of the National Endowment for Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He is also a documentary film-maker and the president of Manifold Productions, an independent film and television production company. Pack worked on two documentaries with Steve Bannon; one about nuclear power and one about the Iraq war.

Last year, Pack wrote an article for the Federalist that praised Steve Bannon, and professed his desire that Bannon would help break the left’s “monopoly” on documentaries. Pack argued that film departments in American universities are a hotbed of liberal “indoctrination and grooming”.

“I have some bad news for this documentary establishment,” Pack wrote. “Trump, with Bannon’s help, campaigned against political correctness and self-dealing elites. And they won.”

If Pack does become head of the BBG, critics fear that he will turn Voice of America and the other BBG networks into a megaphone for Trump. This is of particular concern because the new head of the BBG will have more unilateral power than previous leaders. Towards the end of the Obama administration, a provision was enacted which would replace BBG’s bipartisan board with an advisory board elected by the president. While some people saw the move as a way to make the BBG more efficient, others worry that it might imperil its journalistic independence.

When contacted by the Guardian about his nomination, Pack said that he was honored to be asked to serve his country in this important position, but had no further comment at this point.