PRAGUE –- American singer, poet, and activist Patti Smith has voiced support for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), calling attention to the importance of independent journalism and warning of funding threats under the current US administration.
During a concert on July 19 in Prague, where RFE/RL is based, the iconic 78-year-old paused before launching into her protest anthem People Have The Power to dedicate the song “to Steve, and everyone at Radio Free Europe,” referring to RFE/RL President Stephen Capus.
Smith, one of the original voices during the birth of New York's punk rock scene in the mid 1970s, praised the work of RFE/RL and "many important public institutions," highlighting their role in sharing "important information to the people in rural communities all over the the world,” and lamenting that they are “being defunded by the present administration in my country.”
"We have to keep fighting, we have to help one another," she added.
The comments by the woman known as the "high priestess of punk" who has long fused art with activism, were met with loud applause from the Prague audience, many of whom are familiar with RFE/RL’s historic and ongoing presence in the region.
Based in the Czech capital since 1995, RFE/RL broadcasts independent news in 27 languages to countries where a free press is banned or not fully established.
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Smith's Prague tribute comes at a moment when the future of US-funded international broadcasters, including RFE/RL, is uncertain amid proposed budget cuts and shifting political priorities in Washington.
RFE/RL, along with other government-funded broadcasters, such as Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio Marti), and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, have come under dire circumstances since US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that gutted the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
The USAGM is an independent government agency that oversees several US-funded broadcasters, which together distribute news and information in almost 50 languages to some 361 million people each week.
The threat to the broadcaster's funding has sparked a wave of global support from media watchdogs, analysts, and democracy advocates, as well as the audiences in the 23 countries that make up RFE/RL's coverage region.
Smith herself is not the first prominent musical artist to have spoken out in defense of RFE/RL.
Earlier this year, the band R.E.M. reissued their debut song Radio Free Europe to mark World Press Freedom Day and highlight the organization’s work in support of independent journalism and truth in places where it is most under threat.
“Whether it’s music or a free press –- censorship anywhere is a threat to the truth everywhere," lead singer Michael Stipe said at the time, adding that the band were "sending a shout-out to the brave journalists at Radio Free Europe.”
Stipe's comments were echoed by the band's bassist. Mike Mills, who called RFE/RL the "OG" [original gangster] of pro-democracy broadcasting.
“Radio Free Europe’s journalists have been pissing off dictators for 75 years," he said. "You know you’re doing your job when you make the right enemies."
