Filmmaking, Censorship, and Political Narratives

Michael Pack is a documentary filmmaker and the president of Palladium Pictures. During Donald Trump’s first presidency, he led the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees America’s state-funded news networks, including Voice of America.

“The budget is something like $900 million,” he says. “It’s only a mid-sized government agency, but it’s one of the largest broadcasters in the world. They’re broadcasting over 70 languages to hundreds of millions of people a week. So it’s really a potent tool, and it’s designed to promote American ideas and values abroad.”

In this episode, we discuss his recent films, the future of media, and how the U.S. government can better leverage public diplomacy as a tool against its adversaries.

“We could do nothing better, really, than to knock [China’s internet] firewall down. I think if people in China had a chance to hear the range of ideas out there, it would change the country more than almost anything else. And it’s not expensive,” he says.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.