Patsy Widakuswara

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Patsy Widakuswara
Widakuswara in 2022
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OccupationJournalist Edit this on Wikidata
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Patsy Widakuswara is an Indonesian–American[1] radio and broadcast journalist in the United States who covers the White House and U.S. politics. She is the White House Bureau Chief of Voice of America.[2] An incident following VOA news director Robert R. Reilly's interview of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo resulted in her removal from the White House beat[3] and subsequent reinstatement 11 days later. Widakuswara was a lead plaintiff in a successful case to overturn a Presidential order that the Voice of America should be shut down in March 2025.

Early life and education

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Widakuswara was born in Indonesia, and grew up in Jakarta.[4] She has a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the University of Indonesia and completed a master's in Journalism from Goldsmiths College, University of London.[5]

Career

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Widakuswara has worked in broadcasting and radio in Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the United States since the 1990s.[5] She began working at Voice of America (VOA) in 2003 as a producer and on-air reporter for the Indonesian Service.[2]

In early 2021, Widakuswara covered the Trump administration for VOA.

On January 11, 2021, after VOA news director Robert R. Reilly interviewed Pompeo but did not allow reporters to ask questions, Widakuswara asked Pompeo several questions that he did not answer as he left the building.[6][3] She was hours later removed from the prestigious White House beat and then reassigned to VOA Indonesian service.[7] The Coalition For Women in Journalism and the White House Correspondents' Association condemned Widakuswara's removal.[8][3] Widakuswara was reinstated on January 22, 2021.[9]

In September 2023, Widakuswara, while traveling with U.S. vice president Kamala Harris, was temporarily barred by Indonesian security officers during a press event an at ASEAN summit meeting, after she shouted two questions at Indonesia president Joko Widodo;[10] neither of her questions were answered.[4] She was allowed back in after U.S. officials, including Harris, intervened.[10] An Indonesian foreign ministry official later apologized for the incident.[4]

Widakuswara was the VOA's White House Bureau Chief when calls were made for her and her colleague Carol Guensburg to be fired in November 2023. US senators were annoyed that the VOA was refusing to use the term "terrorists" to refer to the Hamas in Gaza. The VOA's line at the time was in line with the BBC's in that they only used the term when it was from a quote. They argued that the word was politicised and the listener should be allowed to decide who was in the wrong and who was in the right.[11]

Widakuswara was a lead plaintiff in a legal case to overturn Trump's executive order who had ordered that the Voice of America should be shut down in March 2025. 1,300 VOA employees were placed on leave.[12] He had already appointed Kari Lake to lead the service. Lake was a Trump supporter who had agreed (wrongly) that Trump had been denied the Presidency previously. She said he had won his second Presidential election. Widakuswara's legal case was upheld in April 2025 as the judge declared that Trump's order "violated the law and Constitution".[12]

References

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  1. ^ "The Inside Story-Biden's Road to Bali TRANSCRIPT". Voice of America. December 1, 2022. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Federal Faces: Patsy Widakuswara". The Washington Post. March 18, 2013. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Folkenflik, David (January 12, 2021). "Voice Of America White House Reporter Reassigned After Questioning Pompeo". NPR.org. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Local journalists: US reporter's ejection from Jakarta summit reflects poorly on Indonesia". Benar News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Patsy Widakuswara – Reporter bio". VOA News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Patsy Widakuswara: Jakarta native asking Trump administration tough questions". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Nicole Gaouette, Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood (January 12, 2021). "Voice of America reassigns White House reporter who tried to ask Mike Pompeo a question". CNN. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "United States: CFWIJ condemns the intimidation of journalist Patsy Widakuswara". The Coalition For Women in Journalism. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Beitsch, Rebecca (January 22, 2021). "VOA reinstates White House reporter reassigned after questioning Pompeo". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Aggarwal, Mithil; Perlmutter-Gumbiner, Elyse (September 10, 2023). "G20 summit showcases India's global clout and press freedom worries". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024. After Indonesian security officials surrounded and then threatened to ban Voice of America reporter Patsy Widakuswara from entering the summit room after she shouted two questions at President Joko Widodo during a "spray," U.S. officials pressured their Indonesian counterparts to let Widakuswara in. [...] Journalists often use those brief moments to shout questions at the leaders in the hope they might respond.
  11. ^ "Senators criticize VOA editorial guidelines on Israel-Gaza war, call for firings". U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. November 9, 2023. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Judge halts Trump's shutdown of Voice of America". BBC News. April 22, 2025. Archived from the original on April 26, 2025. Retrieved April 25, 2025.