The popular alternative rock band R.E.M. is marking World Press Freedom Day and the 75th anniversary of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) with a special reissue of its 1981 debut single, “Radio Free Europe,” RFE/RL reported.
“Radio Free Europe’s journalists have been pissing off dictators for 75 years. You know you’re doing your job when you make the right enemies,” Mike Mills, a founding member of R.E.M. said.
The band says the track, which helped launch their career, also celebrates the mission of RFE/RL and other US-funded broadcasters currently facing budget cuts and legal battles over funding under US President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Whether it’s music or a free press – censorship anywhere is a threat to the truth everywhere,” said R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, applauding the work of journalists at RFE/RL, many of whom report under threat and censorship.
The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees RFE/RL, Voice of America, and others, had its grant to RFE/RL terminated following a recent executive order. The move is being contested in court.
Supporters warn the cuts will silence vital pro-democracy voices abroad.
“R.E.M.’s music has always embodied a celebration of freedom,” said RFE/RL President Stephen Capus. “Those are the very aims of our journalists at Radio Free Europe.”
The band will release a limited-edition orange vinyl of the single, with proceeds supporting RFE/RL and its press freedom mission.
Four RFE/RL journalists and contributors – Ihar Losik, Nika Novak, Vladyslav Yesypenko, and Farid Mehralizada – are currently imprisoned on charges related to their work.