According to The Hill, nearly half of the Voice of America's staff signed a petition complaining that the Broadcasting Board of Governors [3] launched "new services in the Middle East with no editorial accountability" while cutting back VoA programs in the region. One VoA editor called the new Middle East networks - Radio Sawa, al-Hurra [4] and Radio Farda - "expensive and ill advised." The VoA petition claims the new networks "provide inadequate news coverage and do not operate under VoA's charter, which guarantees balanced reporting." Other Middle East media have questioned the credibility of the new U.S.-funded networks.