The organization's founder and president was Ted Lipien,[1] He was in charge of VOA Polish radio programs during the Solidarity labor union's struggle for democracy in Poland in the 1980s and helped place VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) programs on stations in the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, and in the Middle East.
The organization advocates for the rights of independent media and works to make free information available to journalists in media-at-risk countries.
Recent FreeMediaOnline.org reporting covered issues of censorship and other violations of freedom of the press in Russia, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela.
FreeMediaOnline.org has published articles critical of President Vladimir Putin's clampdown on independent media in Russia and Moscow's efforts to restrict rebroadcasting of RFE/RL and VOA news programs on Russian stations.
[3] FreeMediaOnline.org reports have been critical of the Bush Administration and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) for their plans to eliminate VOA radio programs in Russian and for insufficient support for media independence in Eurasia.