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Legendary Athens, Ga., band R.E.M. today released an updated music video set to a remix of their debut single, „Radio Free Europe,“ recorded by producer Mitch Easter in his North Carolina studio in April 1981.
The new video „celebrates the 75th anniversary of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty station, established by the United States 75 years ago to broadcast news and information where a free press is either banned or under threat,“ a release from the band stated.
The mission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to its website, is „to promote democratic values with uncensored news.“ The stations reach 47 million monthly listeners across 23 countries and 27 languages. The organization falls under the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent federal agency overseeing public service media networks.
R.E.M.’s video is timed to honor World Press Freedom Day on May 3. World Press Freedom Day was first proclaimed by the U.N. General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Its 2025 theme explores „challenges at the intersection of technology and press freedom,“ but also arrives when a free press — including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — is under assault.
“Whether it’s music or a free press — censorship anywhere is a threat to the truth everywhere,” Stipe said on Friday. “On World Press Freedom Day, I’m sending a shout-out to the brave journalists at Radio Free Europe.”
R.E.M. in November 1981
On March 14, President Trump’s Executive Order titled, Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, „initiated measures to eliminate the non-statutory components [of USAGM] and functions to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law. USAGM and the outlets it oversees will be reduced to their statutory functions and associated personnel will be reduced to the minimum presence and function required by law.“
A federal judge this week ordered the Republican administration to restore $12 million to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that was appropriated by Congress, the Associated Press reported Friday. Lawyers for the service said it would be forced to shut down in June without the money.
In its reporting about Trump’s May 1 executive order to cut all federal funding PBS and NPR, PBS said Friday that efforts to dismantle RFE/RL „have faced pushback from federal courts, who have ruled in some cases that the Trump administration may have overstepped its authority in holding back funds appropriated to the outlets by Congress.“
Along with the „Radio Free Europe“ video, R.E.M. is donating the proceeds from vinyl sales of its Radio Free Europe 2025, a five-track EP featuring a 2025 remix by longtime collaborator Jacknife Lee and original producer Mitch Easter’s 1981 remix „Radio Free Dub,“ to RFE/RL, a private nonprofit corporation.
Kristi York Wooten (she/her) is a digital editor and journalist based in Atlanta. She works with the GPB radio and digital news teams as an editor, writes and produces features for digital and radio and leads editorial and production for the GPB News Weekend newsletter. Her work appears in The New York Times, The Economist, The Atlantic, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and others.
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Georgia music icons R.E.M. release new video of 'Radio Free Europe' ahead of World Press Freedom Day – Georgia Public Broadcasting
