Lubetkin on Communications Podcast

CHERRY HILL, NJ (SBN) — Issues surrounding firearms ownership, the Second Amendment, and weapons training and regulation are often fraught with emotion, political polarization, and misinformation.

On this episode of The Lubetkin on Communications podcast, firearms instructor and award-rinning journalist John Petrolino discusses how he focused his career reporting on firearms issues.

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John Petrolino is a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer, writer, firearms instructor, and author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on Basic Gun Safety & Use. Petrolino received a B.S. in Marine Engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Petrolino has been published by BearingArms.com, AmmoLand.com, News2A.com, ShootingNewsWeekly.com, TheTruthAboutGuns.com, USA Carry, Save New Jersey Blog, USCCA’s Concealed Carry Magazine, NRA Women, and America’s 1st Freedom. In 2024 Petrolino launched a product and travel review site, TheSquareReviews.com, where he serves as the publisher/editor-in-chief.

Also, in 2024 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

In 2022 Petrolino was named “Media Figure of the Year” by San Diego County Gun Owners PAC and “Blogger of the Year” by the Second Amendment Foundation. SAF named him “Journalist of the Year” in 2024. In 2025 Petrolino received an “Outstanding Achievement” in broadcast award from the Professional Outdoor Media Association.

Also, in 2025 he won two 1st Place and two 2nd Place “Excellence in Journalism” awards in the Metropolitan division from the N.J. Society of Professional Journalists for his watchdog coverage of N.J., articles on the N.J. Second Amendment community, and his reporting on a N.J. homeowner who used a firearm for self-defense without firing a shot.

CHERRY HILL, NJ (SBN) — The free press in the United States is facing a super storm of challenges, from declining readership of print news publications to the loss of advertising revenue to online platforms, and the blistering attacks on its credibility from politicians ranging from local leaders all the way up to President Trump, with his baseless accusations of false reporting and his attacks on freedom of the press.

To comment on the state of the free news media in the US, this week’s guest on SBN Newsmakers is Joe Weber, who is the Jerry and Karla Huse Professor emeritus of News-Editorial at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Joe has also been a visiting professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and previously spent more than two decades as a writer and editor at BusinessWeek, concluding his tenure there as Chief of Correspondents.

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He is currently a top commentator on Substack, the exciting new platform for independent journalism, where he writes The Big Picture. You can subscribe at https://josephweber.substack.com/.

In this conversation, Joe Weber discusses the evolution of journalism, highlighting the significant changes from traditional print media to the current landscape dominated by digital platforms and independent voices. He emphasizes the decline of local news and its implications for democracy, the challenges posed by corporate media ownership, and the rise of Substack as a platform for independent journalism. Weber also addresses the impact of political bias on news consumption and the disconnect between voters and reality, ultimately expressing cautious optimism for the future of democracy.

You can also watch the video of our conversation in the player below.

SBN Newsmakers shows are also available on the Roku streaming service. You can subscribe to our Roku channel at https://bit.ly/SBNroku.

For the first time in nearly three years, the New Jersey chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and the NJ chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists sponsored a “Meet the Media” panel, held at the student center at the Cook Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

This podcast presents that panel discussion, as we have done for several past panels in the series.

Eric Scott
Vice President/Senior Political Director, New Jersey 101.5 FM

Eric Scott is the winner of the 2022 Edward R. Murrow award for Best Newscast. He is currently Vice President/Senior Political Director for Townsquare Media’s New Jersey 101.5.  For more than 30 years, Eric has been the host and producer of New Jersey’s First News, the longest running news program in New Jersey, which airs weekday mornings from 5:30 – 6:00 a.m.  He also provides regular news updates during the stations’ morning show between 6 – 10:00 a.m.  His broadcasts were voted “Best Newscast” by the Associated Press 10 years in a row. His decades of covering New Jersey politics gives Eric a wealth of institutional knowledge and a unique perspective on the inner workings of state government.  He is often sought out to provide insight and analysis on the most pressing issues facing the Garden State.

Tom Bergeron
Founder/Editor/Co-Owner, ROI-NJ

An influential journalist in New Jersey for more than three decades, Tom Bergeron is the founder, editor and co-owner of ROI-NJ, a digital and print outlet covering the world of business and politics in New Jersey that he helped launch in the fall of 2017. The 30-year veteran of journalism, who previously worked at The Star-Ledger, Yahoo! and NJBIZ, has established himself as one of the most well-known and trusted sources for business leaders, industry heads and government officials in the state by building a reputation of being fair and thorough in his reporting and presentation. Tom lives in Morris Plains with his wife and their five children. When he is not writing and reporting, he is coaching youth sports teams – having led more than 100 teams in the past 20 years. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Michael Diamond
Business Reporter, Asbury Park Press

Michael Diamond is a business reporter at the Asbury Park Press, where he has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry since 1999. Before joining the Press, Michael Diamond worked at newspapers in Pennsylvania and California. He’s a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and a native of Denver, Colorado. He currently lives in Atlantic Highlands.

Joanna Gagis
Guest Anchor and Senior Correspondent, NJ Spotlight News/NJ PBS

Joanna Gagis is a Guest Anchor and Senior Correspondent for NJ Spotlight News, the nightly news broadcast of NJ PBS. She covers New Jersey politics, education, healthcare, the economy and more. Joanna recently launched the in-depth interview series “HerStory with Joanna Gagis”, that brings into focus many of the critical issues facing women today. Before joining the news team at NJ PBS, Joanna helped develop and launch the lifestyle show “Life & Living with Joanna Gagis,” a series that highlighted the lifestyle and culture of New Jersey – restaurants, fashion, the arts, destinations, and New Jersey celebrities. She’s also a mom of 2 kids, which is by far her most important job!

Nick Hirshon
Associate Editor, American Journalism; Associate Professor of Journalism, William Paterson University and Former reporter, N.Y. Daily News

Nicholas Hirshon is a journalism professor at William Paterson University and a two-time recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Outstanding Campus Chapter Adviser Award. A former reporter for the New York Daily News, Dr. Hirshon studies the history of sports media in New York City and serves as associate editor for a peer-reviewed media history journal, American Journalism. His book We Want Fish Sticks: The Bizarre and Infamous Rebranding of the New York Islanders was published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2018, and he currently serves as a consultant providing research for the Islanders as they celebrate their fiftieth anniversary season. Dr. Hirshon has a Master’s from the Columbia Journalism School and a Ph.D. from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Steve Lubetkin, APR, Fellow, PRSA
Managing Partner, The Lubetkin Media Companies; News Director, State Broadcast News

Steve Lubetkin is an award-winning multimedia journalist and veteran communications counselor. But he has also been on the cutting edge in using technology for communications and marketing for a very, very, long time. In fact, he was the first music writer to use a portable computer to cover a rock concert – it was a Grateful Dead concert in Englishtown, New Jersey – that actually took place this week in 1977. Steve has included an email address on his business card since 1988. For almost 18 years, he has been managing partner of The Lubetkin Media Companies, which produces award-winning audio and video podcasts, corporate photojournalism, and other multimedia content, and serves as news director for its State Broadcast News division, which produces radion and TV news content other news organizations. He is the co-author, with Toronto-based podcaster Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional.  On Twitter, he is known as “@PodcastSteve.”

P. Kenneth Burns
South Jersey Reporter
WHYY-FM, Philadelphia

P. Kenneth Burns is WHYY’s South Jersey reporter. He joined the station in 2018 as an anchor. He also contributed stories and won a 2020 Keystone Media Award for one of them. Prior to WHYY, he covered city government and urban issues for WYPR in Baltimore, his first stop in public media. His coverage of the Freddie Gray police trials won a 2017 National Headliner Award. Burns began his career shortly after high school as an intern and later news assistant at WTOP in Washington, D.C. He would go on to work for several commercial broadcasting outlets as a reporter, anchor, and producer in the D.C. and Baltimore metro areas. The native Marylander and recently adopted New Jerseyan is a graduate of Towson University and Anne Arundel Community College. He is the current president of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Bob Schapiro
Executive Producer
On The Frontlines

Bob Schapiro has reported from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.  His most recent documentary won an Emmy Award in New York City, where he has written and produced newscasts for WCBS, WPIX, and WNBC. He is immediate past president of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Isaac Avilucea
Reporter, Axios Philadelphia

Isaac Avilucea is a reporter for Axios Philadelphia. He spent nearly eight years covering Trenton for The Trentonian. He is a two-time recipient of NJ-SPJ’s Courage Under Fire honor and winner of the Tim O’Brien award for best use of public records. His stories on two sensational family court cases in Connecticut and New Jersey drew the scorn of the government, which tried censoring his reporting.

Moderator:

Michael Lauer
PRSA New Jersey President-Elect

Michael Lauer is President-Elect of PRSA New Jersey. He is also a Senior Vice President with United Minds, a consultancy dedicated to helping organization mange change and transformation. Michael is a PROSCI-certified Change Management practitioner and has partnered with prominent global brands across multiple industries. Before joining United Minds, Michael founded his own consulting business, MDL Strategic Communications, where he partnered with clients to help articulate their value-proposition to key stakeholders.

Previously, Michael was a Communications Leader at Johnson & Johnson. In this role, he was responsible for developing and executing communication strategies for the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. Michael also lead the change transformation communications team for a multi-year $50 million modernization project across the pharmacovigilance practice. Before Johnson & Johnson, Michael worked for several leading communication agencies and led HR Communications for Cigna, a leading U.S. health insurance provider. Early in his career, Michael was the Public Information Officer for the U.S. Capitol Police department.

Michael received his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Monmouth University and has spoken publicly about his passion for communications.

New Jersey native and long-time Springsteen fan Dan Harary has been an entertainment industry publicist for more than 40 years.

Starting in 1972 when he became, at the age of 15, the Stage Manager and Lighting Director at the Sunshine Inn rock concert hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey (the venue where Bruce Springsteen began his career,) Dan Harary has met, worked with and/or interacted with many dozens of the most famous movie, TV, pop and rock music stars in the world.

Dan’s latest book is Flirting With Fame: A Hollywood Publicist Recalls 50 Years Of Celebrity Close Encounters (affiliate link).

Dan discusses his book and his career path in this podcast interview with SBN News Director Steve Lubetkin.

You can listen to the audio podcast in the player below, or subscribe to the podcast in one of the popular platforms by clicking one of the buttons below the player.

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You can also watch the SBN Newsmakers TV show version of this conversation in the player below. The shows now include closed-captioning for the deaf or people with a hearing loss. Click the “CC” button on the video player to activate closed-captions.

In this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications podcast, we have a conversation with Charlie Kratovil, a community activist and award-winning hyperlocal newspaper editor in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Kratovil started the local news website New Brunswick Today, which has broken several exclusive stories, including reports on corruption in the New Brunswick municipal water utility.

Earlier this year, he received national attention when he was forcibly ejected from a speech by White House correspondent April Ryan — an event he had been invited to cover by representatives of the organization that arranged the speech.

Charlie talks about the experience and its implications for news coverage, and discusses the challenges facing hyperlocal news sites, including stable sources of financial support. New Brunswick Today got a boost in 2017 when “Full Frontal” TV host Samantha Bee interviewed Kratovil and supported his fund-raising efforts.

Charlie Kratovil’s Video of His Expulsion from April Ryan Speech

Charlie Kratovil’s Interview with Samantha Bee

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In this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications podcast, we feature a panel discussion on agency business development hosted by the Senior Professionals group of the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. The panel was held on Thursday, September 12 at Stern Strategy Group, Iselin, NJ.

David Hernandez, co-founder and Managing Partner, lotus 823: David’s visionary leadership, dedicated marketing expertise, and drive to excel are at the heart of lotus823’s success and reputation as a trusted partner in the integrated communications space. He established the agency in 2010 with his wife, Allison, to fill the void for a results-driven, integrated boutique firm for both consumer and B2B brands. Prior to launching lotus823, he spent 20 years in the retail and marketing industry, holding leadership roles at such companies as Guitar Center, MARS Music, and OMI Medical Imaging. David’s passion and creative energy underscore the culture of lotus823, and as a result, the company was named Best Small Agency in 2017 by Ragan and PR Daily, named one of Inc.’s Best Places to Work in 2019, and has garnered more than 40 additional industry awards. Further, he is honored to have been a TEDx speaker in 2018, and has been a guest writer on numerous topics, from Hispanic marketing to digital best practices, for leading industry outlets including Bulldog Reporter and HomeWorld Business.

Brian M. Lowe, President & Chief Executive Officer, BML Public Relations: Brian M. Lowe is the president and CEO of BML Public Relations, a national, award-winning earned and social media agency located in Florham Park, NJ. Since opening the doors of BMLPR 13 years ago, Brian has remained focused on achieving the agency’s mission to be the best small agency in America. Not only has he built the foundation of a shop that lives up to a title like that, he continues to add layer after layer to push to the next level from a work and growth standpoint for his staff and the agency, as a whole. Now in existence for more than decade, the agency has grown from one project billing at $300 to a team of 20+ hungry and hardworking team members with an annual revenue of more than $2.5 million. Brian is the winner of PRSA NJ’s PR Professional of the Year for 2019.

Ken Jacobs, ACC, CPC, Principal, Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching: Ken Jacobs, a certified coach and experienced leadership consultant and trainer, is the principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching. Since launching his company in 2007, Jacobs has helped nearly 50 agencies grow their business, manage it for profit, improve client service and relationships, and enhance staff performance, communications and leadership skills.Previously, Jacobs spent 25 years in management and leadership positions with a number of firms, including Ogilvy & Mather PR; Marina Maher Communications (MMC); and Maloney & Fox. While at these agencies he served on leadership teams responsible for business development and agency marketing. Jacobs serves on the Board of PRSA NJ and leads its Senior Professionals Group. He regularly presents at PRSA Counselors Academy on business development, client service, and leadership.

Moderator

Jon Goldberg, Chief Reputation Architect, Reputation Architects ([email protected]): Jon Goldberg founded Reputation Architects in 2009 after more than 25 years as an adviser to top corporate executives, a senior leader at some of the world’s most prominent communications firms and a front-line spokesman for major corporations and non-profit organizations. Over the years, Jon has helped countless companies, non-profits and government entities enhance their reputational equity, inoculate themselves against reputational harm and transform adverse situations into opportunities to demonstrate responsible leadership. His crisis and special situations experience has included everything from government and internal corporate investigations, complex mergers and reorganizations and unanticipated executive successions, to activist attacks, technology failures, privacy and data security breaches, product recalls, intellectual property challenges, class action litigation, labor disputes and workplace and environmental disasters. Before founding Reputation Architects Jon was Partner and head of the Corporate Affairs practice of Porter Novelli, the international communications consultancy. Earlier, he was executive vice president of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide and Edelman’s national director of crisis and litigation communications and served in senior client management roles at J. Walter Thompson. He began his public relations career as manager of corporate media relations for The Prudential Insurance Company of America and as the chief spokesman for Prudential’s insurance, financial and corporate operations and The Prudential Foundation. A frequent speaker and media commentator on reputation management and crisis communications topics, Jon holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master of business administration degree, both from New York University. He serves on the board of directors of the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and is a member the executive committee of the PRSA Counselors Academy, a peer-to-peer network of many of the nation’s top public relations agency leaders and advisers.

Bob Timms spent more than three decades in the newsroom at Action News, the local news program of the ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, in Philadelphia. Before that he had a long and productive career in radio and TV news in the Philadelphia South Jersey Market, including positions at KYW-TV, and WIP and WPEN radio.

For five years – and this is when I first met Bob – he was news director for the Camden city-owned radio station, WCAM, from 1975 to 1980. We traded news audio over a phone patch from Camden to Asbury Park, where I was doing news for WJLK radio, and back again.

Bob joined me in the studio for a great conversation about his career in broadcast news — and the changes he’s seen over the decades in how the news is made and reported.

Employees have limited time to spend with communication, so they are reading less, scanning more and hitting the delete button faster. Visual content, such as infographics, slide shares and photo essays, can capture employees’ attention quickly and convey important content.

In this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications Podcast, we feature a conversation with Alyssa Zeff, vice president, Davis & Co., previewing the online webinar she will conduct on visual content and infographics, for the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. The webinar, which is open to the public (registration fee required) on April 30, from noon to 1 p.m. More information and registration here.

About the Guest

Alyssa Zeff brings more than 20 years of both agency and in-house communication experience to her role in the consulting group at Davis & Company. She offers strategic counsel, communication planning, project management and creative implementation skills to clients, including BlackRock, BD, Dicom and American Water.

Prior to joining Davis & Company, Alyssa was the senior director, global corporate communications and public relations for BD, a leading global medical technology company, where she oversaw all internal communications, corporate communications and public relations worldwide. Her career began at PR agencies in New York City where she promoted leading sports, consumer, food and healthcare brands.

Alyssa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications studies from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

In this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications Podcast, a conversation with Beth Gordon, president of Accelerate Team Performance, who will be presenting a workshop, “Creating and maintaining high-performance culture during transformational change,” at the IABC Philadelphia Chapter on March 21 in Valley Forge, PA. You can get more information and register for the program at the IABC Philadelphia website.

About the Guest

Beth Gordon is President of Accelerate Team Performance. Prior to Accelerate, she spent more than 20 years with a global pharma company on the commercial and human resources sides of the business, where she had roles as a Change Agent, in Leadership Development and as Global Head of Organizational Development.

In this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications Podcast, we present a panel conversation, “Leadership for Ultimate Performance: Yours, Your Organization’s, Your Peers’, Your Team’s,” recorded at the Senior Professionals Group meeting sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

The program was recorded November 7, 2018 at Stern Strategy Group in Iselin, NJ.

About the panelists

Valerie Simon, CMO, Atlantic Health System: Valerie serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Atlantic Health System, an integrated health care delivery system powered by a workforce of more than 16,500 team members dedicated to building healthier communities. In this role, she oversees the marketing, public relations and brand strategy for the system, including branding, the digital consumer experience, advertising and sponsorships, consumer insights, as well as both internal and external communications. Under Simon’s leadership, Atlantic Health System Marketing and Communications has been recognized for exceptional work on both a national and local by a variety of healthcare, marketing and communications organizations, including the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society, Ad Age, Modern Healthcare, The Healthcare Marketing Report, the Telly Awards and the SPOKEies Awards. Simon is the recipient of PRSA-NJ’s Pyramid Award as Communicator of the Year for 2018.

Joan Bosisio, Senior Vice President, Stern Strategy Group: Joan is senior vice president of Stern Strategy Group (Stern), offering public relations, advisory and speakers services that build thought leadership and business. Having joined the firm fresh after graduating from Seton Hall University (SHU) in 1997, she now draws from her long company history to help shape and drive agency strategy, generate new business, provide senior counsel and strategic direction to the firm’s clients, and attract, retain and develop staff. Bosisio is professional advisor to the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter at her alma mater SHU, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications. As a SHU Pirate Mentor and recipient of SHU PRSSA’s 2010 ROPE Mentor Award, she provides career guidance to students through the University’s PRSSA, College of Communications’ Communications Honors Associates Mentoring Program (CHAMPs) and the Stillman School of Business’ Women’s Leadership Programs. In 2013 she was honored with SHU’s prestigious “Many Are One” Alumni Impact Award. A board member and former two-term president of PRSA NJ, Ms. Bosisio currently serves as PRSA NJ’s liaison to the state’s nine student chapters (PRSSA) and director of digital communications.

Chris Lukach, APR, President, AKCG-Public Relations Counselors: Chris Lukach, APR, is president of AKCG – Public Relations Counselors, a national public relations firm specializing in issue and crisis preparedness and response. Chris has been instrumental in developing issue and crisis communications plans and advising clients facing crises in several industries, including education, healthcare, and chemical manufacturing. Chris also leads the firm’s spokesperson training team, guiding subject matter experts to be effective communicators in today’s nuanced and challenging media landscape. Chris is a past president and chair (2011-2012) of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association. He remains active with the organization, serving as a director and a past-presidential board appointee. He also serves on the board of directors of WHYY, Inc., the Philadelphia region’s leading public media organization. A magna cum laude graduate of Rowan University, Chris was named the university’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2018.

Ken Jacobs, ACC, CPC, Principal, Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching: Ken Jacobs, a certified, experienced coach, is the principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching. Since 2007, he has helped senior leaders and executives in the public relations and communications space achieve and surpass their goals by becoming more inspired and inspiring leaders, via executive coaching. As a consultant and trainer, Ken helps agencies grow and manage business, improve client service and relationships, and enhance staff performance, communications and leadership skills. He does so via consulting and training. Prior to creating his own business, Ken spent 25 years in PR agency management and leadership. A member of PRSA-NJ’s Board, he’s a winner of the chapter’s Pyramid Award for Chapter Service. Ken’s leadership column, “Taking the Lead” appears monthly in PRSA’s Strategies & Tactics.

Moderating the program is Jon Goldberg, chief reputation architect with Reputation Architects. Jon founded Reputation Architects in 2009 after more than 25 years as an adviser to top corporate executives, a senior leader at some of the world’s most prominent communications firms and a front-line spokesman for major corporations and non-profit organizations. Over the years, Jon has helped countless companies, non-profits and government entities enhance their reputational equity, inoculate themselves against reputational harm and transform adverse situations into opportunities to demonstrate responsible leadership. His crisis and special situations experience has included everything from government and internal corporate investigations, complex mergers and reorganizations and unanticipated executive successions, to activist attacks, technology failures, privacy and data security breaches, product recalls, intellectual property challenges, class action litigation, labor disputes and workplace and environmental disasters. Before founding Reputation Architects Jon was Partner and head of the Corporate Affairs practice of Porter Novelli, the international communications consultancy. Earlier, he was executive vice president of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide and Edelman’s national director of crisis and litigation communications and served in senior client management roles at J. Walter Thompson. He began his public relations career as manager of corporate media relations for The Prudential Insurance Company of America and as the chief spokesman for Prudential’s insurance, financial and corporate operations and The Prudential Foundation. A frequent speaker and media commentator on reputation management and crisis communications topics, Jon holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master of business administration degree, both from New York University. He serves on the board of directors of the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and is a member the executive committee of the PRSA Counselors Academy, a peer-to-peer network of many of the nation’s top public relations agency leaders and advisers.