NPC Update-1 Podcast

Fighting disinformation is nothing less than a civic duty, according to JJ Green, the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning national security correspondent for WTOP Radio. In this edition of Update-1, NPC Broadcast/Podcast co-chair Adam Konowe talks with Green about his new book, “The Noise War: How to Fight Disinformation and Find Truth When Everything is Lying to You” (available on Amazon). The conversation includes insight on what attracted Green to the beat, why he's stayed on it for decades, and how the book can serve as a "field manual" for those who seek to prioritize truth in an era where disinformation has been weaponized domestically and internationally.

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The Pentagon recently announced it would take over editorial content of Stars and Stripes, a newspaper for the U.S. military community. That's despite a congressional mandate that requires the paper to remain independent of the military chain of command. In this edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast team member Tom Young speaks with Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin and ombudsman Jacqueline Smith about the role of Stars and Stripes and the importance of its ability to report freely.

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At a time of record-low trust in the media and government, paired with seemingly unmanageable amounts of text-based and multimedia content, new tools are emerging to help identify and counter disinformation in real time. In this edition of Update-1, NPC Broadcast/Podcast co-chair Adam Konowe speaks with former technology journalist Maria Amelie, the CEO and co-founder of Norway-based Factiverse. The service, built by a team of data scientists and journalists, provides media outlets and others with details on narratives, keywords and other elements so journalists, fact-checkers and others can easily access what is most pertinent for their audiences. As an example, Amelie explains how the system played a useful role in identifying a thousand checkable public statements related to last year's Czech parliamentary election.

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National Press Club member Mahtab Farid was born in Tehran and moved to the United States as a teenager, settling in California. After learning a new language and culture and graduating from college, she became an international journalist and diplomat. In this episode of Update-1, Farid talks with Broadcast Podcast Committee Co-Chair Mike Hempen about her new memoir, "Serving Without A Uniform: Reporting Truth In Defense Of Freedom." She discusses growing up in Iran, the decision to move to the U.S., the obstacles she faced, her years reporting for VOA, serving as a diplomat in Afghanistan and the challenges she met after returning to the U.S.

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Museums have become lightning rods in an increasingly polarized society, exposing often underdeveloped relationships with key stakeholders, from the media to community members. On this edition of Update-1, NPC Broadcast/Podcast Team Co-chair Adam Konowe speaks with Steve Lott, a former journalist turned public relations practitioner and university lecturer. Lott's new book, "Museum Flack: A Public Relations Guide for Museums," uses the fundamentals of story mining and telling as the basis for helping museum executives recognize the difference between marketing and PR. From embracing the journalistic practice of "bottom line up front" to measuring success, Lott's book serves as both a clarion call and how-to guide.

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The decision by X, formerly known as Twitter, to implement Community Notes, a peer-based system for flagging misinformation, met with initial skepticism and even suspicion. On this edition of Update-1, NPC Broadcast Podcast Team Co-Chair Adam Konowe speaks with Huaxia Rui, the Xerox professor of Information Systems and Technology at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School. A study by Rui and his peers suggests that so-called “crowd-checking” does have a chilling effect on authors' intent on misleading the public. And that in turn has implications for journalists, communicators and the general public.

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Surveys show most business leaders say their companies are not prepared to handle a major crisis when one arises. In this episode of Update-1, NPC member Edward Segal discusses his new book, "The Crisis Casebook: Lessons in Crisis Management from the World’s Leading Brands," which offers a roadmap for organizations, leaders, and public figures who want to be prepared for the inevitable. Segal says many executives prepare for crises by denying them, thinking they will never happen to them until they do. In an interview with Broadcast Podcast team member Gemma Puglisi, Segal talks about how media companies have addressed their own crisis situations. He also offers advice on how managers of all companies should prepare for and handle crises.

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How does a globally recognized novelist weave thrillers out of reality?  In the latest Update-1 episode, New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci joins NPC Broadcast Podcast Committee co-chair Mike Hempen to discuss using real-life situations in fiction.

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October 14 marked a deadline set by the Pentagon for accredited members of the media to sign a controversial pledge to retain access rights to the building. Dozens of outlets, including right-leaning Fox News and the Washington Times, refused with only a couple agreeing to unprecedented and arguably unconstitutional restrictions. In this edition of Update-1, NPC Broadcast/Podcast co-chair Adam Konowe speaks with Aaron Mehta, editor-in-chief of Breaking Defense and a Pentagon Press Association board member. Mehta explains how journalists had worked previously under administrations of both parties, the fundamental problems associated with the new pledge, why it was important for the defense trade media to unify under a single statement of opposition, and how reporters covering the Pentagon will continue to do so - albeit from a distance.

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Former Washington Post reporter Kate Woodsome was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and saw firsthand the riots that occurred that day. Her life was forever changed, and now she helps others deal with stress and trauma. In this edition of Update-1, Woodsome talks with NPC Board of Governors member Debra Silimeo about the stress of newsroom life even before January 6, what happened to her in the Capitol when she was confronted by insurrectionists, and how that experience led her to re-evaluate her life and dedicate herself to helping others through her trauma work. She also discusses how reporters are affected by the tragedies and disruptions they cover and provides resources and contact information.

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