Npc Update-1

The group Media Literacy Now works to ensure that students learn the literacy skills they'll need to function as productive adults. The efforts of MLN in several states could impact more than 10 million children. In this edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast Committee member Gemma Puglisi interviews former journalist Erin McNeill, the founder of Media Literacy Now, about what media literacy is, why it's so important in the 21st century and how the organization came to be. McNeil also explains why media literacy is considered a key communication skill by business leaders and why it's important for students to begin learning about it at a young age.

A National Press Club Zoom event in early April that examined the career of broadcast legend Edward R. Murrow, who set the standard for broadcast journalism with his reporting from London during World War II, is the focus of this edition of Update-1. Murrow's son Casey Murrow, an honorary NPC member, along with Marvin Kalb, the last correspondent hired by Murrow at CBS, talk about Murrow's life and legacy. They're joined by former NPC Presidents Mike Freedman and Mark Hamrick, National Press Club Journalism Institute President Gil Klein and NPC Board of Governors Chair Kimberly Adams in discussing Murrow's impact and influence on 21st-century reporting.

Syria, Mexico, China and Russia are just a few of the countries where press freedom is already severely curtailed or under increasing threat, according to new National Press Club press freedom chair Rachel Oswald, who is also a reporter at CQ Roll Call in Washington, D.C. In this edition of Update-1, Oswald discusses the myriad challenges to a free press and related democratic institutions. In her conversation with Broadcast Podcast Committee co-vice chair Adam Konowe, Oswald also highlights potential legal challenges to the landmark case New York Times vs. Sullivan, especially in light of a more conservative Supreme Court and multiple lawsuits related to false claims of 2020 election voter fraud and other cases of disinformation.

Lucian Kim has covered Russia and Eastern Europe since 1996 for the Christian Science Monitor and other publications. He recently moved to Washington after five years as Moscow correspondent for National Public Radio, receiving a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Interviewed by longtime National Press Club member Irv Chapman, in this edition of Update-1 Kim traces how Vladimir Putin tightened the screws over time on Russia's news media as he faced critical coverage of popular discontent, notably over rigged elections a decade ago, and now has eliminated independent media entirely. And Kim says until last month, correspondents for foreign media could work freely, though sources dried up as Putin cracked down.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute benefits not only club members but journalists and non-journalists throughout the country. The institute offers a variety of programs that enhance journalists' ability to inform the public and the public's ability to better understand what constitutes quality journalism. In the latest edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast Committee co-vice chair Mike Hempen talks with JI President Gil Klein about the impact of the institute outside of Washington and his goals for this year. They also discuss the institute's board, its non-profit status and its 2022-2024 strategic plan.

Highlighting press freedom, increasing media literacy and countering anti-democratic propaganda top the priorities list for Jen Judson, the 115th president of the National Press Club.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have been flown to the United States since the U.S. pulled its last troops out of Afghanistan at the end of August. The co-founder and chair of the Peace Corps Alliance for Cultural Understanding thinks the use of Afghan advisory groups is essential for the well-being of Afghan refugees. In this edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast group member Lincoln Smith talks with Tony Agnello, the president of Friends of Afghanistan, a committee working with veterans’ organizations to ensure all eligible Afghans receive immigration clearance. Agnello, who previously served in Afghanistan while in the Peace Corps, discusses the Afghan refugee resettlement camps and why he thinks public-private partnerships and faith-based coalitions should be part of the process of relocating Afghans into American communities.

The movie House of Gucci is off to an impressive start at the box office, taking in more than $33 million in North America in the two weeks since its release. It's based on a book written by Sara Gay Forden, the guest on the latest Update-1 podcast. Forden talks with Broadcast Podcast team member Gemma Puglisi about the challenges of writing her book, "The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed." Forden recounts living in Italy and covering the Italian fashion industry and how Maurizio Gucci, the grandson of the company's founder who was brutally murdered in 1995, drew her to "write the story." She also discusses how her book became a movie, the excitement of meeting members of the cast and the need for good content.

David Ensor spent three decades as a news correspondent for NPR, ABC, and CNN then turned to public service with a year at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan and then four years as director of the Voice of America. Among his overseas posts was that of ABC News Bureau Chief in Warsaw, when a Polish cleric became pope and helped his native land turn away from Communism. On this edition of Update-1, Ensor comments on all three of those experiences which remain in the news--the rightward turn of the current Polish government, the end of America's "forever war" in Afghanistan, and the efforts of the last administration to refashion the Voice of America, He spoke with Press Club Broadcast Podcast team member Irv Chapman.

The National Capital Radio and Television Museum (https://ncrtv.org/), located just east of the Capital Beltway in Bowie, Maryland, opened its doors in 1999 and contains an impressive collection of radio and television equipment, some roughly a century old. In this edition of Update-1, NPC Broadcast/Podcast Co-vice Chair Adam Konowe interviews museum curator Brian Belanger about the genesis of the museum, who it attracts and why it has earned five-star status on TripAdvisor. Belanger highlights a number of the museum’s most noteworthy artifacts, as well as other educational features of the museum, such as its comprehensive library and hands-on technology classes.

American journalist Danny Fenster has been imprisoned in Myanmar since May, while Chinese journalist Haze Fan has been detained in China since December. Fenster and Fan are the NPC’s most recent John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award winners.    In this edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast team member Lincoln Smith interviews veteran reporter and long-time Press Club member John Donnelly, who discusses the two Press Club honorees and another detained journalist, Austin Tice. Donnelly also highlights his own career and offers thoughts on the state of press freedom around the world.

The National Press Club’s 22nd annual photo exhibit is on display in the Club’s lobby and virtually at https://technewslit.com/npc/photoex2021/index.html. In this edition of Update-1, broadcast/podcast co-vice chair Adam Konowe spoke with photo team co-chair Alan Kotok about the exhibit in a time of ongoing pandemic and social unrest. Konowe also interviewed two photographers whose work is part of this year’s exhibit. Arizona-based new member Ben Sarao submitted four panoramic nature images, while the work of long-standing member Aretha Williams from Washington D.C. mostly benefitted from painstaking retouching, colorizing and other editing techniques.

Russian independent journalists have faced increased government pressure ahead of the country's parliamentary election this Sunday. In some cases that has meant Russian police raiding their homes and seizing cellphones, laptops and tablets. This is widely seen as an attempt by President Vladimir Putin to cement his rule before the 2024 presidential election. In this edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast Committee member Irv Chapman talks with Michael Smeltzer, a Russian analyst at Freedom House, about the state of press freedom in Russia. They discuss how Putin quickly gained control of the broadcast media within a few years after becoming president and what the impact has been of the Russian government designating some news organizations and journalists as "foreign agents" leading up to this month's election. 

How reliable was the intelligence the U.S. received as it planned its withdrawal from Afghanistan? And what is the future of Afghanistan after the U.S. and its allies pull out? Those are some of the issues covered in this edition of Update-1.

Increasing audiences for network news, cable television news, online radio and podcasts, a revenue decline for all-news radio stations and a circulation decline for newspapers. Those are just a few of the findings in this year's State of the Media report by the Pew Research Center. In this edition of Update-1, NPC Board of Governors member Debra Silimeo talks to Katerina Eva Matsa, the associate director of journalism research at Pew, about the key findings in the 2021 report.  Among the issues they discuss are the role that TV plays in news coverage, the change that occurred in newspaper revenue and an employment shift within the journalism industry.

"People want and need our journalism more than ever." That's how the President and CEO of News Media Alliance, David Chavern, describes the current state of the newspaper industry. The NMA previously was the Newspaper Association of America. It's the news industry's largest trade organization, representing about 2,000 publishers in the United States. In an Update-1 interview with Broadcast Podcast member Gemma Puglisi, Chavern talks about the record number of readers last year as local news became vitally important during the coronavirus pandemic. He also discusses how digital editions are allowing newspapers to reach subscribers well beyond their geographic boundaries, and explains the challenges of monetization and distribution. 

The International Federation of Journalists says 65 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide last year while doing their jobs. The killings occurred in 16 different countries during targeted attacks, bomb attacks and crossfire incidents. In this edition of Update-1, Broadcast Podcast team member Lincoln Smith talks with IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger about the ongoing global challenges to press freedom. Bellanger discusses the deaths and imprisonment of journalists in Asia, Africa and Europe, summarizes the IFJ mission, and compares and contrasts the current-day freedom of the press with that of 50 years ago.

For the first time in National Press Club history, the leadership team is all-female, with President Lisa Nicole Matthews, Vice President Jen Judson, Secretary Gillian Rich, Treasurer Eileen O'Reilly, and Membership Secretary Emily Wilkins at the helm. In this episode of Update-1, NPC Broadcast Podcast Team member Shannon Fisher speaks with USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page, a longtime NPC member who has served as president of the White House Correspondents Association and the Gridiron Club. This conversation marks the milestone of the National Press Club’s historic 2021 leadership team by examining the impact of female leadership in the field of journalism.

The National Press Club has always stood for press freedom, and this edition of Update-1 features a couple of journalists who have been honored by the club in the past but are struggling for their freedom. Maria Ressa and Austin Tice were among the journalists remembered during events on World Press Freedom Day. Ressa, the founder of the digital news site Rappler, delivered a powerful statement about the need for press freedom, while Tice's 11-year old niece talked about some of the memories she has of her uncle, who has been held in Syria for more than 8 years. Both Ressa and Tice have received the club's Freedom on the Press Award, named after former NPC President John Aubuchon.

On Monday, May 3, The National Press Club will host a virtual event for World Press Freedom Day highlighting the cases of three journalists in need: Austin Tice, Maria Ressa and Emilio Gutierrez-Soto, all past recipients of the Club’s John Aubuchon Award for press freedom. In this episode of Update-1, Press Freedom Team chair John Donnelly speaks to Broadcast/Podcast Team co-vice chair Adam Konowe about the upcoming event and the plight of these and other journalists. He also addresses the state of press freedom more broadly, including specific incidents at home and abroad that demonstrate the danger posed not merely to journalists, but to truth and civic society at large.