MBN Notes; a town hall, potluck, and musical surprise

Dear Colleagues,

On Monday, board chair Ryan Crocker briefed us and spoke about opportunities for MBN in 2026. We’re grateful.

Ryan was recently in Syria and Lebanon, two of the six countries where he served as U.S. ambassador. Both are big tests for any new order in the Middle East. In Syria and Lebanon, stakes for the U.S. are high. And our kind of soft power counts (see the new National Security Strategy).

Joe Kawly reports on President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s campaign to contain ISIS remnants. Ali Srour is talking to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdulrahman, Jordanian researcher Hassan Abu Hanieh, and leading Syrian military analysts on Jihadi networks and force protection.

Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to the shooting of Syrian troops, U.S. military members, and an American interpreter in the area of Palmyra in central Syria last Saturday. Links to Islamic State are being investigated.

Joelle reports on new twists in Hezbollah’s shadowing financing; Asrar has fresh material on tensions between the Lebanese government and the Iranian-backed state within the state. Hezbollah is badly bruised but resisting pressure to disarm.

Ibrahim Eissa is focused this week on Western Islamic centers as hubs for radicalization.

Rami covers the Gaza stabilization force with reporting on Egyptian backchannel messaging, Israeli assessments, and U.S. operational planning.

Yehia reports on shifts in Israeli thinking on defense strategy. Cyber security is up. AI is all in.

MBN connects America and the Middle East. The antidote to anti-Americanism is serious, fair-minded reporting. Lara has a striking photo essay on antiques as living connection to the past and valuable space for human connection in digital times.

I’ll save additional highlights for today’s 11 am town hall meeting. It’s been an enormously challenging year, but a rewarding one. Across departments, each and every one of you has stepped up. I’m grateful.

Our trustees deserve credit. Success without a strong and supportive board is unimaginable. Ryan Crocker is a national treasure, and the entire MBN board continues to be indispensable.

Today: a Town Hall, a Potluck — and a Musical Surprise

At today’s 11 am Town Hall, let’s touch on MBN’s exciting new editorial strategy. We’ve locked in on mission, vision, and audience, with first-rate reporting, interviews, a magazine, and a terrific new suite of newsletters.

Andres’s Iran Briefing and Min’s China Tracker are off to strong starts. Under difficult circumstances, MBN is becoming a cutting edge, digital first media company.

We’ll have updates today on finance and relocation. Restructure has saved millions and brought countless efficiencies. On the forthcoming move — expected to save the American taxpayer an additional $1 million a year — we’ll share results from the recent staff survey. We’re listening to you.

The challenges will keep coming, no doubt. But 2026 promises to be an exciting year. MBN stands by its mission, vision, and values.

We’ll touch base at 11 am on the organizational culture we’re striving to build. Fundamentals include:

• Embrace service: We want servant leadership. It builds strong teams.
• Know what you don’t know: We’re fostering a learning mindset.
• Resist our own publicity: We’ll celebrate progress and success but stay grounded.
• Be passionately curious: We stay inquisitive; it helps us adapt and navigate change.
• Never underestimate the competition: We’re striving to nail our niche in an exceptionally crowded space.

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Let’s take a small break and enjoy each others’s company after the town hall.

At 12 noon, we’ll gather for the holiday potluck lunch in the canteen.

At 12:45: an MBN community concert. We’ll be back in the newsroom for the performance (musical surprise and Starbucks on me). For those unable to join in-person, look for a link from Deirdre.

My best,

Jeff