A region in flux, an editorial offensive

Dear Colleagues,

Our region keeps reeling. In Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are clashing with government forces in the northern province of Aleppo. In Lebanon yesterday, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem threatened Israel directly for the first time in months during a televised address. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to fully occupy Gaza.

Vital American interests are at stake in the Middle East. China keeps wooing the Gulf states. Gulf state allies hedge. This week, Iran was saber-rattling. And Beijing says it has no intention to refrain from buying Iranian oil.

The need for an American voice in the Middle East is urgent as ever. For a wide-ranging discussion on public diplomacy and U.S.-funded international media, I joined recently a panel with Andrew Walworth (chief content officer, RealClearPolitics), James Glassman (former U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy) and Thom Shanker (former Times Pentagon correspondent and director, GW’s media and national security project). You can now view the session on the RCP YouTube channel (thanks, Fadi, for capturing the conversation).

Many of you have followed the case of Austin Tice. Austin was the American journalist and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was kidnapped in Syria on August 13, 2012. Next Thursday August 14, our friend Bill McCarren will host a day-long conference on Austin’s case at the National Press Club. We’ve interviewed Austin’s mother Debra a number of times. I’ll see her next week and will invite Debra back.

MBN Spirit and Aspiration

Our board stays active and engaged. I’m grateful. There’s no progress otherwise. A meeting with chair Ryan Crocker and the MBN board is scheduled for today.

The MBN leadership team keeps its nose to the grindstone. At tomorrow’s 12 noon town hall meeting, we’ll have legal, finance, and HR updates (pizza after on me). We’ll focus on editorial.

I’ll introduce tomorrow our new Washington editor Christian Caryl. Christian brings extraordinary international experience from Newsweek, Foreign Policy magazine, the Washington Post, and RFE/RL. Here’s an essay review on the Kurds by Christian in the New York Review of Books. More about Christian’s MBN remit when we meet. We’ll hear from Leila and Matt about editorial plans — and the MBN editorial offensive I’ve noted before. We all feel a sense of urgency.

The pivot to a digital-first MBN that began earlier this year is paying off. The relaunched website, our new English-language offering on Substack, new podcasts and short-form videos and explainers are already a vibrant part of the next MBN. We lean into change. You’ve not stopped for a moment. My tip of hat to Leila, Abed, and the entire editorial group.

We have American taxpayers to thank, a Congressional mandate to carry out, and next steps promise to be exciting. We’ll discuss tomorrow a suite of newsletters, a platform for commentary, a freelance network, and a finely tuned build back strategy.

Going forward, MBN audiences can expect discussion and analysis that would never appear on Al Arabiya, the BBC, or France 24 — much less on Al Jazeera, the Kremlin’s RT or Chinese’s Arabic-language outlets. We have competitors and authoritarian rivals. There’s no time to spare.

Driving Forward with Focus

It’s been nearly impossible to operate and plan under present circumstances. I don’t have to remind you of the crowing of Iranian-backed terror groups in spring when our Congressionally approved funding was unlawfully blocked by USAGM. Our reach collapsed from 34 million weekly to 150,000.

You’ve all done an absolutely amazing job to pivot; to be nimble, show agility, and resilience. I’ll be singing your praise at today’s board meeting. We’re still fighting. We will build back.

There’s much to do at present. Billy and Lesia will start performance evaluations this month. Let’s use this as an opportunity to hear from you. We want you to feel supported, with a chance to grow.

On September 5, we’ll take the senior leadership team to Alexandria for a day’s offsite workshop. We all need the chance to raise our game. We’ll report on what’ve accomplished and how we as a team can better serve you. We need to plan strategically. I’ll report to the board on September 5 deliberations.

Your service to MBN’s audience remains admirable. Our work centers now on five areas: 1) the pulse of Washington and the wider American story; 2) energy, tech, and innovation; 3) family, faith, and education; 4) Iran; and 5) China.

There’s history afoot. The Middle East is transforming itself and it’s an awesome responsibility to report, comment, and contextualize as we do.

We have our compass. We are aligned with American foreign policy goals. And we do real journalism. It’s editorial integrity that assures credibility, and it’s that credibility that makes for meaningful and lasting influence and impact. Our American secret sauce. We guard it like treasure.

My best, Jeff