Courtenay Brown

The Wall Street Journal editor Paul Beckett’s account in the Columbia Journalism Review of how the Journal mobilized to free Evan Gershkovich after 16th months as a prisoner in Russia is a tour de force and “a free press triumph” and well worth the read. Some excerpts: A phone call to a senior government official who knows this terrain provided the answer: “There are times to be quiet and there are times to be loud—and this is a time to be loud.” “Yet on days like August 1 (when he was freed), the values that underpin democracy and are the foundation of a free press triumph.” “Few countries that are not democracies could point to such care for their ordinary citizens abroad, let alone noncitizens imprisoned for their political beliefs.” “news organizations must continue to assess and calibrate the risks their reporters face when operating in dangerous terrain. Perhaps they need to make more hard-nosed choices on whether it is necessary to deploy in person to countries that target journalists or whether that terrain can effectively be covered from outside, given advances in technology and communications.” “And they could ensure that press freedom around the world—an issue so fundamental to their existence that it is often taken for granted—is a subject they cover as if their livelihoods and their liberty depended on it.” https://lnkd.in/etZTVCeB

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Congestion pricing was supposed to start today in New York City. It didn't after Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this month announced an indefinite pause. My latest article in The Wall Street Journal traces the rise and pause of congestion pricing — a tale that involves 17 years and around $700 million. The abrupt reversal, which some attribute to Hochul’s reluctance to impose a new fee in an election year, leaves metro New York grappling with a historic missed opportunity and fiscal mess. There is no relief in sight for the city’s traffic congestion, which is the worst in the world, according to data published last week. The epic collapse in New York shows how a fear of dramatic change can give the status quo stubborn power over those trying to solve some of America’s most intractable challenges. That leaves policymakers nibbling at the edges of deeply rooted problems, even after investing huge sums of money and political capital. Blown up in a New York minute were plans for around $15 billion of planned improvements to the city’s ailing mass-transit system, the largest transportation network in North America. The reversal cast aside around $700 million in meticulous prep work, including a $555-million contract to install tolling cameras—which are already up and ready to go—and $33 million for a customer-service center with 100 employees who have already been brought on, officials said. Planners invested thousands of hours, including going to London and Stockholm to research their congestion-pricing programs, according to people familiar with the travel. What was supposed to be a transformative moment when New York led the way and boldly tackled traffic congestion, air pollution and transit funding, has instead turned into a surprising loss for a broad coalition that includes major employers, real-estate developers and subway riders. Surprised by the reversal were Hochul’s own lieutenants, including Janno Lieber, a fierce champion of congestion pricing and the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA—which carries around 5.5 million passengers each day in the New York metro area—now faces a $16.5 billion-financial hole from the loss of money from congestion pricing and federal matching funds. Just days after Hochul’s announcement, a beleaguered Lieber joined a conference call with advocates in which he said he was equally shocked and remained committed to the program, three people familiar with the exchange said. “This is devastating,” he said, according to a person on the call. Here's the latest from me and Joseph De Avila —>

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When Americans look for information about politics and elections, one of the first places they turn to is Google. The Associated Press and Google Trends have partnered throughout this year to show what folks are most interested in: crime, healthcare, unemployment, economy and so on. The data updates weekly and you can drill down to see which topics are on the minds of residents in your county. Hope you take a look.

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After many years in the biz, I can attest everything here is true. Journalism is much more than a career. It's a noble profession and a contact sport that isn't for the faint of heart. And remember that news doesn't happen in newsrooms so get out of the office as much as possible! #journalism #reporters Southern California News Group https://lnkd.in/gzcY4tu5

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The thing is: burnout it starts with management. As a reporter it’s hard to draw a line when you know so much needs to be told — especially those reporters who are used to covering it all. It’s easy for an editor to just let the reporters keep working because “what can you do —the news happens?” Friday all the editors I worked with had my back when I did not want to disappoint them, myself or our audience but have so much I want to do. If you want to stop burnout it starts there.

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Check out the latest episode of Politics As Usual where we speak to A. Sherrod Blakely for some Boston Celtics talk.

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Ask Vivian: The One Question I Always Get (A few thoughts from my Times career advice column; on how to set yourself up for future success in your work.) https://lnkd.in/eVSC2ZFw Q: I joined The Times about a year ago. Although I’m not looking to move up yet, it would be good to know what to do to set myself up for advancement in the newsroom. What would you recommend? A: One of the best things you can do is to be your own advocate. It sounds like a cliché, but it will make an impact in a place like The Times. This is true at any stage of your career, but it’s especially important to get into the habit of doing it early in your time here. We’d all like to believe that our work speaks for itself. But that’s not always going to be the case. If you just published an interesting story or helped put together an incredible graphic, you need to make sure that your best friend isn’t the only person who knows about it. Start by thinking about who you want to showcase your skills to — is it your department head, an editor in another department, or someone on the masthead? Think about who you would want as your advocates and be cognizant about putting yourself forward whenever you interact with people who could have some influence over your career. So, say you’re in a meeting with a higher-level editor you don’t know very well, make sure you participate and contribute something during the meeting — don’t be a wallflower. However you do it, try to do it as organically and as often as you can. This is a numbers game — the more people you know (and who know you and your work), the more likely you’re going to get that next job you want. For many of us, this will feel outside of our comfort zone. I get it, and in fact, I was right there with you when I joined The Times 27 years ago. But I found a way to promote my work in a way that felt authentic and so can you. Here’s how I did it: Whenever I wanted to show my friends something great I’d accomplished, whether it was nailing an interview or getting a story published on A1, I tried to redirect some of that energy and also share it with at least one person beyond my circle. Try it out and see if this approach — which, by the way, works in any part of our organization — makes sense for you. If this still feels out of reach, that’s OK. You can start even smaller. For example, if you run into a manager who you want to connect with, you can approach them with some other topic. Maybe you want to chat about someone else’s story that impressed you that day, or a photograph that you found impactful or a graphic that blew your mind. Regardless of what you want to talk about, find a way to start the conversation. Ask good questions. Show people how you think. Remember, the next time you wrap up something you’re proud of, consider sharing it with someone you want to know, and you’ll be on your way to building a relationship that could pay dividends in the future.

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DOS Won't Hunt -- Recording Schedule through December   Interested panelists, please contact me directly via email, not just with comments on this post: [email protected]   Note to public relations teams: please only pitch panelists you have CONFIRMED will be available on those dates. This is a video podcast recording. Only the panelists will be in the session. Here are the topics I plan to cover on the podcast in the weeks ahead. All recordings will be on video, panel discussions, at 12 pm ET on the recording dates below.   December 6 – What Enterprise IT Predictions Actually Mattered in 2024? Every year sees prognostications about what tech will take off, evolve, and transform the enterprise world. What expectations did your organization start 2024 with and how has that played out? Did anything hold water? Did surprises in tech emerge during the year eclipse the predictions? Is it better for organizations to not chase predictive trends or does that mean giving up a competitive edge? December 13 – The Cloud You Want vs the Cloud You Need: Are enterprises able to tailor their cloud resources to fit their operational needs? How does that compare with ambitions? Cost? Usage? Are more organizations cloud-first? Are we ever going to see an all, cloud-first world where EVERYTHING exists in the cloud? Does that dream no longer seem real?   December 20 – Cyber Threats and the Holidays: Do retailers still face high levels of cyber risk in a world fraught with ransomware attacks year-round? Do bad actors focus their attention more on targets they strike when an opportunity arises, which might not have anything to do with the holiday shopping season? Or are there still Cyber Grinches out there who are making a concerted effort to strike as transactions fly faster than reindeer? December 27 – Infrastructure Resilience: Y2K 25 Years Later. What have we learned about maintaining our infrastructure, a generation after putting in the work to correct the Y2K bug? How has computer infrastructure been rethought? What “rules” and “norms” that were part of legacy tech no longer apply in the time of cloud, edge, and all else beyond we are exploring?

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Learning how to use digital technology in much healthier ways is becoming important now. The way we live and work in this AI-powered digital world needs a new set of skills and habits. #themindfulcommunicator

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This week in PublicSource: Democratic candidates seem to be increasingly focused on defining their foes as extremists on reproductive rights. We break down claims in dueling ads in a Pittsburgh-area swing congressional district https://lnkd.in/ewCvhE6p Energy, climate: Important issues, right? In Pa., the balance of power on those and other issues hinges on a few General Assembly races, including one in Allegheny County. So why aren’t the candidates talking about fossil fuels? https://lnkd.in/eeiJGiTe Back in blue, and back pay, too? A judge said no to a former Pittsburgh police officer’s bid to return to the force after tasering Jim Rogers, who died. A PublicSource analysis found that some fired cops beat the city to the tune of 6-figure checks https://lnkd.in/eBzQudWv Wilkinsburg’s governmental future will be on the ballot Nov. 5 — but not in the manner preferred by backers of annexation with Pittsburgh. Instead, voters will decide on home rule, which means a more powerful and better-paid mayor, and more https://lnkd.in/eXRiUCvu PublicSource strives to tell stories for a better Pittsburgh that wouldn’t emerge in media controlled by big money. But we need your help to do this. If you can pitch in: https://lnkd.in/eJgWUGBF Millions for clean air in the Mon Valley: Sounds good, right? If you want to share thoughts on how it should be spent, you have three opportunities, all in October, to do so https://lnkd.in/eYQ8Fdsx Sydney is not a survivor of sexual violence, but she carried a sign and marched with those who have experienced abuse, amid the dangerous “red zone” on campuses. “This is what I have learned as an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence.” https://lnkd.in/eDDTjsWv

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The policy stakes could not be higher right now so POLITICO Pro and E&E News are supercharging our efforts to help our policy professionals navigate the new Washington. I’ve had the pleasure to work on with our newsroom, subscriber business and marketing teams on a new subscriber convening strategy that has included retooling our weekly subscriber briefings to make them more timely, interactive, tailored and valuable to a broad cross-section of our professional subscribers and prospective subscribers. 🧭 Our new navigator series provides candid explanations of the machinery of government — from the mechanics of presidential transitions and congressional leadership races to the details of the budget reconciliation and appropriations processes. 🧭 Our post-election lookahead series shares our policy journalists’ forward-looking and behind-the-scenes intelligence about the new Congress and new administration. 💥 The audience response has exceeded our expectations: our average number of attendees quadrupled and we have quintupled the interest from prospective subscribers, demonstrating that interactive experiences with our deep bench of specialist journalists brings unique value to our audience of policy professionals. Huge thanks to Rex Willis and Liz (Vlk) Cramer for their great collaboration, to Rachel Loeffler and Alix Beadle-Ryby for their partnership on growing subscriber engagement, and of course to Sudeep Reddy, Clea Benson, Bob King, Darius Dixon Cyril Zaneski and all the policy and politics editors and teams across the newsroom who have shared their deep expertise and irrepressible enthusiasm with our subscribers. Here are some of the recent topics subscribers have had access to: ·      Navigating Budget Reconciliation ·      Post-Election Lookahead: Health Care Policy in the New Washington ·      California vs. Trump: The new era in California politics and policy ·      Live from Baku: On the Frontlines of COP29 ·      Post-Election Lookahead: Economic Policy in the New Washington ·      Navigating the Congressional Leadership Races ·      State of the Races: House and Senate Updates ·      California: Newsom’s Vetoes ·      The Path to 270 ·      Deal or No Deal? The Outlook on Permitting Reform ·      Navigating the Presidential Transition ·      State of the Races: House and Senate I ·      Navigating the Hill Spending Fight There is still time to sign-up for this week’s briefing on #Defense and National Security in the New Washington featuring Connor O'Brien, Jack Detsch, Nahal Toosi and Robbie Gramer. https://lnkd.in/efcK-u7D

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The Drum 🌟 #Exclusive 👇 Today, Reddit, Inc. launches its latest #B2B campaign, ‘The Reddit Recommendation Engine,’ featuring leaders from top holding companies dentsu, IPG Mediabrands, GroupM and choreograph. The unscripted film highlights how genuine recommendations on Reddit offer unique opportunities for brands, in a market dominated by celebrity and influencer endorsements. As Reddit's Alex Underwood tells me, "Nothing beats the power of a third-party endorsement.” Full piece below. https://lnkd.in/gqgQsGey #socialmedia #marketing #socialmediamarketing

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The topic of corrections comes up a lot in comms. There’s some new research on this that is kind of interesting. Here is an excerpt from an article summarizing the findings: “…people generally trust journalists when they confirm claims to be true but are more distrusting when journalists correct false claims. Some linguistics and social science theories suggest that people intuitively understand social expectations not to be negative. Being disagreeable, like when pointing out someone else’s lie or error, carries with it a risk of backlash. We reasoned that it follows that corrections are held to a different, more critical standard than confirmations. Attempts to debunk can trigger doubts about journalists’ honesty and motives. In other words, if you’re providing a correction, you’re being a bit of a spoilsport, and that could negatively affect how you are viewed.” #mediarelations #psychology #sociology #PR

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Seeing great posts from friends, colleagues and media safety & freedom orgs today marking #WorldPressFreedomDay. Important time to appreciate the critical work and severe challenges - often risking life and freedom - that journalists face today. There is no more important part of my team's mission than enabling the exceptional work of all the Dow Jones-publications across conflict areas, covering crucial economic and business stories securely, telling the stories of climate and disaster, and working within increasingly hostile autocracies. Risky work that gives us all purpose - at the The New York Times, The Washington Post and beyond. "In a world increasingly characterized by geopolitical tensions and sweeping government restrictions, the role of journalists has never been more crucial—or more challenging. As they navigate the complexities of reporting from countries with significant security concerns, they face a myriad of risks that threaten both their safety and the integrity of the press. From the criminalization of independent journalism in Russia, to the surveillance-heavy landscape of China, and even the operational difficulties in Africa, our journalists encounter daily challenges just to bring us honest, reliable news." - Dow Jones

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First interview in our three part series on how generative AI is impacting media. This was a great conversation on how to do something to solve a problem

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While not as clear-cut as roads, clean water, and air, the democratic value to society of public interest journalism is, in my book and many others, a public good, writes Daily Maverick's Styli C.. "The recent tsunami of bad news about the news has raised an interesting question. Are we seeing the effects of a market failure playing out, or are we seeing the death of an industry that failed to innovate and keep up with the times?" #journalism #publicinterest #news #publishing

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