The Friday Reporter

Alex Rosenwald is the Senior Director of Communications for The Hill Newspaper at a time when the publication is building a media empire. With their Nexstar ownership, they find themselves in a unique place of being omnipresent both on Capitol Hill and across the country. Both in print and on the airwaves. Alex started his career in the radio producing business -- working amongst the strongest bra...

Johanna Maska is the CEO of Global Situation Room -- a multi-coast public affairs agency -- she's also the host of a new podcast called Press Advance and contributor for NewsNation. With a background in journalism and politics, Johanna has spent much of her career advocating for elected officials and those in the journalism space. She finds herself in a position to not only speak into the issues,...

Hoppy Kercheval is the best-known broadcaster in all of West Virginia - and to think he started his career wanting to be a disc jockey! Respect for this remarkable journalist is widely-held and that is why so many heads of state, political candidates, and other newsmakers join Hoppy for his two-hour show. His love and respect for his home state is palpable in his coverage and he treats every guest...

Rich Zeoli hosts a wildly popular, four hour radio show every weekday in Philadelphia -- and he's great at it. With a small team, Rich and his crew have figured out how to make topics easy to digest - both intellectually and literally -- through the use of traditional radio and internet means, along with many other smart tactics. Rich shares his journey to becoming a broadcast star and celebrated...

Everyone need a palate cleanser from time to time and that's exactly what today brings us. Dave Sandrowitz is a music lover and a friend -- he's also the DJ and host of Gorgeous Dave's Radio Hour on Fairfax County (Va) public radio. With a lifelong career in tech, Dave is exercising his creative side with the creation of a brand new show (one month new!) Listen in today to a conversation about gre...

Robin Shallow is the founder of Robin Communications and has a tremendous point of view into the world of public relations.  With a seasoned career in the world of media (magazines, publishing, etc) - Robin reflects on the changes that have happened in the industry over the course of her time in the space. Today's conversation is between two communications professionals who reflect on the  evoluti...

Amy Harder is executive editor of Cipher (which means ZERO) a mission-driven news outlet for Breakthrough Energy. With Bill Gates at the head of the organization, Breakthrough Energy’s aim is to inspire the world to develop and scale the critical solutions we need to reach net-zero emissions—so everyone can enjoy affordable, abundant clean energy. And there is no journalist better to lead this rem...

Chris Cannon dreamed - as early as middle school - of a career in broadcast and dedicated his time as an undergrad to achieving that dream.  Fast forward through an exciting and character-building 20+ years on air -- Chris Cannon is now the Chief Communications Officer for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  His tenure in the position has seen the state through a global p...

Today's guest is Andrew Snorton, the founder of Creative Community Solutions, LLC - an exceptional umbrella organization that encompasses education, media and so many other important contributions.  Andrew hosts a show in the Atlanta, GA region called The Conversation Corner where he highlights education, business and more -- he's also a four-time published author. His level of creativity is so tr...

Bloomberg's Washington Correspondent Joe Mathieu found his love for broadcast in his teenage years -- and it shows in the work he does everyday. Joining Lisa today, Joe shares how his award-winning career in local journalism informs what he does on the national stage.  With an audience that is business-focused -- and maybe less interested in political theatrics -- Joe likes to deliver a Sound On p...

Too many years ago to count, Lisa was introduced to her political counterpart and today's guest in the television green room -- Karen Finney.  Let's just say, Lisa is better for the experience of working with Karen, because of how enjoyable it was to spar on the issues of the day. Today , Karen is a CNN political commentator, an advisor to democratic women candidates and both a public affairs and...

Reed Albergotti is the tech editor at Semafor -- another new and dynamic news outlet in town --and it sounds like his beat is as exciting as the industry he covers.  Having covered tech for over a decade, Reed finds himself today at Semafor delivering scoops on AI and trends in the tech industry -- while also offering his view on why it matters.  In a news era where every other social platform is...

Olivia Morley is the Senior Agencies Reporter for AdWeek and no journalist has ever made pitching her easier -- at least from the limited research the FR Podcast has conducted.  With a background in agency work, agency research and agency trends, Olivia Morley tells us she has always wanted to be a journalist -- and that her job today is the one she's always wanted.  What sets Olivia aside from ot...

Episode two of the New Pubs series is with the insightful and smart Tara Palmeri from Puck News.  If you ask Tara what kinds of stories she's covering, she cares most about what insiders and journos are talking about AFTER the news of the day is reported -- in other words, what's the hot topic at happy hour.  And so far, her reporting is hitting the mark.  Not only has she captured those stories,...

Kicking off a new set of conversations this month with some great new publications.  Today's conversation is with Leah Askarinam who is the senior editor for Grid.  With stints at the New York Times, the Hotline, Inside Elections and The Atlantic, this  reporter turned editor has a deep knowledge base of the hundreds of congressional districts and political contours of the United States.  Leah's o...

When asked how she got where she is today, Contessa Brewer gives a lot of credit to being in the right place at the right time.  What we also know about this award-winning journalist is that hard work had to play a role. Contessa Brewer is now a CNBC correspondent covering major news events -- with a special attention on gaming, casinos and insurance -- but has had a long and remarkable journey. ...

As FOX News co-anchor of America's News Room and co-host of The Five, Dana Perino credits her career in public service and politics to where she is today.  Those of us that know her, know that it also took a great deal of hard work and dedication. At an early age, Dana's father asked her to choose two news articles daily that she would report on before dinner.  She reports that her family was very...

Starting off the New Year with a series of female broadcasters -- first up is my dearest friend, Jeanette Hoffman, president of Marathon Public Affairs and political correspondent for MY9 New Jersey NOW.  Jeanette's career started in the New Jersey state house -- in the same office that John Stewart got his start -- and she has risen to the highest ranks of public affairs. Both New Jersey and nati...

Dan Kois is writer, editor and podcaster for Slate.  With a beat that includes his interests and passions and a sense of humor about it all, Dan has been nominated numerous times for awards in the journalism space.  It was his recent piece on accepting every PR pitch he got in a day that drew Lisa to contact him - https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/11/pr-publicist-emails-journalism-oof.html .  ...

As is the challenge in today's media landscape, today's guest has separated from CNN since our pre-recorded conversation. That aside, Chris Cillizza is among the busiest journalists in the political media business.  With a podcast, a YouTube show, a nightly newsletter and weekday briefs as his charge in his previous day job -- Chris reports that the way he has found time to also author his forth-c...

Simone Sebastian is the Editorial Director for Capital B - the newest Black News Nonprofit in the media world.  This groundbreaking news outlet came from a vision shared by its founders -- and delivers news to it's supporters and black audiences throughout the U.S. and across the globe.  Simone started her career in the traditional newsroom -- writing her first piece for the Detroit Free Press at...

How many books does the books editor at Vulture read a week?  You'll have to listen in today to hear from Maris Kreizman to find out for sure.  In today's episode, Lisa visits with her childhood friend and host of The Maris Review, who has some insightful reflection on the power of free speech.  With as many remarkable books in publication, it takes publicists knowing Maris' preference to get her...

Chelsea Janes is the national baseball writer for the Washington Post.  Fresh off the road from the World Series and onto the next season of baseball, Chelsea generously found time for an episode today. This college athlete found herself lucky enough to step in and write for the college news -- and realized quickly that it could be her career path.  Fast forward to today, this star journalist find...

Kerry Flynn is Axios' Media Deals Reporter and she is one busy journo.  Kerry's beat spans the entire world of content -- from media to publishing to streaming -- if you're consuming it, she's covering it.  And like the rest of us, Kerry is not only consuming this content for her day job, she's making it part of her hobbies and her free time.  In fact, during this conversation we realize that even...

Matt Friedman much prefers to dive deep into campaign finance details in his reporting these days -- likely because New Jerseyans spend their lives being hit up with campaign pitches and endless spin.  This very Jersey episode will help you understand that it's not midterm elections that we care about -- it's the state races next year that really matter.  Matt Friedman is an Empire State guy who a...