“His sixth life term was for my attempted murder. … I wish every day we could go back to June 27th and have it be like it was with my coworkers and me working in our newsroom and just try to tell the stories from our community. … That’s what keeps me going is trying to honor my colleagues. I struggle every day with PTSD and depression and anxiety … It’s something that I don’t think will ever go away.”

–  Paul Gillespie, Capital Gazette

“We need this backstop of federal protection in the event that local authorities decline to act whenever a journalist is attacked … it will send a strong message to the American people that violence against anyone, particularly journalists, seeking and reporting the truth on behalf of the public, will not be tolerated.”

–  Dan Shelley, RTDNA

Guests: Paul Gillespie, Capital Gazette and Dan Shelley, RTDNA

In this first episode of News Take: Free Press Focus, a subseries of the News Take podcast, we hear from RTDNA CEO Dan Shelley and Capital Gazette Photojournalist Paul Gillespie about the dangers that journalists face on the job and what can be done to combat the threat of violence. Gillespie is one of six survivors of the 2018 shooting at the Capital Gazette in Maryland and speaks on his experience and the importance of shielding journalists from harm. Dan Shelley speaks to RTDNA’s major priority in passing the Journalist Protection Act, a law that would make assaulting a journalist a federal crime. With extensive experience in the media industry, both Gillespie and Shelley illustrate the significance of journalists as a whole and what we, as a community, can do to support them.

Listen or download the audio file to listen offline:

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Speaker bios:

Paul Gillespie has been a photojournalist at Capital Gazette Communications since 2000. He is a 2019 Pulitzer Prize recipient and was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year alongside the staff at Capital Gazette. Gillespie is one of six survivors of the 2018 shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, in which he lost five close colleagues. He is one of two survivors who still work for the publication today.

Dan Shelley is the President and CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association, RTDNA, the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to broadcast and digital journalism. He has an extensive background in digital media, including his previous role as Senior Vice President, Digital Content Strategy at iHeartMedia. Since the Journalist Protection Act was introduced in 2018, RTDNA has heavily advocated for passing the legislation.

Related links:

Journalists Matter Project – Faces of the Capital Gazette

The Journalist Protection Act – Senate press release

RTDNA – Journalist Protection Act Advocacy Toolkit

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Send us your suggestions

Send your suggestions for future News Take guests to Senior Counsel & Director of Public Policy, Charlotte McBirney, at charlotte@newsmediaalliance.org.

News Take Production Team:

Host and Executive Producer: Charlotte McBirney, Senior Counsel & Director of Public Policy, News/Media Alliance

Production Support, Editing & Distribution:

Georgi-Ann Clarke, Social Media & Content Manager, News/Media Alliance
Lindsey Loving, Director, Communications, News/Media Alliance
Kayla Singer, 2023 Summer Intern, News/Media Alliance

Audio & Video Engineer: Current Media Group

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Neil Quinter

Arlington, VA – The News/Media Alliance has expanded its public policy team, with a final key role being filled today with the hiring of Neil Quinter as its new Senior Vice President, Global Government Affairs. In this role, Quinter will work closely with the Alliance leadership team and staff to lead key legislative initiatives for the Alliance.

Prior to joining the Alliance, Quinter served as Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and as Minority Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism & Government Information of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Before that, Quinter served as an elected member of the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served on the Judiciary Committee. While in office, he passed numerous bills on subjects including technology, consumer protection, and criminal justice. Quinter has served as a partner at major law firms and in his own solo practice, concentrating on federal and state government affairs and congressional investigations, and representing major companies, trade associations, nonprofits, and individuals.

Quinter starts in his new role on September 21 and leads the Alliance government affairs team, including two full-time staff and legislative consultants.

He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations/Political Science from Colgate University.

“I’m very excited to welcome Neil to the Alliance team,” said Alliance President and CEO, Danielle Coffey. “His background is exactly what we need to drive momentum around critically important Alliance initiatives and member priorities. He will bring a great depth of experience and knowledge to our team, and we are fortunate to have him.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Alliance at this critical time for the news industry,” said Quinter. “News organizations play a vital role in our democracy, and I’m excited to be able to work with such a talented team to protect and promote the Fourth Estate.  America needs the news, now more than ever.”

The Alliance also welcomed several other new staff members to its public policy team over the last several months, including:

• 

  Regan Smith

  Regan Smith, who joined the Alliance as Senior Vice President & General Counsel on September 12. Smith is a recognized authority on topics including copyright, artificial intelligence, digital rights management, statutory and collective licensing, and administrative law. Prior to joining the Alliance, she was Head of Public Policy in Spotify’s government affairs group, where she led global policy development and advocacy related to intellectual property and music policy. Before that, she was the General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights at the U.S. Copyright Office, where she oversaw an extensive portfolio of regulatory, litigation, and policy matters, including leading over 50 regulatory proceedings, providing expert advice to federal agencies and congressional offices, and successfully driving policy discussions and regulatory reforms related to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and digital music licensing.

Emily Emery

• Emily Emery, who joined the Alliance as Vice President, Government Affairs on August 1. Prior to coming to the Alliance, Emery was Vice President of Government Relations for a leading mobile games publisher and for MPA – the Association of Magazine Media, which merged with the News/Media Alliance on July 1, 2022. She began her career working in the U.S. Senate and holds a CIPP/US certification. Emery has more than a decade of experience in advocating for effective public policy strategies, and much of her experience has focused on technology innovation, data security, and consumer privacy. Emery received an MPA from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and an undergraduate degree from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Holly Lubart

• Holly Lubart, who became a full-time staff member as Vice President, Government Affairs on August 1. Lubart has been a consultant for the Alliance, working on postal rates, subscription marketing and other government and regulatory affairs issues of importance to Alliance members since February 2022. Prior to this role, Lubart served as Vice President, Government Affairs for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. In addition, she has worked for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, served in two gubernatorial administrations, and represented the Pennsylvania Health Care Association and Pennsylvania Architects Association. Holly started her career as a journalist and is passionate about advocating for the future of the news media. She holds a B.A. degree in Communication/Journalism from Shippensburg University, where she served on the Alumni Board of Directors for two terms.

Charlotte McBirney

• Charlotte McBirney, who joined the Alliance earlier this year on January 24 as Senior Counsel & Director of Public Policy. Before joining the Alliance, McBirney was the Senior Federal Relations Counsel at the American Association for Justice (AAJ), where she advocated for a fair and effective civil justice system on behalf of the world’s largest plaintiff trial bar. Prior to that, McBirney worked as an attorney at the Northern California Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the wrongfully convicted. Charlotte earned her law degree from the University of Western Australia and a master’s degree in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Coffey continued, “We are elated to have such a capable and experienced public policy and advocacy team to carry out the important work we do here at the Alliance on behalf of our members. I am incredibly confident with this team on board, and I am looking forward to working with them to carry out the Alliance’s mission and key objectives and initiatives moving forward.”

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Media Contact:
Lindsey Loving
Director, Communications
lindsey@newsmediaalliance.org

The News/Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization representing more than 2,000 news and magazine media organizations and their multiplatform businesses in the United States and globally. Alliance members include print and digital publishers of original journalism. Headquartered just outside Washington, D.C., the association focuses on ensuring the future of journalism through communication, research, advocacy, and innovation. Information about the News/Media Alliance can be found at www.newsmediaalliance.org.

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