Jeffrey Gedmin, President & CEO Middle East Broadcast Networks
Past President - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
James Glassman, former Under Secretary of State
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Andrew Walworth, Chief Content Officer, RealClear Media
Defense Writers Group
16 July 2025
Moderator: Good morning, everybody. Let’s get started. I’m sure people will wander in, as they always do. This is Washington, D.C., and everybody works on sort of Eastern Standard Government Time.
We’re here today to talk about an incredibly important and incredibly timely topic -- one might say too important and too timely given all that’s going on in the world. And I’m honored that you all took time out of your day to join us.
Many of you haven’t been to Defense Writers Groups before so I just want to stress this is a conversation around the table. So we have three distinguished speakers but we look forward to all of your questions. Those of you with great experience, you’re welcome to contribute to the conversation.
Our speakers today are Jeffrey Gedmin. He is President and CEO of the Middle East Broadcast Networks; past President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
To my right, James Glassman, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
To my far left is Andrew Walworth. Andy and I actually have the “40-year rule” -- that’s how long we’ve known each other. He is Chief Content Officer of RealClear Media, and author of the terrific recent essay, “Telling the American Story: Public Diplomacy in the Trump Era.”
