Dear Friends,
I wanted to take a moment to write you about our foreign affairs, defense, and national security coverage, and thank you for your support that makes it possible.
We are a small group on the beat who do our best to cover the world and US foreign policy. I’m not sure we always succeed, but we certainly work hard to try. And we work hard to live up to the legacy established by Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil half a century ago: creating understanding and even empathy for the people whose stories we share; explaining world events, no matter how complex, in an engaging and informative way; and challenging policy makers without fear or favor.
In this moment of two wars on two continents, I am reminded of a lesson I learned from a previous conflict: that the opposite of war is not peace. It is humanity. It is understanding that the people on the other side of a wall or a border love their children as much as you do. We tell stories so our viewers can understand that humanity is not restricted by the location of one’s birth. We introduce characters and their families so that our viewers might empathize with a group’s histories and motivations. And if one person watching our stories thinks, maybe they are not that different than us… then we have succeeded. PBS NewsHour believes strongly in those stories.
We also believe strongly that the world is complex and diverse, and our viewers deserve to see as much of it as we can possibly cover. Yes, our stories lately have been dominated by conflict in the Middle East and, before that, Ukraine. But we have also invested in stories about Hong Kong, Haiti, Hungary, and the world’s largest hunger crisis—Sudan. This effort includes bringing foreign leaders’ voices into American households. We planned a series of such interviews, including those from Japan, Iraq, and Ukraine. NewsHour has a proud history of international newsmaker interviews, and the show’s leadership is eager to build on that legacy.
None of this is easy. I have two young children and the only way that I can get enough work done every day is to make my day longer—which requires more coffee and less sleep. But it is a job that I embrace, inspired by the people whose stories I share, and sustained by the support of people like you. It’s your generosity that makes it all possible. And so, on behalf of the team, thank you so much. We are grateful.
Sincerely,
Nick
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