From: Eva Rodriguez, Vice President and Executive Editor, NPR
Re: Monthly Content Review
July 2025 session
The Cohort:
Majd Al-Waheidi, Digital Editor 2, Morning Edition
Meghan Ashford-Grooms, Supervising Editor, Standards and Practices
Alfredo Carbajal, Supervising Editor, National Desk
Tasha Diakides, Executive Producer, Newscast & NPR News Now
Sylvie Douglis, Producer 1, Life Kit
Pallavi Gogoi, Chief Business Editor, Business Desk
Holly Morris, Digital Journalist Trainer, Training Team
Scott Neuman, Correspondent, General Assignment Desk
Jordan-Marie Smith, Associate Producer, All Things Considered
Nick Spicer, Europe Editor, International Desk
NOTE: DME Jim Kane joined at my request to take notes to allow me to focus entirely on the conversation. Jim also provided insights into themes and takeaways, but did not participate in the conversation.
The Content, by the numbers:
NPR aired or published 2,023 pieces of content (not including Newscast) in June 2025.
- By category: 1,521 were news -- produced pieces or two-ways with NPR/Member station reporters or outside experts/newsmakers; 249 were categorized as culture, and 107 as music. (146 pieces were uncategorized.)
- By platform: Broadcast shows hosted 1,084 of these pieces, owned and operated digital platforms were vehicles for 704 stories, and podcasts accounted for 235. (Content posted exclusively on third-party platforms such as Instagram and YouTube are not discoverable in this data scrape.)
The Topic: NPR's coverage of the military conflicts involving Israel and Iran and the U.S. bombardment of Iran nuclear sites.
The Discussion, generally: Much appreciation – particularly for the International and Washington desks -- for the general coverage. Unlike too many outlets these days, the coverage was sober, fact-based and scrupulously avoided speculation, which elsewhere is often presented in the guise of analysis but, too often, veers into commentary. There was particular praise for the late-night special coverage after the U.S. weekend strikes. The coverage was anchored by a host with expertise in the national security arena and featured three correspondents with deep knowledge of national security, the military and the White House. The relatively short special (15-20 minutes) packed a punch, with timely and relevant information and context delivered in an accessible, conversational way.
A piece that was hailed for its value-add and distinctive angle was one that explained the "bunker busting bombs" used by the U.S. to strike Iranian nuclear facilities and why early assessments suggested they may not have "obliterated" the nuclear sites, as the administration claimed. As with much of NPR's coverage, stand-out pieces can often come from unexpected places; in this case, the bunker buster piece was produced by the Science Desk.
One group member wondered whether we had been probing or skeptical enough about the justification for the attacks by Israel and the U.S. The seemingly accepted narrative was that Iran was a "bad actor" who could not be trusted with nuclear weapons. While reasons for distrust of Iran may be grounded in fact, it would have been very helpful in evaluating the Israel and U.S. attacks to understand better how close Iran was to enriching weapons-grade uranium, whether international intelligence officials or regulators had reported concerning movements on Iran's part, etc. Several agreed that voices of everyday people within Iran would have been a welcome addition to the coverage. One member of the cohort explained that attempts were made to connect with people inside the country, but that the absence of an NPR correspondent in-country made this connection impossible; the Iranian government's tight controls over social media made reaching people through those means very difficult.
One of the most interesting aspects of this month's discussion was how much time was spent on suggestions for how the coverage could have been even better – suggestions that easily apply to coverage across topics, today and in the future. The group's suggestions are outlined in the Takeaways section.
Takeaways:
1. One of NPR's greatest strengths is the depth of knowledge of its subject-matter experts. Whenever possible, this expertise should be mined for audiences across platforms.
.2. Make it easy for your colleagues to find you. Develop some kind of device – like the U.S. map the National desk developed a few years ago – showing where our key editors and reporters are, and what their expertise is. Perhaps that could include language expertise and other key assets. It should be accessible to the entire news staff, and readily updatable.
3. Especially when covering international events, the cohort agreed that it is always helpful to provide audiences with additional context about the country or countries involved. Sharp, digestible explainers – text and/or graphics -- posted online as soon as practicable after a news events or a two-way for the "next show up" would be ideal.
4. When writing an explainer (especially bulleted pieces such as "Five things to know about ….") Include links to previous coverage that offer a deeper dive on the country or topic at hand. Links shouldn't always be embedded, but could be interstitial links that provide more space and visual elements that could better engage visitors.
5. It's important for newsroom leaders to "think outside the desk" in the midst of significant breaking news. Desks that aren't necessarily the leads on a particular development may nevertheless possess invaluable context and information that help audiences better understand the moment. Science's bunker buster piece is one example.
6. Resurface and repurpose. NPR's Throughline podcast, for example, has a deep archive of material that could (and has been!) resurfaced and/or repurposed to provide immediate context for audiences across platforms. Same is true of explainers that were written on a topic that is again in the news. No need to reinvent the wheel; retop the existing explainer with the news, ensure the previously published material is still accurate and republish.
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