Sword and Pen Military Veterans in Journalism

On this episode of Sword and Pen, host Lori King speaks with army broadcast journalist Lance Milsted, a former Defense Information School instructor.

Milsted, the chief of production services at DoD's Defense Media Activity (DMA) talks about his belief that everyone has a story to tell, and an important part of journalism is to tell those stories, to make people feel something, to get to know the subjects of our stories and ensure we stay out of the way and let them tell stories.

Listen as Milsted also talks about:


how being a radio DJ in high school led him to join the army as a broadcast journalist
the Defense Information School and the broadcast track he attended then taught
how attending the National Press Photographers Association Workshop in Norman, Oklahoma changed his life
the power of storytelling, and tips and tricks of the broadcast journalism trade

Got an idea for a podcast guest or topic? Shoot Lori an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lorikingblog@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Sword and Pen is a Military Veterans in Journalism production.

On this episode of Sword and Pen, host Lori King speaks with investigative reporter and former marine infantryman James LaPorta, who, after exiting the military, broke into journalism by cold calling editors and agreeing to work for bylines.

You are about to hear an inspiring story of how LaPorta, with no journalism experience or degree, tenaciously built a journalism career working for multiple mainstream news outlets, the first being the Washington Post.

LaPorta, who was recently laid off from The Messenger, also shares his story about that sudden job loss. The Messenger was a startup nonpartisan news website that hired more than 300 journalists and, in less than a year, laid them all off with no warning. He was the national security and military affairs reporter.

Listen as LaPorta talks about:


how he became a contributing writer for Hollywood, including This is Us, FBI and Chicago P.D.
how he covered his two award winning stories
how he broke the story of contaminated water on the USS Boxer, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy
and what it's like to have a military reporting beat

Find James LaPorta on his ⁠website⁠ | ⁠X⁠

Got an idea for a podcast guest or topic? Shoot Lori an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lorikingblog@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Sword and Pen is a Military Veterans in Journalism production.

On this episode of Sword and Pen, host Lori King speaks with journalism tool extraordinaire Mike Reilley, who just published his second book, The Journalist's Toolbox: A Guide to Digital Reporting and AI.

Reilley has made it his mission since 1996 to continuously stock his trademarked online Journalism Toolbox with every kind of tool, resource and training you can imagine, including AI-driven tools, video training and links.

If there's a tool out there, he's found it, or seeks to find it.

Listen as Reilley talks about:


how military journalists can benefit
the origin of the Journalist's Toolbox
how many new AI tools are available each month and how many tools he deletes because they're dead
the history of online journalism and how news orgs were wrong to cannibalize their print product with a free version of a digital product

The Journalism Toolbox.ai⁠ | Mike On X @itsmikereilley

Got an idea for a podcast guest or topic? Shoot Lori an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠lorikingblog@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Sword and Pen is a Military Veterans in Journalism production.

On this episode of Sword and Pen, host Lori King speaks with Air Force officer and filmmaker Allie Delury, who is celebrating her one-year anniversary of her production company, Work Our Way, on Dec. 30, 2023.

Allie, who began her journalism and military career at the University of Minnesota, talks about her journey from tv reporter to business owner; what it was like going from social media manager to disconnecting from it; how a controversial documentary about abortion led her to start her LLC; why you should never let fear of failure or insecurity stop you from perusing anything you want to do; and how motherhood in April will compliment her business, not slow it down.

To view Allie's work, go to ⁠Website

To view Lori King's work, go to Website

Got an idea for a podcast guest or topic? Shoot Lori an email at ⁠⁠⁠lorikingblog@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠ 

Sword and Pen is a Military Veterans in Journalism production, brought to you monthly by host Lori King

On this special episode of Sword and Pen, host Lori King spoke with four attendees during the 2023 MVJ Convention held Oct. 5-7 in New York City.

First up at the mic was Dan Clare, a Marine Corps and Air National Guard veteran. He was a military public affairs officer for 17 years, and is now the director of communications for DAV, Disabled American Veterans, who sponsored the MVJ Career Fair.

Dan talked about his experience as the burn pit whistleblower, the value of having veteran voices in the media, and about his hope that veterans get hired in journalism at the career fair, where he operated a booth for DAV and sat on the Shaping News Coverage of Disabilities panel.

Patrick Martin is an army airborne infantry veteran from Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism - and is now a producer for the NBC News Health and Medical Unit.

Patrick came to the convention to give a tour of the NBCUniversal studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and sat on the NBC panel. He talked about how important it is to get veterans into newsrooms, as well as his role as an NBC producer.

Evgenia Vlasova is a Brooklyn-based video producer, editor and educator. She has been teaching at the New York Film Academy for eight years. Evgenia is not a veteran, but she is a member of MVJ. She spoke about the power of storytelling and how she helps her students adjust to the big city.

She talked about how her veteran students have discipline, being a broadcast journalist in her homeland of Russia, and how the media there is government controlled. She is currently seeking her citizenship.

Juan Carpanzano hails from Bogota, Colombia and lives in New York City. He is a marine veteran who spent five years with Combat Camera.

He is an advance media studies major at Fordham University, concentrating in photojournalism. He talked about his belief that everyone has a voice, and offered this for advice: Push, push, push, and be confident in yourself!

Connect with the guests!

Dan Clare: ⁠X | DAV.org

Patrick Martin: LinkedIn profile | NBC Health News

Evgenia Vlasova: Instagram

Juan Carpanzano: Instagram

Sword and Pen is a Military Veterans in Journalism production, and is brought to you monthly by host Lori King

Lori King: X ⁠⁠⁠@intro2pj⁠⁠⁠ | Instagram | Website

Got an idea for a podcast guest? Shoot me an email at ⁠⁠⁠lorikingblog@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠ 

On this episode of Sword and Pen, host Lori King speaks with army veteran and freelance journalist Cyrus Norcross, one of MVJ's 2023 Top 10 Journalists of the Year.

Cyrus, who was an army ranger for six years before pursuing journalism, talks about his Navajo Nation heritage, his winning entry that earned him the journalist of the year award, and his passion for telling stories about the Indigenous community.

Cyrus, who now freelances for Indian Country Today, has been published in the Native News Online and the Navajo Times. He is a member of MVJ and the Indigenous Journalist Association.

Connect with Cyrus: LinkedIn | Website | Instagram

Sword and Pen is a Military Veterans in Journalism production, and is brought to you monthly by host Lori King

Twitter | Lori King ⁠⁠@intro2pj⁠⁠ 

Got an idea for a podcast guest? Shoot me an email at ⁠⁠lorikingblog@gmail.com⁠⁠