Bryan Bender (born May 18, 1972) is a former award-winning national security reporter and editor and strategic communications executive who advises clean energy, space and biotech companies, nonprofits and research universities for Strategic Marketing Innovations, a Washington, DC, government affairs firm.
He is former senior national correspondent for
POLITICO
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
, where he authored the Morning Defense newsletter and edited POLITICO Space. He previously covered the Pentagon for ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' and Jane’s Defence Weekly. Bender has covered U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America and reported on a range of topics including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; domestic and international terrorism; veterans affairs; military training; nuclear arms control; the anti-war movement; the nexus between climate change and national security; government secrecy; and newly declassified government files on Cuba, Vietnam, and the Kennedy Administration.
He has also chronicled the aerospace and defense industries, the international arms trade, the war in Ukraine, and U.S. government efforts to research unidentified aerial phenomena, or UFOs. He is author ''You Are Not Forgotten'', the story of an
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
veteran’s search for a missing World War II fighter pilot in the jungles of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
.
Personal background
Bender is a native of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...
. He earned undergraduate degrees in Political Science and English Writing from the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
.
Professional background
Bender specializes in military affairs, foreign policy, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and government secrecy.
In 1998, Bender was named the Washington bureau chief for ''
Jane's Defence Weekly
''Jane's Defence Weekly'' (abbreviated as ''JDW'') is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman who ...
'', a London-based magazine.
In 2007, Bender was a finalist for the
Scripps Howard Foundation
The Scripps Howard Fund is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to the E. W. Scripps Company, an American media conglomerate which owns television stations, cable television networks, and other media outlets. The goal of t ...
's Washington Reporting Award for an investigation into an Army cheating scandal.
In 2011, he was a finalist for the
Gerald R. Loeb Award for Distinguished Business Reporting for a probe into the growing role of retired generals and admirals in defense companies and as private consultants.
In 2013, he was awarded the National Press Foundation's Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress for an investigation of the growing role of think tanks in partisan politics.
He is also former president of Military Reporters and Editors Association, the professional association for journalists covering the U.S. military.
His work has also appeared in ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', ''Jane's Defence Weekly'', among other publications. He is also frequent television and radio commentator on national security and foreign policy topics.
References
External links
*
Transcript of CNN appearanceAppearance on NPR's ''Morning Edition''Article by Bender on nuclear proliferationArticle by Bender on declassified Vietnam-era JFK documentsArticle by Bender on declassified Robert F. Kennedy documents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bender, Bryan
The Boston Globe people
American male journalists
Living people
1972 births
Writers from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh alumni
Journalists from Pennsylvania