Washington, D.C. (October 9, 2023) — Defense One, the leading provider of news, analysis, and commentary to the national security and defense communities, is bringing longtime staff members into new leadership roles as it looks to the next phase of essential defense-sector coverage. Bradley Peniston and Marcus Weisgerber are leading this team-wide effort, which includes a greater focus on increasingly relevant topics such as AI, defense IT, space, and the military service branches.

“The defense environment is rapidly changing, so Defense One is evolving as well,” said GovExec 360 President Troy K. Schneider. “Our editorial team—which brings more than a century of combined experience and has broken countless stories over the past decade—is building on a solid foundation to cover the rising complexities around tech, national security, and more.”

Peniston, who has been Defense One’s deputy editor since 2015, will lead editorial pursuits as Executive Editor. A national-security editor, reporter, and author for a quarter-century, he is ideally suited to drive the brand’s expanding operations.

Weisgerber, Defense One’s longtime Global Business Editor, has taken on the additional role of Editorial Director. He will draw upon his extensive experience in reporting on the defense industry to steer strategic planning.

The editorial team has also introduced a number of other promotions and expanded roles, including:

• Jennifer Hlad has been promoted to Senior News Editor, leading Defense One's branch-of-service coverage.
• Science & Technology Editor Patrick Tucker, who has made Defense One’s defense-innovation coverage essential reading across the national security community, will drive an expanded program of enterprise reporting and events for 2024, including a quarterly Genius Machines series on AI's potential to transform military operations.
• Senior Editor Lauren Williams spearheads Defense One’s coverage of defense IT systems and programs.
• Senior Multimedia Editor Ben Watson continues to diversify Defense One’s multimedia efforts, including the daily D Brief newsletter and the Defense One Radio podcast, which has established itself as a go-to source for defense audiences and advertisers.
• Staff Reporters Audrey Decker and Sam Skove power Defense One’s market-leading coverage of the military service branches, as well as a broad range of technology and national security issues. Decker focuses on the Air Force, Space Force, and naval aviation; and Skove handles land warfare, including the Army and Marine Corps. 

This revamped editorial team will drive an aggressive calendar of new initiatives. In addition to the “Genius Machine” series led by Tucker, Defense One will launch a defense acquisition event in December and an Indo-Pacific forum in early 2024. There are also plans to increase Defense One’s coverage of space, an increasingly important national-security domain.

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About Defense One

Defense One is a digital and events media brand that informs the U.S. defense and military community about the future of national security. Part of GovExec, Defense One provides breaking news, timely analysis, and fearless commentary to national security leaders, influential professionals, stakeholders, and interested citizens.

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