Tester, former national journalist, team up for new podcast about news, government, common ground

Yahoo

24-02-2025

Former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, and former Scripps national anchor Maritsa Georgiou are starting a new podcast called: "Grounded with Jon Tester and Maritsa Georgiou."
It's almost a cliche in 2025: Two people who recently lost their jobs start a podcast.
But these two recently unemployed people might not be who you'd expect — former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and longtime Montana and national journalist Maritsa Georgiou. Tester lost his re-election bid as the lone Democrat elected to statewide office while Georgiou had most recently been the lead national anchor for Scripps Broadcasting.
Both lost their jobs in November; Tester, at the hands of Montana voters who voted political newcomer Republican Tim Sheehy into office; and Georgiou at the hands of a network that saw a diminishing number of people tune in for a nightly news broadcast, as opposed to commentary or talk shows.
'That doesn't mean there aren't people there who don't want to hear the messages coming from the news,' Georgiou said.
She acknowledges a fatigue — even plain old exhaustion — with the bombastic, uncertain and unrelenting national news cycle, but Georgiou and Tester see that has an opportunity.
'There are people who are out there who are trying to figure it, though,' Georgiou said. 'That's what I've always done as a journalist — breaking it down.'
She said that message was made repeatedly when she was at home instead of in the studio during the COVID-19 pandemic as things started shutting down. What did it mean? Why was it dangerous? And what was being done to stop it? Those were all questions that she had, like many viewers.
Then she realized: It was her responsibility to find the answers and explain it to her audience — a model she hopes to replicate on 'Grounded.'
In a podcast that plays off Tester's autobiography, 'Grounded,' the podcast takes the same name, and the purpose is for Georgiou to continue to ask tough questions and help readers understand the dizzying flood of national news, while Tester, who served for 18 years, helps listeners navigate by describing how government works — or at least how it has previously worked.
'My goal is to let people know government doesn't just run on autopilot,' Tester said. 'For years, people came up to me and said that what happens in Washington, D.C., didn't affect them, but I hope we show them that these real-world decisions matter, whether you're in D.C., New York City, Billings or Box Elder.'
Both Tester and Georgiou see a future when the news cycle, on rapid-fire since President Donald J. Trump took office, will slow, and residents in far-flung places like Montana will realize the connection they have to different levels of government, including the federal government.
Tester pointed to the exodus of fired or suspended federal workers, saying they're becoming the most recent target of Trump and Elon Musk, who has been named head of a quasi-government department that doesn't exist by Congressional mandate, the Department of Government Efficiency, or 'DOGE.'
'Now, if you work for the federal government there's a popular belief that you must be evil, or crooked or corrupt,' Tester said. 'But those are none of the ones I know or worked with for years. And firing these people will have consequences.'
Tester wonders what will happen when millions of people come to visit Montana's national parks, like Glacier and Yellowstone, but can't get access because there's not enough staff — especially in places that already have a backlog of maintenance and suffer from low staffing. Or, Tester said, what about delivery of mail to places that are rural?
'In places like Montana, you have to fight like hell to get funding, or you won't get it,' Tester said. 'You take that money away, and by the time people find out, it's too late.'
The podcast, for now, will release weekly episodes that usually run about 30 to 45 minutes, although last week, Tester and Georgiou released two.
'I don't want people to stop watching the news and thinking about the news,' Georgiou said. 'Think about all the news outlets we've lost, all the journalists we watched, and the news deserts it has created. That's when we start to lose information and we need the Fourth Estate.'
Tester said the middle-ground, a tradition he credits the U.S. Senate for maintaining because of people like the legendary former U.S. Senate Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana, is also part of the message of the podcast.
For example, Tester said that looking for waste and running the government more efficiently is a good goal, one that he shares.
'But we don't have a dictator, and Congress needs to do its job,' Tester said. 'But we should look for ways to eliminate waste and get more efficient because that makes a wiser expenditure of taxpayer money.'
However, Tester stressed that with any American movement, the history has not yet been decided.
'This whole thing could be screwed up just like in Colombia or Brazil where people have fewer freedoms and liberties,' Tester said. 'You have to work for democracies.'
He said that often people don't realize what the government does until it disappears and impacts them personally.
'People don't know the half of what happens on the things they depend on,' Tester said. 'For example, you don't think about public lands. You have access to them because someone maintains trails, but if those public agencies go away, you won't have access. Then rich people will try to buy those lands and the American public won't care as much because they think, 'Hey, I can't use them anyway.''
He said that the potential for damage is great if too much of government is dismantled.
'The damage done to the institutions will take decades. The chances are is that President Trump will be long gone, then it'll be someone else's fault,' Tester said.
He said that agencies should be brought into the process, and Congress needs to exercise its own autonomy.
'If you want to know how something will affect Montana, ask someone who is from there,' Tester said. 'The same thing with the federal government. But, they're not bringing the agencies into the process.'
Tester also sees familiar themes that he spent his career railing against, including ever-growing cash and contributions during political campaigns.
'Look at Elon Musk, he can literally fund the candidates,' Tester said.
Georgiou said that it's easy for people in Montana to picture federal workers as wearing suits, sitting in some office buildings in Washington, D.C. Instead, she said that it's a lot harder for them to think about the rangers or foresters in places like the U.S. Forest Service.
And she feels a kinship with those who have been hit with the unexpected news that they're unemployed, too.
'I had no idea the psychological impact it carries. It's emotional to think about the huge impact and going through it. We knew the (Scripps) show was being cancelled, and you had this feeling of masked grief with your colleagues,' Georgiou said. 'I can understand the confusion, anger, sadness and anxiety, because it was similar to what happened with Scripps. It derailed what I had been doing with my entire adult life and this was my career.
'Now what? It's very real, very emotional. The unknown is so scary. And they have family and friends in the community who are experiencing it with them, so the ripple is massive.'
Despite the turbulent, even rocky news, Tester and Georgiou said that they're hopeful that by giving a more thoughtful, balanced conversation — they've already featured two Republicans as guests — that they give their audience a better understanding.
'Even now, early on, we've heard messages of support like people are feeling confused, but now they understand better,' Georgiou said. 'If we've done that, we've already won.'
And continuing to play on the 'grounded' theme — something that is easy for Tester, who is a self-billed 'dirt farmer' from Big Sandy — he said that he is still convinced by a huge swath of common ground still present in Montana and throughout the country.
'There is common sense and common ground in the middle, and when the country gets back to that, we'll be stronger, before it gets to the point where it can't be rebuilt,' Tester said.