Rose Reid, head of US audio at Exile and podcast executive producer, discusses Exile Content Studio and PRX's new multi-season podcast series Shoot the Messenger on this week's episode of Tech Times Exclusives.

'Shoot the Messenger'

Exile's Shoot the Messenger podcast is a biweekly discussion of investigative reporting on international news issues.

Reid said the endeavor is a joint effort with the committee to safeguard journalists. The group appears to be a watchdog for any journalist in the world who is in difficulties, such as when they are abducted, missing, or unable to leave a nation due to legal issues.

Organization members are compiling an annual report on the safety of journalists who face danger on the job, such as being threatened, abducted, imprisoned, or assassinated.

According to Reid, the greatest danger to the press today is not only physical danger but cybercrime.

The podcast's first episode served as an introduction to the issue by going over Pegasus spyware, a sophisticated military-grade spyware.

Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018. Pegasus was on the phones of three of his close associates. It would not be surprising if this instance had any connection to the malware that was reported.

One thing is for sure: Such scary encounters, and other things related to these, are among the things the program would like to tackle and address.

Shoot the Messenger's fourth episode, engineers at WhatsApp got a real-time glimpse of Pegasus. Eventually, the vulnerability that allowed the intrusion to occur was identified and patched. The issue was brought to people's attention via a statement made by WhatsApp.

The defendant, an Israeli tech firm responsible for developing the Pegasus spyware, is the subject of a lawsuit filed by WhatsApp and Facebook (before it was named Meta). As discussed in the fourth episode, this instance has the potential to affect everybody who has a smartphone.

The litigation continues, and the trial date has been scheduled for December 2024.

In this week's episode of Shoot the Messenger, Reid talks to lawyers involved in filing an amicus brief in support of the action, asking the court to hear the cases of individual victims who are beyond the restricted scope of the WhatsApp lawsuit. The fundamentals of the litigation were covered, including its potential consequences for different parties.

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Taking a Break From Digital Realm

With the proliferation of fascinating new technologies, Reid thinks we have become too dependent on our digital gadgets.

Her advice was to put some distance between yourself and the online world, especially if you're experiencing paranoia. Put it in another room and go about your day, or plan some time away from your phone to focus on other things, too.

She also suggested that this is the best time we reassess our use of social media and other forms of digital communication.

Reid, in discussing the Exile Content Studio, claims that the podcast is just one aspect of what the firm is doing, which includes both audio and written investigative journalism. As a full-service studio, Exile creates more than just podcasts; they also make films, music, and more.

Watch our full exclusive interview with Rose Reid here.

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