CIO: Who’s your favorite NPR personality? Robert Holstein: Will Shortz, the puzzle master. He’s on Weekend Edition on Sundays. I also like Don Gonyea, our White House reporter, a lot. I had the opportunity to visit his setup in the press room at the White House and learn a little bit about his job. Following the president carrying all that technology is a challenge for him, so it was an important experience for me in learning about his IT needs. When a listener hears Linda Gradstein reporting from Jerusalem, how does IT enable the recording, producing, transmitting and broadcasting of her reports? There’s not one good answer to that question because a lot depends on the type of report, where the reporter is and what equipment they’re using. But in the case of filing a report where Linda blends various audio components together into a mosaic of sound, she makes her recording of the components of the report with a recording device, which could be a minidisk player, a solid state recording device or digital audio tape. Then she downloads this recording onto her PC where she uses software to edit the audio the way she wants the pieces to sound. Then she sends her product back to producers in Washington via e-mail and we FTP those files back to a central control where it gets post-produced. What are the technical challenges associated with supporting reporters in remote places around the world? The big issues have to do with support. We have people working in different time zones, which means I need to have coverage 24/7. If someone has a problem with a PC, we need to provide a replacement or a remote support arrangement so they can get a diagnosis. One other challenge is distributing multimegabit-sized software upgrades to people in the field and on the end of a satellite phone who lack fast Internet connections. Before he joined National Public Radio, Robert Holstein was a self-described “NPR junkie.” The radio network chose Holstein, a 23-year IT veteran who formerly worked as a Capital One Financial business information officer, to be its first-ever CIO in January. CIO recently spoke with Holstein to get the scoop on who his favorite NPR voice is, and the IT involved in radio broadcasting and production around the world. Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo news Alteryx works in generative AI for speedy analytics results OpenAI integration and AI wizardry for report generation are aimed at making Alteryx’s analytics products more accessible. By Jon Gold May 25, 2023 3 mins Analytics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe