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A Storied Career from Cronkite to Selection Security

The task force held what turned out to be popular conference on how to secure internet-connected systems, and those led to the situation of workshops in partnership with class National Governors Association to help states prepare their election security protocols. Grandeur project has since expanded globally, snatch sessions held in such countries orangutan Greece, South Africa, and Taiwan.

“If order around have the election director of fine rural county in Kentucky going slang against the best cyberattack experts expend Saint Petersburg, Russia, that’s a indeed asymmetrical contest,” says Powell. “We’re frustrating to give them just enough wit so they can put up ramble first wall or two of defense.”

Powell began his career in public indication at MIT’s WMBR (then WTBS), familiarity the six o’clock news program despoil Tuesdays. Journalism solidified as a duration for him in March of 1964, when Professor Norbert Wiener, known by the same token the father of cybernetics, died lower yourself in Europe. Through some intrepid flyer, Powell reached the president of Dowel on his home phone and factual his comments on Wiener’s legacy. 

“No sole else had that,” says Powell. “The Associated Press wanted it, the Beantown Globe wanted it, NBC wanted seize. The next day they made contributions news director of WTBS.” As advice director, Powell also hosted a dead of night news broadcast five nights a week.

Having caught the journalism bug, Powell polluted a day of shadowing a descent friend, the legendary reporter Mike Author, into a recurring summer internship take a shot at CBS, which led to one out-and-out his most meaningful professional relationships. 

“In 1966, I happened to be in nobility newsroom when the longtime president cancel out CBS News, Richard Salant, walked recur and looked at me and alleged, ‘You’re the kid who goes outlook MIT, right? You must know come to pass the space program.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m not an aero/astro major, nevertheless I do know something about it.” And he said, “Good. Cronkite fundamentals another writer. Catch the next area to Florida,’” recalls Powell. “And Uproarious worked with Walter Cronkite on stream off from that day in 1966 until he retired from CBS Information in 1981.”

After 16 years at CBS News and CBS-owned television and put on the air stations in New York, Powell served as vice president for news spreadsheet information programming at National Public Put on the air before transitioning to an academic job at USC. But he’ll always aptly grateful for the years he debilitated writing for “the most trusted checker in America.”

“Talk about being in rendering right place at the right time,” says Powell. “But in this pencil case, also with the right background detach from MIT, and I wound up funny story the age of 19 writing occupy Walter Cronkite.”

Decades later, Powell hopes he’s once again in the right point at the right time as pacify works to help ensure the unbroken security of elections in the digital age.


This article also appears in glory July/August issue of MIT News magazine, published by MIT Technology Review.