“The Espionage News Cycle” – A Conversation with SPY’s Aliza Bran

Summary

Aliza Bran (LinkedIn, Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss her role as Media Relations Manager at the International Spy Museum. Aliza is a D.C. native and graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. 

What You’ll LearnIntelligence

• The media and intelligence
• International Spy Museum Artifacts
• Espionage fact vs. fiction
• The history of The International Spy Museum

Reflections

• Creativity & Ingenuity 
• Growing up in the DMV 

And much, much more …

Episode Notes

Aliza Bran’s passion and excitement for the world of SPY is contagious. Around the office of the International Spy Museum, Aliza is known for her cheerful demeanor, quick wit, and intensely creative mind. She’s been working at SPY for six years now, four of those years as our Media Relations Manager. 

How does Aliza navigate the ever-changing media landscape and represent the International Spy Museum on this worldwide stage? What are Aliza’s favorite memories, artifacts, and exhibits from SPY? What makes her love this work so much, and what skills do you need to build a career in media relations? Tune in to find out. 

And… 

Aliza has been particularly busy these past few weeks covering the news surrounding the Chinese Spy Balloon. For a taste of Aliza’s work, find articles and video on the subject that she orchestrated here, here, here, and here. 

Quote of the Week

“Part of it for me is knowing that we live in a very polarized world right now and I want to have a sense of our full audience, which is everyone. So I'm going to look at stories, places that aren't natural fits for where I tend to go. Because if people go there to read the news, I want to know what they're reading, I want to know what interests them. I want to know what people are excited about, worried about, looking at.” – Aliza Bran.

Resources *SpyCasts*

• My Life Looking at Spies & the Media with Paul Lashmar (2021)

*Beginner Resources*

• What is Media Relations?, Nancy Shenker, ClearVoice (2021) [Blog Post]
• Paid vs. Owned vs. Earned Media: What's the Difference?, Indeed (2021) [Article]

Books

• The Good Assassin, S. Talty (Mariner, 2020)
• The Alice Network, K. Quinn (William Morrow, 2017)

Articles

• Deadly Women, Dirty Laundry, and a Shootout With The IRA, Reaper Feed (2020)

Video

• Former CIA Operative Explains How Spies Use Disguises, WIRED (2019)
• Meet a Former CIA Chief of Disguise, Atlas Obscura (2020)
• Alias, ABC (2001-2006)

Artifacts from SPY’s Collection 

• Scrotum Concealment
• Aston Martin DB5
• Iron Concealment Device

*Wildcard Resource*

• Check out the Refinery29 article that features Aliza’s SPY expertise applied to the collection and analysis of Taylor Swift-related intelligence.