Cipher Brief’s Suzanne Kelly On Bridging Secrets And Stories

Suzanne Kelly is the CEO of The Cipher Brief, a national security-focused media platform backed by a network of more than 200 former intelligence and national security leaders. She previously spent years as a CNN correspondent and foreign bureau reporter, beginning her career as a freelance journalist covering conflict zones.

In a conversation with Ernestine Fu Mak, Kelly reflects on her journalism career and the creation of a platform that bridges the intelligence world and the public. She discusses reporting from global flashpoints, writing Master of War, and navigating the balance between transparency and security in today’s information age.

Joe Felter and Eric Volmar also provide introductory and closing remarks.

Key Takeaways

• The Reality of Reporting in Conflict Zones

  Kelly’s experience in Kosovo underscored the human cost of war and reshaped her understanding of global conflict, responsibility, and risk.

• Persistence as a Career Superpower

  From talking her way into CNN to convincing sources to trust her, Kelly’s trajectory shows how tenacity—not credentials—is often what opens doors.

• The Origins of The Cipher Brief

  Frustrated with reactive, surface-level news coverage, Kelly created a platform centered on insights from actual experts rather than pundits or influencers.

• Balancing Transparency and Security

  Reporting on classified or ongoing operations requires judgment and ethics—journalists must weigh public interest against the real-world dangers to people on the ground.

• Disinformation and the Digital Challenge

  Kelly warns that the speed and scale of digital content make misinformation harder to counter, raising the stakes for credible sourcing, humility, and accountability in journalism.