Covering America: Politics, Crisis & Journalism with Maritsa Georgiou

(upbeat music) - Hey guys, welcome back to a brand new episode of the Otaka fame podcast. I'm Kayi Mantlebeen today. I'm so excited to welcome Ritsa Jojo. So she got a political journalist who anchored America tonight on script news where she also worked as a national correspondent. She spent years at NBC Montana where she specialized in COVID-19, politics, and wildfire coverage. And she's mostly known for her reporting on the plan removal of SPS Blue Collection boxes before the 2020 election, which earned her the 2021 Water Crookie Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism. She is currently co-host of the grounded podcast with former Senator John Kester. Grounded is about more than just diffuring the headlines. It's about hearing from two change makers, sharing insider insight in leaving each episode with an around map forward. Welcome to the show. I'm so excited I have you and we talk everything of your amazing journey and what you do. - Oh, thanks so much for having me, Kylie, I'm happy to be here with you. - So we took first kick it off. So you covered everything from COVID-19 to politics, to wildfires across the country. Like what is journalism always a dream for you growing up or did it kinda come to your life like later on? - No, it was always a dream. I grew up in Minneapolis and my grandfather was a TV meteorologist. And so he was the local weatherman. And he loved journalism and the news so much and my mom did too. And so I was just kind of raised in that. It was always part of my life. Like we always were a news family, a current events family. And so I always thought that I would like to do that. Like I started a newspaper in my fifth grade class and then I was on the high school newspaper and then I was in high school when 9/11 happened and that really just cemented the idea that I wanted to go into this because I saw how desperate people were for information and to find out what was happening and if we were safe. And I realized what a huge awesome job this is to help inform people and help people just every day. - I was the same way my aunt Anker actually journalists in my local area. So growing up I was also watching a news that come from another news family. That's got obsessed with all that like Fox News, local news, like whatever you think of, we probably watch it. It was especially mebes after being like, politics girl, some like, or listen, whatever's going on in the community. So I'm like always watching the news when I get the chance to, and that's kind of very weird to be quite honest with you, but it's like growing up, I mean, I was born for 9/11, but from experiences like my parents, family or whatever, that was literally such a tragic time. - Yeah, it was awful. It was really awful. And the one really bright spot though that came out of it. And I've seen this through my reporting on so many different tragedies is that people really came together afterward. I mean, we really felt so united as a country right after that happened. And I hope we can get back there. I hope we can get back there and feel united again because there's so much divide right now in division. And we're all in this together. We're all human beings on this planet together. So I hope we can get back there. - I know. With that, I feel like we never, like in my opinion, person, we like never saw anything like 9/11 with people since then. I mean, there could be a lot of experiences other than that. Don't give me wrong. Like there's a lot of stuff that happened since 9/11 and people came together obviously. But it's like, I don't think I ever - Yeah. - person, like anything everyone, all Americans or maybe different countries coming together specifically by like those like three or four attacks. - Yeah, no, it was quite something. It was quite something and just really even hard to believe. Hard to believe. - Like, yeah. - What was like your kind of like reaction to that? Since you were also in high school. So, what was kind of like your sort of reaction in all of that too when 9/11? - Well, to be honest, you know, I was in second period chemistry when it happened. And so it was the first plane went in and one of my classmates who I've been to school with since I was really young, he came in a little bit late and he said, "Hey, plane just went into a building in New York." And my chemistry teacher at the time said, "Sit down, nothing's more important than chemistry." And I'm like, we had no idea what, we didn't really know what was going on. And so then in my next period, I rushed to the photo classroom, the photo lab, where I took photography. And there was a TV in there. And it was one of those old tube TVs on a rolling cart and had a big strap over it. And they had it on the news. And we were watching kind of the aftermath of that first plane and going, like, what is this? And then we saw the second plane hit. And as soon as we saw the second plane hit, it was like, oh, this wasn't an accident. This wasn't, you know, this seems intentional. Then we started hearing more about, you know, flight 93 and all of that other, just the other issues depending on. So, you know, immediately, I just was so naive, you know, I was seven, but I think it was 16 years old. And I just didn't, you know, I just wasn't aware of this big, bigger, broader piece of the world of, you know, like, that that could happen. And I think that we still feel that way. I mean, I know I felt that way at the very beginning of COVID, right? Like, we get this feeling of like false security sometimes, like, oh, well, that would never happen here. I hear that so many times with people who lost their home to a wildfire or after school shooting or all of these things, like, I never thought it would happen here. And so that was, it was just kind of something to process and I don't think I really put together until, you know, maybe a few days later, like how big of a deal it was. My mom was just glued to the TV. She couldn't get enough. She just like wanted to know what was going on, what they found out in every breaking moment. Like, are we safe? What's coming next? What are we gonna do? And so, yeah, it was just, it was a surreal time. And, you know, certainly having lived a life, lived now, being on the other side of that 25 years later. Man, I just, I can't even imagine what that would look like if, you know, to be the age I am now to process that, I think it would be much harder because, you know, I was just naive at the time. But I remember knowing that it was a really big deal. Like, imagine if it wasn't then, and it happened now, like, 2026, like, I wonder if it would have happened now how people were yet. Like, comparing it was like 2001, like, television and all of that was kind of, you know, processing, like, we didn't really have like, cell phones, social media. So no one-- We had cell phones. We didn't have smart phones. Yeah, like cell phones, though. But, yeah, I mean, I think it is interesting. I mean, that kind of speaks to the divino is talking about. No matter what news stories happening right now in the world, you go on social media and there's division and conspiracy theories. And so many takes on one different thing. And I don't know what that would look like. And I hope we don't find out. I hope we don't find out. But it was, yeah, everything through the lens of social media and technology looks completely different. And I don't know, like, my son is about to go into high school this year. And I just can't even imagine going through high school with social media. I mean-- It's hard. It's hard. It's hard. I'm going to get stuff more in college. So when I was in high school, like, yeah, I was like, I'm glad we have social media to, like, talk to family friends or whatever. But a part of me is social media is so toxic. Like, it also depends on, like, specifically what you like and fall off, obviously. But it's like, whatever you do, you always feel self-conscious about something. Yeah, people are like this. Well, let me give you some old lady advice here. Because I remember feeling that way. And I certainly felt that way as an adult. But-- Um, you know, like everybody has those moments, everybody has those moments where they feel like, oh, was that silly or was that dorky or did I say something that was, you know, silly or did I embarrass myself and we all have those moments and I think that once I hit my 40s, I really started to just come into myself and just own that really solidly. Like, you know, I'm not here, I'm, I lead with kindness, I'm doing the best they can. We're all, we're all big dorks trying to figure out like what this world is anyway and how we navigate it. So be yourself and just don't worry so much about, you know, being self conscious because, um, you know, everyone brings so many wonderful things to the table. Exactly. And I know with social media, it kind of can't be such a, um, I don't want to say misconception, like misconception, but it's like, it could lead you to thinking something you're not totally absolutely. And everyone's putting out a curated selection of what they want people to see and our lives are messier than that. And I love when people are just real on social media and and show us the good and the bad and, and, um, you know, it also is worth noting like I come from a time when, you know, we didn't share every single thing about our lives publicly like that. So, you know, we don't have to share absolutely everything, but, um, you know, keep in mind when you're comparing yourself to other accounts you see or people that you see posting, like, you know, you're seeing a specific side that they're curating for you to see. And you're not seeing the full picture. So I try to keep that in mind with people too. I'm the same as out of way. Sometimes staying off of social media is a good thing as well. It's a great thing. It's a great thing. Exactly. Like that's something I'm trying to give myself into. It's hard, obviously, but it's like, it's hard. It's still a wrong thing about staying off of social media for a certain amount of time. Yeah. No, I think it's a smart thing. It's smart thing to wean yourself now. No, exactly. And to go into the USPS mailbox and the investigation, that became like such national news in such a tense, like political moment, obviously. So at one point, didn't you realize that that story was much bigger than just a local report? You know, um, it wasn't until that night. Like, I knew that it was getting traction because I was posting it, speaking of social media, I was posting it on Twitter throughout the day. And early in the day, like a few really big accounts shared it and amplified it. Like Rachel Maddo is one of them. And so, um, I knew that it was getting a lot of attention. Um, I didn't realize it was happening across the country until later that night. And it wasn't until like the the United States Postal Service wrote back and confirmed to me that at a national level, they were going to stop removing those blue boxes until after the 2020 general election. And so I knew that was a big deal. But then that night, Rachel Maddo put it on as her top story on MSNBC and she talked about it for I think about 25 minutes. And my phone just went crazy. I mean, I for three days, my phone didn't stop. It was so, um, surreal and exciting and confusing. And like, all these people, you know, talking about my story and and what we uncovered and what we found. And, you know, like, it was great. We saw the pushback worked that like information helps people understand something that was happening in their community. And they spoke up our congressional delegation wrote to the postmaster general and said, Hey, what's going on? We need answers here. And so, um, it really showed that people coming together can make a difference when something's happening that just doesn't quite sit right. Um, and I'll say, you know, the USPS removes blue mailboxes all the time. It was different. They do. But what was different about that case is that they were removing them in mass amounts all at once without any notice. And so there are certain rules and protocols. And I became like a blue box expert after that story because there are certain rules and protocols that they're supposed to go through before they remove one. They do what's called density tests to see how much mail circles through that mailbox on, you know, on average in a given week. And, and if it's still like, you know, worth the time and valuable to the whole mail system to keep it there. But they have to do these density tests. There are certain thresholds. There are certain rules that exempt mail boxes from being removed. Like if they're in front of a, you know, senior center or if they are on like a high traffic or a fair or certain things. And so these boxes did not fit those thresholds. And they were removed without notice. And you have to give 30 days notice to be able to remove those. So, um, you know, it was, they stopped the practice after the election. You know, that was during COVID. It was an all mail and election here in Montana and in many other places people are relying on the mail to, um, to vote. And voting is like one of those things like a foundation of our democracy. And so, it was, it was a crazy story. I still can't believe like when I go through the events like I had no idea. It was, it was going to be as big of a story as it became. But, um, you know, it really opened up a lot of doors for me. I love that. And I feel like what the 2020 election, it was obviously different than, you know, previous elections and elections now, especially with the primaries in some states, governor races, all day. I know, you know, with Pennsylvania, it's very huge. I want to swing states. But back then, like before the election, like we didn't have like mail and ballots until it happened. I kicked. And, you know, that was obviously different. I thought you did. I thought you did. I thought it just wasn't widely known because it might have happened, like mail and ballots. But I think that really became like a huge or thing during the 20s. It was more, it was more prevalent. Yes. But yeah, I mean, people have used mail and ballots for a long time because, you know, if you have to vote absentee, if you're stationed overseas, um, there are all kinds of reasons for, for using mail and ballots. Um, but yeah, that was certainly a year. I, I would venture to guess it became more on people's radars than ever before because of the pandemic. I mean, nothing about that year was comparable to any other year. 2020 was wild year for, for everything. It was honestly, that year was such like a blur. Like, yeah, honestly, I was kind of, I don't want to say I was happy about it. It's because I was like, I'm staying tall with the family. And all that, at the same time, I'm like, I just want to go back to normal life here. Like I miss life. Like with friends and extended family doing whatever I needed to do. But that year was like such a blur to the point where you're just like, I just want to go back to normal life and a lot of things changed during that totally, totally. We've, I mean, yeah, a lot of things never really quite went back to the way it was before. But I think you're right. There were silver linings. Um, I loved being able to work from home with my son and spend more time with him and, you know, just like focus on things that mattered a little bit more than like busy lives that we all had before. But yeah, it was really hard. There were things that were really hard. We missed a lot. No, yeah. And to kind of wrap up this sort of episode, like you're the whole host of a grounded Woodjohn tester. Yeah. He has been, how has podcasting been different from like the traditional television reporting that you're like much used to? Well, it's really fun. I mean, um, with podcasting and just kind of this like internet presence, um, anything really goes. We get a control what we want to talk about and how long it goes and, uh, you know, if swear words are involved or what are, who are guests are like, we're just kind of making the rules as we go. And, um, you know, it's, it's a little bit scary because you enter into the unknown. I mean, I have no idea. I didn't know the first thing about podcasting when we launched into this and we just really built the plane as we flew it and we're and we're still doing that in many ways. But it's also been just like such a fun experience to not only learn something new, um, but related like form this friendship and relationship with John Tester. I mean, I had a professional relationship with him before. I covered him while he was in the senate for 18 years. But to collaborate with him in this way and really form a friendship and get creative, like, what could we do or who could we have on or what are some good questions or what are the topics we need to hit on this week? And, and that's just been really fun. Um, and then some of our guests, like they're just, we have, we've had so many incredible guests. I just can't even believe the people that have said yes to coming on Dora show. So, um, it's been really great. A great way to flex our creative muscle and also, You know, just trying to help people be informed. which has always been kind of my driving force. Like how can we help? How can we help you understand things? How can we make sense of things? And we've had just incredible feedback. Plus, like podcasts, if you're listening traditionally, you're not watching it, you're listening. I've had people say like, there's something really intimate and personal about listening to podcasts in your ear, like with headphones. Like, like you're just in that little space with that person. And it's different from just watching TV. Like it feels a little bit more, I don't know, personal and close. So it's been, it's been really fun. It is. Like what, where was he a senator? Like, I was in Minneapolis or what, uh, state was in. No, he was a US senator from Montana. One of our two senior, he served three terms, uh, 18 years. And he lost his election in 2024, his, his reelection. Oh, I was like, what, like where did he take like, cover? And I was like, I kind of assumed Montana. And that's where you currently live now. Yeah. Like, oh. Yeah. I mean, he was, he was a high ranking member of the United States Senate. And he shared several committees and, um, you know, did a lot of work for veterans. That was kind of his, his baby. And he's also a full-time farmer. He still has a, has a farm in Montana. And, um, so, you know, he maintained that. And now he's just kind of back to his, he's, he's doing the podcast and, uh, living back on the farm full time. So that's crazy. A farm, like that's a usual Montana there. Yeah. Yeah. But I think that's, um, the best way to kind of wrap up this episode. But I think you so much for coming on joining us today at your busy schedule. Um, it means so much. And I love how do you want to thank you for everything you do. Oh, thank you, Kylie. I hope you have a great day. Same day as well. And I'll talk to you guys very soon. 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