The Washington Times promotes Jason Sickels to executive director of Threat Status

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 29, 2026

The Washington Times Promotes Jason Sickels to Executive Director of Threat Status

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Times today announced the promotion of Jason Sickels to Executive Director of Threat Status, the newspaper’s national security journalism and events platform. The promotion reflects the extraordinary growth Threat Status has achieved across print, digital, social media, podcasts, video and live events under his leadership over the past two years.

The recognition comes at a moment of significant momentum for Threat Status. The Washington Times recently won 18 awards at the annual Virginia Press Association journalism contest — including a Best in Show honor for Ukraine correspondent Guillaume Ptak’s battlefield reporting, and a first-place award for the Threat Status podcast among publications in the highest daily circulation category, competing against The Washington Post, the Virginian-Pilot, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, among others. Threat Status journalists also earned four finalist nominations in the 2026 Defense Media Awards, a global competition that drew a record 420 submissions.

Under Sickels’ direction, Threat Status has produced two major live events and is on track for a third: The Golden Era of Space, a half-day national security and space forum taking place November 17, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The platform has also built a robust H2 presence at the defense industry’s premier trade events, including the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, AFA Air, Space & Cyber, AUSA Annual Meeting and the Reagan National Defense Forum.

Threat Status has emerged as a “brand within a brand” at The Washington Times, reaching senior decision-makers across the Department of Defense, Capitol Hill, the White House, and the defense industrial base through its Daily Newsletter, weekly podcast, Influencers video series, and the On the Ground field dispatch series. Its editorial team includes National Security Editor Guy Taylor, correspondents Ben Wolfgang, Bill Gertz — a five-time New York Times bestselling author and leading China expert — and award-winning Ukraine correspondent Guillaume Ptak.

“Jason came to the Washington Times with strong relationships in the U.S. defense community and how consumption of content is constantly changing. His creative ideas are addressing audience and revenue growth and are being embraced wherever critical national security conversations on budget, technology and policy are happening.”
— Chris Dolan, President and Executive Editor, The Washington Times

ABOUT THREAT STATUS
Threat Status is the national security journalism and events platform of The Washington Times, providing daily newsletter coverage, podcast programming, video content, field dispatches, and live events focused on defense, intelligence, and national security. Threat Status reaches senior decision-makers across the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, Capitol Hill, the White House, and the defense industrial base.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Washington Times is a national daily newspaper headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its print edition is delivered daily to Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, the White House, and federal agencies, and reaches approximately 40,000 subscribers. WashingtonTimes.com reaches millions of readers each month.

MEDIA CONTACT
Jason Sickels
Executive Director, Threat Status, The Washington Times
(310) 968-4981
jsickels@washingtontimes.com