tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40993936869147704792024-03-14T02:30:49.304-07:00Heidi Russell, JournalistLife and times of a 20-year veteran of news reporting, news editing & AP wire serviceAbout Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-15508107784845800782017-11-18T06:25:00.000-08:002017-11-18T06:25:31.309-08:00A Year Later, A New Career<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Thanksgiving weekend, 2016.<br />
<br />
I was reeling from the Presidential election result, and not only because I was worried about the future of the country: I saw the handwriting on the wall that my current career might be over.<br />
<br />
There were some ominous signs that things might take a turn for the worse. After 17 years of full-time magazine freelancing and 12 previous years in newspaper and wire service newsrooms, I could see clear signs that my industry was changing. Newspapers were shutting down. Long-time reporters were flooding the freelance market. And there were two other disturbing trends. One was that bloggers, who I call, "self-styled journalists," were trying to fashion themselves as legitimate news reporters, despite not having solid news gathering experience or training. They were muddying the validity of the news cycle. As a result, the industry was taking a serious credibility hit. The other looming issue was that I had spent the election cycle observing Trump and his treatment of the media, starting with Jorge Ramos at that infamous news conference. Here, I thought, was a Captain of Industry, accustomed to having people kowtow to his whims and wishes. Here was a future authoritarian, not a democratic President. Trump was already attacking members in my profession, accusing them of producing stories that were "fake news" (what a laugh). If he consolidated power, as I suspected he would with a GOP-led Congress, the free press could become a vapid memory of bygone days.<br />
<br />
And then there were some other practical issues I was facing. As a self-employed freelancer, I heavily relied on the Obamacare subsidies for my health insurance. I also am now over age 50 (gasp!) and worried about being diagnosed with a pre-existing condition. If Republicans made their threat good to sweep away my health care protections, I would be a sitting duck.<br />
<br />
What to do?<br />
<br />
I spent the month of November and early December 2016 pondering all of this. Then, one Sunday in early December last year, I attended a family dinner. My dilemma became a topic of table discussion.<br />
<br />
"I've always thought you'd be a great teacher," someone said.<br />
<br />
Everyone around the table nodded.<br />
<br />
I thought about that. Throughout my adulthood, I've spent time volunteering as Sunday School teacher, usually with teenagers and young adults. I thought about how I especially loved being around middle schoolers.<br />
<br />
"The problem," I told my family, "is that I would need to go back to school to get a teaching certification. At my age? Everyone would laugh."<br />
<br />
"Try substitute teaching first," someone said. "See if you like it, and then cross that bridge later."<br />
<br />
It was worth a shot. I could keep freelancing while substituting on the side, and if I hated it, I could cross that option off of my list.<br />
<br />
I applied to my local school district, which had a shortage on substitute teachers, and I was accepted immediately. On my first day of work in February 2017, I came home completely exhausted -- and completely elated. I'd spent the full day substituting with non-verbal special needs elementary school children. One wanted to just hold my hand and walk in a circle on the playground perimeter during the full 30 minutes of recess. Saying nothing, we walked round and round as his tiny, chubby hand held mine in a tight clasp. I felt like I shouldn't even be <i>paid</i> for the privilege of spending time among such precious and innocent souls.<br />
<br />
The next day, I was in an inner-city elementary school, with 33 raucous third graders. I played classical music as they entered and jumped into the teacher's lesson plan. The school principal came into the classroom and sat in the back (not intimidating at all!) and asked me who I was and where I had come from. "This is my second day substituting," I whispered to her. "I don't know what I'm doing." Her jaw dropped. "I thought you were an experienced teacher!" she exclaimed.<br />
<br />
Later, one of my trouble makers in the classroom tapped me on the shoulder.<br />
<br />
"I heard you tell the principal you were new," she said. Then she smiled broadly. "Guuuuuuuuuurl! You somethin' else!" She laughed as she trotted away back to her desk and started working feverishly on a worksheet I had given them.<br />
<br />
That was all it took. I was hooked.<br />
<br />
I spent the next four months traveling around the district. I decided to "try out" every age group, every socio-economic variety of school, every intellectual level (gifted versus non-verbal special needs, to "average" kiddo). I was in kindergarten and pre-school classes. I was in special needs rooms. I was at elementary, middle and high school. I was in the richest neighborhoods and the poorest alike.<br />
<br />
In addition, I had picked up a part-time job at Junior Achievement, helping 5th graders learn how to run a newspaper in an imaginary town called, "BizTown."<br />
<br />
I had a strategy after those first two days: The first part of the winter, I would rely on freelancing for 90 percent of my income and teaching for 10 percent. The second part of the winter, I would go 50-50. And by spring, I would rely on teaching for 90 percent of my income and freelancing for 10 percent. I decided that I would ease into this slowly, to make certain this was the right move for me.<br />
<br />
By March, I had achieved the 50-50 ratio, and by May, I was at 90 percent teaching and 10 percent freelancing.<br />
<br />
In July, I interviewed for a "paraeducator" special needs position at my son's former middle school. It would involve assisting special needs teachers. I landed the job and started in August with a room of some non-verbal autistic students and others who were high on the spectrum but verbal. Two weeks later, the school transferred me to work exclusively with two autistic children. I follow them to their classes and assist them so that they can complete work alongside everyone else. It is the most fulfilling thing I've done since I was a cub reporter at my first newspaper at age 23.<br />
<br />
And yes, I am still freelancing.<br />
<br />
I whittled my freelance client list down to three key clients. I chose them because 1) They pay well, 2) The editors treat me professionally and 3) They pay on time -- a magic combination.<br />
<br />
Ironically, 75 percent of my income still comes from my freelance clients. I spend my nights and weekends reporting and writing, although it's about 25 percent of my work time. And 25 percent of my income comes from my new teaching job. I spend 75 percent of my work time with the children.<br />
<br />
It doesn't matter. I have achieved a balance in which the writing still supports my cost of living, and I can enter a new field and help make my tiny corner of the world a better place.<br />
<br />
Oh. And the teaching job also provides an amazing health insurance package that costs one-fourth of the cost of what I was paying under Obamacare. The benefits are astounding, and I also have the support of a teachers' union, which provides more perks.<br />
<br />
After working solo in my home for 17 years full-time, this also has opened my world to a different type of workplace, where the goal is to bring up an educated and kinder generation. The past three months have been nothing short of incredible for me.<br />
<br />
So what are my next steps? Originally, I was going to head back to school this fall, but I wanted to see how I would first manage my new full-time job and freelancing. Now that I have a handle on the physical toll (it's exhausting), I will probably hold off until the summer months, when I'm off, to start on my Master's degree. I'd like to get a Master's in learning behavior disabled children and continue working with troubled kids on the middle school level. I intend on continuing to freelance as my income needs demand it, but hopefully will transition eventually into a full-time teaching job after my school work is completed.<br />
<br />
Some people might say that after a certain age, life is over. I'd say a new chapter in my life is beginning again. My son, who has Asperger's Syndrome, is also doing exceptionally well in the International Baccalaureate Programme at his high school as a freshman. This is a transitional time for both of us, but very exciting.<br />
<br />
My story here isn't to discourage anyone from entering the news media profession. I have had a fulfilling journey as a journalist and later, magazine writer. Writing is still very much a part of my life and my personality. But so is the joy I am deriving from teaching young minds. I look forward to every day with a smile on my face and hope in my heart.<br />
<br />
A year <i>does</i> make a big difference.<br />
<br />
Huge.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-48299268333378679152017-10-15T09:10:00.001-07:002017-10-15T09:14:53.698-07:00The "Harvey Weinsteins" in the News Industry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
While everyone is focused on Hollywood turning its blind eye to the Harvey Weinstein saga, many wonder why it took so long for the story to come out. Although there are legal reasons (fear of libel lawsuits), no one is really discussing the obvious:<br />
<br />
There are Harvey Weinsteins in the news industry.<br />
<br />
I know.<br />
<br />
I worked among them and side-stepped them during my time at four newspapers and The Associated Press earlier in my career.<br />
<br />
This weekend, I've been reading testimonials and calling up Youtube recordings of interviews with women actors who had the unfortunate (and similar) experiences with this powerful man. Many have been criticized for not speaking out sooner. Many have explained that they thought they were "the only one" or that they would not be taken seriously. They were trying to preserve their careers. It took the voices of many for them to come forward today. I understand this. And I'm going to break my own silence about a former news editor, who will remain anonymous, if it helps other women to understand they're not alone -- no matter what industry you're in. Maybe if we talk about our own "Harvey Weinsteins," it will help to not only change Hollywood, but every single business and corporation. Voices count.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to identify the news outlet where this took place, because frankly, it's the Internet, and anyone can find this blog entry and accuse me of false accusations. But let's just say that this experience led to some major career-altering decisions. Before I launch in, let me also say that I have nothing to gain by telling this story. I've long-since been out of mainstream newsrooms, and after a lengthy time of solo freelancing, I'm now segueing into a teaching career. The only purpose in my telling this story is to help others see that this is a rampant problem, across the board for women.<br />
<br />
So.<br />
<br />
I was single. I was moving up. I was in a very competitive environment as a news reporter. My stories were constantly on front pages across the country. I had my sights on a next career step and knew where I wanted to go. It was within striking distance, and I felt that it was just a matter of time before I made that move.<br />
<br />
Then my editor quit, and we had a replacement -- a guy who was about 15 years older than I was and who was going through a divorce. He seemed affable enough and easy going. Immediately that first week, he started inviting me to take my lunch break with him. Like many of the actresses who encountered Harvey, I felt that these lunches were important to building a working relationship that would help me achieve my career goal. I was able to discuss developing stories and ask for advice about managing my sources during these lunches. I was able to discuss my long-term career goals.<br />
<br />
At the time, my widowed mother lived several states away from me, and she started raising alarms. How did I know that this new editor didn't have "expectations" of "something else?" I told her that she was over-reacting. This was a harmless person, I said, and besides, no one "did that type of thing anymore."<br />
<br />
"It's not the 1960s or 70s anymore, Mom," I remember telling her. She strongly advised that I stop accepting his lunch break requests.<br />
<br />
My boyfriend worked in the same newsroom, but with a different news outlet. He also was concerned. He wasn't the jealous type, but he also felt that this wasn't a good idea.<br />
<br />
I didn't take either of them seriously until the new boss started asking me questions about my relationship with my boyfriend. At that point, I decided it would be prudent to stop accepting the lunch break invitations. I explained that I had too much to do on deadline, and although I appreciated the invites, it was better for me to take lunch alone.<br />
<br />
Suddenly the atmosphere in my little work environment changed.<br />
<br />
Before, I could do no wrong with my writing and reporting. Overnight, there were multiple inane questions about my sentence structures, my paragraph order, my choice of a lead. My stories were being rewritten to mangled garble before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do about it. The editor became critical of the types of questions I was asking sources. I would have to call and re-call people, asking questions that I had already posed, but doing so because the editor wanted to "be sure" that they "said what I thought they said."<br />
<br />
Nothing was right. Nothing was good. Everything I tried to do was "substandard."<br />
<br />
All of this time, the editor persisted in inviting me to lunch or dinner. I decided to try an experiment and see if the editing criticism was linked to the days that I declined an invite. On the days that I accepted the lunch invites, <i>miraculously</i>, my stories were "perfect." On the days I didn't, the stories were terrible.<br />
<br />
I shared my frustrations with my boyfriend. He suggested that we take a photo of him, blow it up, put it in a giant frame and put it right on my desk. Maybe that would send a message that I was unavailable. I did it, and the behavior worsened. It was as if the photograph of the boyfriend sent this editor over the edge. It was so prevalent on my desk. And from that point on, my stories were obliterated every time I turned them in.<br />
<br />
It wasn't just the editor, either. A married male reporter who was in charge when the editor was absent had a habit of calling up pornography while he sent the rest of us out on assignments. One day after work, I and a woman colleague decided to collect evidence of what this man was doing. So we downloaded a record of his computer cookies on a memory stick and held onto it in case we needed it. When my editor tried to corner me one day for not following this reporter's directions, I pulled the memory stick and said I would send it to higher-ups unless both of them backed off.<br />
<br />
I was miserable. I should state clearly that there was not an overt attempt to "paw" at me or corner me sexually. I never allowed myself to be alone with this man. But there was a persistent wearing-down on my decisions as a reporter -- a persistent questioning of whether I was accurate -- a persistent maligning of my writing and rewriting of my work until it was unrecognizable. In a few instances, I demanded that my byline be removed from stories that had been ruined.<br />
<br />
Finally, I'd had enough. One day after everyone had cleared the newsroom and the place was silent except the buzzing of the florescent lights over my desk, I called a lawyer. I had seen this lawyer testify before legislative committees that I had been covering about women's rights. I identified myself to his administrative assistant and explained why I was calling. He got on the phone immediately, and I gave a short summary of my hostile work environment.<br />
<br />
"Well, let me ask you a few questions before we proceed," he said.<br />
<br />
"Do you have trouble eating or problems with your appetite?" No.<br />
<br />
"Do you have problems sleeping?" No.<br />
<br />
"Do you have any problems like ongoing vomiting?" No.<br />
<br />
"Do you have migraines?" No.<br />
<br />
"Do you feel that your physical health has been affected adversely in any way by what this man is doing?" No.<br />
<br />
"Have you told him to stop asking you to lunch?" Yes.<br />
<br />
"Have you made a report to his supervisors?" Yes, but I was told by his supervisor to "act like a professional and maybe you won't have problems in the future." (His boss was a woman, by the way.)<br />
<br />
"Have you kept a journal?" No.<br />
<br />
"Do you see a psychologist or psychiatrist for emotional issues?" No.<br />
<br />
Basically, he told me that there was not enough to prove that my life had been hurt in a negative way by what this editor was doing. I still had a job. I had not received a negative report on my work quality. I was considered by many within the industry and those who knew me in that community to be a strong reporter. My reputation was intact and had not been maligned. I had not been held back from promotions -- yet. And all he had done was ask me to lunch. Repeatedly. But that wasn't enough for a lawsuit.<br />
<br />
You may say that I had a chip on my shoulder. You may wonder if my work was substandard and whether this guy just was being a good editor. You may think I'm crazy. There are many reasons that people may question whether this person was willfully making my life difficult and whether I am making all of this up.<br />
<br />
But the people who know me, people like my mother and my former boyfriend, would remember that I was under such stress that I could barely function. After a time, my stories probably were not up to par, because I was always fearing that this man would take his idiot pen and rip them to shreds.<br />
<br />
So how does this story end?<br />
<br />
Well, the lawyer told me that if I really wanted to "nail him," I should keep a journal for the next six months, and then we would look at filing a lawsuit.<br />
<br />
I thought about that, and in the end, I decided against it. Like many women in my generation, I had to weigh whether it was worth the fight and whether my reputation could take a hit when he defended himself against my accusations. Plus, I also felt that part of my soul was becoming embittered. I wanted to live a good life, not one where I was constantly looking over my shoulder and trying to "get back" at someone else.<br />
<br />
I decided to take the high road and keep my mouth shut. I put out my resume and landed a job within three weeks of my search. I took a $15,000 PAY CUT to move four states away and start over. I abandoned my earlier dream and felt that I was escaping with my soul and reputation intact.<br />
<br />
But the saddest thing about this, for me anyway, was when I called one of my sources to inform him that I had taken a new job.<br />
<br />
"Where are you going?" my source asked me.<br />
<br />
"To North Carolina," I answered. "I'm taking a pay cut. I can't tell you why I'm leaving, but I wanted to say goodbye, because you've been great to work with."<br />
<br />
He paused, and there was about a 10-second silence on the other end. I waited. And then he said the words that have haunted me to this day:<br />
<br />
<i>"How the mighty have fallen. I'm so sorry. I wish you well."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I've always wondered if he knew.<br />
<br />
So yes. There are Harvey Weinsteins in every industry, as well as in the media. They may not all look and sound like Harvey Weinstein. They may not perpetrate the same level of vicious attacks as he did. But the effect is the same: Women are silenced. Women put their careers second to their need to survive. Women feel they are alone. Women don't talk about it out of fear of not being taken seriously.<br />
<br />
The bright side of this story is that if I had never had this change in my life, I would not have my son today. I eventually married a U.S. serviceman who went to war, and although we are now divorced, our kid is pretty great. I look for a silver lining in every cloud, and my son is my "platinum lining."<br />
<br />
But the issue still remains.<br />
<br />
What can a woman do when a man who has power over her controls her career? I'm not sure there is an answer. But I'm grateful to actors like Rose McGowan for standing firm and discussing their painful histories with Harvey Weinstein. Maybe by doing so, they will see a world of good done for women not only in Hollywood, but also throughout industries far and wide.<br />
<br />
The next time you hear someone on TV say, "Why did it take so long for the Harvey Weinstein story to come out?" just remember ... There are Harvey Weinsteins in the media, just like there are Harvey Weinsteins in your workplace. You may not know their names or their actions, but they're there.<br />
<br />
And now I've added my voice to the others about how my own "Harvey" affected me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-66081884703282157662017-05-20T07:26:00.000-07:002017-05-20T07:26:37.772-07:00The "Anonymous Source" Game<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've seen a lot of people on Twitter fussing and fuming about the "anonymous sources" cited in Washington Post and New York Times articles regarding the Trump-Russia investigation. They seem to think that because a source is unnamed, it makes that source less credible.<br />
<br />
As someone who has been in the journalistic profession for 27 years, I'm stepping outside the intended audience for this blog -- fellow journalists -- to those of you who are NOT journalists and who do not understand how this works. Hopefully, this insight will clear up a few misconceptions. And if not, at least I've put pen to paper to explain how "The Anonymous Source Game" works.<br />
<br />
Now in case you don't believe that I know what I'm talking about ... I spent 12 years in mainstream newspapers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina as a reporter and editor. I also spent four years covering Pennsylvania state politics in the Capitol for The Associated Press as a Newswoman. For the past 15 years, I have been a solo freelancer, writing for a variety of military, business and health publications. When I was with the AP, I covered the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, as well as the state Department of Education and the state Public Utility Commission during the deregulation of the electric industry.<br />
<br />
So I know a thing or two when it comes to "anonymous sources."<br />
<br />
Let me explain how this worked, using my experience with the AP in a highly-charged political environment. Let's pretend you are an AP reporter in the Pennsylvania statehouse.<br />
<br />
So the day starts this way:<br />
<br />
You come into the newsroom with your coffee, and the phone rings. It's a staff member for a state representative with a tip about a plan to secretly railroad an unpopular bill through the Legislature. The staff member says explicitly: "This is not for you to quote me. I am giving this to you anonymously. I just want you to know what is going on."<br />
<br />
Now it's up to you as the reporter to ferret out whether this is true.<br />
<br />
So you go downstairs to the press spokesman for the House Majority Leader and ask if it's true. He flatly asks where you heard the rumor, and you demure. He says he cannot confirm or deny it, but you could ask the committee chairman where the bill is currently sitting.<br />
<br />
Now how are you going to get the story? You don't want to go to the committee chairman, because the second he knows you're onto it, he could impede your reporting. Before you hit him for an answer, you have to go to some more anonymous sources.<br />
<br />
Using the information that the caller gave you while your coffee was getting cold, you start calling other press officers for other representatives. You find that no one wants to go on the record, because this bill is so controversial. But you give each person details that the caller gave you, asking if they can confirm or deny those details.<br />
<br />
The reaction is always the same: "Where did you hear that?" You don't reveal where you heard it, but you ask for confirmation of whether it's true. Each person says, "Yes it's true, but I don't want you to use my name." You follow up with more questions, and each person adds more "meat" to the skeleton. With that "meat," you have more detail to ask MORE people about the bill. As you add more meat to that skeleton, each person who is subsequently interviewed confirms it. Or they may say, "Well, that is partially correct, but there is a little more you should know so that you have the full context." And then they may "correct" some of the story, all the while adding more details that you didn't know.<br />
<br />
This process usually takes one to two hours, depending on how much the original source wants to bury the story and hide it from the public.<br />
<br />
Now you have your ammunition. When you get a minimum of three independent confirmations, even though they are anonymous, you can feel confident that it's a story. I usually did not stop with three. I often went above and beyond and took the interviews to the next level, pushing for more detail.<br />
<br />
All of these people are ANONYMOUS. But all of them have each independently VERIFIED information that started with a phone call. And all of them have also given you information that MATCHES the phone caller's tip, even though they are not talking to each other, and even though all of them do not know where you got the tip.<br />
<br />
At this point, you go to the committee chairman. You ask about the bill, and he denies that anything is happening. "Where did you hear that?" (They always ask that question before they answer.) Again, you decline to respond and press on with the information that you know.<br />
<br />
In that moment, the committee chairman always does the same thing. He turns white. He goes silent. He thinks for a few seconds. If he threatens you that you will be running with false information if you print it, then you say, "Well, these anonymous sources all confirmed it. Would you like to provide your version of the story so that it is fair and balanced?"<br />
<br />
Boom. He will spill in that moment, because he doesn't want the story to go out without his words represented.<br />
<br />
This is how anonymous sourcing works. It is a tool of the journalistic trade to unearth information that public officials want to hide from their constituents. It is very effective, and it is done with great care and thought. I never ran with a story that had one "anonymous" person. I always confirmed, reconfirmed and reconfirmed again. I always went through the process that I have outlined above.<br />
<br />
And my editors never would have printed a story unless they were certain that I was damn sure it was 100 percent correct. At a minimum, we had to have three sources to cross-confirm each other's versions -- all of whom were not talking to each other, and all of whom did not know who the others were.<br />
<br />
The Anonymous Source Game. Next time someone (*cough* *cough* *cough* Donald Trump or Sean Spicer) says a story can't be confirmed because of "anonymous sources," just remember the process I went through as a reporter. And I wasn't even on the national stage. I was in one state, just one cog in the media machine wheel.<br />
<br />
If I went through those machinations, you can be certain that reporters at the Times and Post have also.<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-33106159208883041652017-03-16T06:20:00.000-07:002017-03-22T07:42:41.800-07:00CYA in Trump's "Dishonest Media" Climate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So when I was a sprightly, ruddy-faced child out of college, my late father imparted some wisdom that has governed my career. And to paint this scene fully, my dad looked, acted and sounded like Captain Jean-Luc Picard on the Star Ship Enterprise (no, that's not a joke).<br />
<br />
When he wanted to have a "serious" discussion with me, he'd call me over to the dining room table, and I would sit expectantly and silently and wait for him to clear his throat.<br />
<br />
"Cover your ass."<br />
<br />
Now this made me sit up in my chair a little, because my dad was a pastor, and wow, that one was a shocker.<br />
<br />
"<i>What</i> did you say, Dad???"<br />
<br />
"Cover. Your. Ass. It's the only way you're going to make it in today's world. And you know how you do that? You keep handwritten notes on everything, and you keep them in this nice file ..."<br />
<br />
(at this point, he pulled out a prepared manila file folder, on which he had very neatly written, <i>"Heidi's CYA File"</i>) ...<br />
<br />
"You keep them in this nice file, and then when anybody tries to say they didn't tell you what they really told you or tries to say you misunderstood or tries to say that you ... sorry, kid, but I have to use this language ... that you 'fucked up,' then you pull out your file here. And you put your notes, that are dated, and you say, 'Oh no. I think you're mistaken.' And after anyone tells you something, if it's your boss, you send them a note explaining what you think you heard, and you date it, and you put it in an office CYA folder, too."<br />
<br />
You know what, my dad died 26 years ago, about four years after that little speech, and I have implemented his CYA advice every day.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to today's sermon for you, my fellow journalists:<br />
<br />
In today's manic environment ,where we have a sitting U.S. President that is churning public opinion against the free press, COVER. YOUR. ASS.<br />
<br />
Since Trump took office, I have started to see a disconcerting trend among people I interview for stories, especially if they are affiliated with the U.S. government in some manner. They are starting to accuse me of misquoting them or misrepresenting what they actually said.<br />
<br />
Now understand this. I've been doing this job for 27 years, and I type as I interview people at a conversational rate. I average about 80 words per minute.<br />
<br />
But even with my lickety-split typing skills, when I saw how Trump was attacking "the dishonest media," I decided to go one step further. I started asking for people to answer questions via email. This is a common practice nowadays among slap-dash, green journalists, and for the most part, I disagree with it. I think it's lazy. I much prefer phone conversations.<br />
<br />
However.<br />
<br />
Trump has shifted the sands in our profession by accusing us of making things up.<br />
<br />
The best way to "cover my ass" in this environment is to request emailed interview responses, when I am interviewing someone who is connected to his administration. <br />
<br />
I'll give you one example, something that happened recently. (I will not name the government agency for my own reasons.)<br />
<br />
About a month ago, I did a story for a university publication and had to interview top researchers across the country on a particular issue. I included a top official at this government entity. And following my newly self-imposed "CYA Rule," I asked for the interview answers to be submitted via email. This person did, and I lifted the quotes directly from the email and plugged them into the appropriate and pertinent areas of the story.<br />
<br />
This week, I approached the person's press representative for a second interview, this time for another magazine. It was on the same topic but for a wholly different audience.<br />
<br />
The press person responded that when she fact checked the first story, she had to change several things before sending the story back to the editor. (We can discuss fact checking policies in another blog entry.) In a terse and condescending email, she demanded to see the final story before she agreed to the source's participation. The inference was that I had taken comments out of context or misrepresented the individual.<br />
<br />
Not to be cowed, I fired back a response. Would she like to clarify what was miscommunicated, precisely? I explained that I had requested emailed responses and had not changed a word of the responses that were emailed. I further explained that I had the original email to cross compare to any "issues" that she saw in the story.<br />
<br />
And I copied my editor.<br />
<br />
The press person responded several hours later, that she would agree to the source's participation. She did not follow up to my questions about where I had misquoted or misinterpreted or miscommunicated the source in the first story.<br />
<br />
Cover. Your. Ass.<br />
<br />
I don't know if this person's attitude was in any way, shape or form affected by the current Presidential administration's stance on the free press in the United States of America. But I do know that years ago, my late father gave me advice in his Jean-Luc-Picard-no-nonsense-voice, and I listened.<br />
<br />
And now I'm telling you.<br />
<br />
Cover your ass in this climate. Keep copious notes. And if anyone challenges your reporting, refer back to those emailed answers and say, "Oh. I quoted this word for word, the email that YOU sent me. Where exactly is the issue?"<br />
<br />
Chances are, they'll back down without another word on it.<br />
<br />
As for my inclusion of this source in this next story? I'm skipping her. I have plenty of other sources to fill it out, and I don't need her. Her press representative is too much trouble, and frankly, I have more important things to do than worry about covering my ass again when the story comes out in two months.<br />
<br />
I just can't be bothered.</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-33571131039322474942017-02-08T07:58:00.002-08:002017-02-08T07:58:15.428-08:00A Response to Trump's "Dishonest Media" Charge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For months, I have largely kept silent while Donald J. Trump has maligned my profession and my colleagues as, quote, "the dishonest media."<br />
<br />
But this morning, I need to say a few things about that, and it's largely drawn from a personal realization about my own career. Since 1989, I have been either a news reporter, news editor, AP staffer or freelance magazine journalist. Over 27 years, in one way or another, I have been part of what is now being unfairly labeled, "the dishonest media."<br />
<br />
Today started like most days. I had two magazine interviews right out of the gate, and they were with researchers at a large university. The topic was about ground-breaking discoveries this university is making in the field of opiate addiction.<br />
<br />
As I hung up from the second interview a few moments ago, the researcher said to me, "Thank you for doing this story. We are so grateful."<br />
<br />
And that's when it hit me: The one thing that has driven me for nearly three decades in my career is that I have attacked every single story with the goal of making the world a better place.<br />
<br />
Do I sound like a Pollyanna to you? No matter. Let me give you a few examples so that you know I know what I'm talking about:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>When I covered child abuse stories as a news reporter, I was criticized for capitalizing on the suffering of innocent children. However, I saw it as a way to shine a spotlight on the evil being perpetrated. I saw it as an opportunity for teachers to know how to spot warning signs of abuse. I saw it as a chance for moms and dads to also be aware of potential abuse among people they trusted -- Scout leaders, youth pastors, the list goes on. I saw it as a way to make people aware to safeguard future potential victims.</li>
<li>When I covered political corruption, I was criticized (often) for being biased, for causing trouble where none was present, for stirring waters of dissent and hurting elected officials. However, I saw it as a way to shine a spotlight on those in power who were abusing their roles. I saw it as a chance to show regular citizens how they could get involved with their government and be informed about ways their government was not serving them. I saw my role as a checkmate on the chess board.</li>
<li>When I covered tragedies like fires where children were burned alive, I was criticized for yellow journalism, for being a heartless money-grubber seeking headlines. However, I saw it as a way to shine a spotlight on fire prevention. I saw it as a way for poor people to know why they shouldn't use space heaters and why it was important to have a working smoke alarm in your house. I saw it as a way to save lives.</li>
<li>When I cover any topic relating to the military, I am sometimes criticized for giving credence to the nation's violent past. However, I see it as a way to shine a spotlight on the role that veterans have played in preserving our freedom. I see it as an opportunity to help military families make connections between PTSD and issues that are plaguing their families and children. I see it as a chance to make their lives a little bit better with information shared by pediatricians, psychiatrists, social workers. I see it as a way to help military members find jobs after they have served our country. The list goes on.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Dishonest media?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Really?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tell me how we are being dishonest. My colleagues may be unveiling information that makes you uncomfortable or that makes you wince or that makes you want to get on with the rest of your day in comfort. My colleagues may be questioning someone that you idolize and who you don't want to be questioned, because perhaps that might indicate you made a wrong choice in the voting booth. My colleagues may be reporting both sides of an issue so that everyone gets a fair shot at expressing their views.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But do <b>not</b>, for one second, call us "the dishonest media."</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We got into this business for one reason: To make the world a better place.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If that's dishonest to you, then maybe it's time to visit the dictionary and get acquainted with what dishonesty really is.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-20308388634208910852016-12-06T06:44:00.004-08:002016-12-06T06:44:57.677-08:00Telling the Truth in a Trump World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Twenty-two hours ago (at the time of this writing), President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted something that has been nagging at me as a journalist with 27 years of experience in both newsrooms and the freelance magazine landscape:<br />
<br />
"<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the press would cover me accurately & honorably, I would have far less reason to 'tweet.' Sadly, I don't know if that will ever happen!"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f5f8fa; color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
Initially, I freely admit, I took offense. My knee-jerk emotional response was, "You are the President-Elect, and critical press coverage is part of the package."<br />
<br />
I covered politics for The Associated Press in the Pennsylvania Statehouse from 1995 to early 1999, during the governorship of Tom Ridge, who eventually became known in the aftermath of 9/11 for heading up the Department of Homeland Security. And I should first say this about politicians, and it is meant as a sincere compliment: They have really thick skins. I can remember chasing stories that would have raised the ire of the gentlest of souls, and yet every politician with whom I ever came in contact always treated me with grace and respect. You have to understand that my office was right in the center of the Capitol, too -- right at the top of the sweeping marble staircase of the Rotunda. I was *in* and *among* these politicians, hour by hour, day after day. I saw them at committee meetings, at lunch counters, in hallways, even in my office. Regardless of the political party, regardless of the story I was writing, they were always courteous. Of course the things that I wrote made them angry, when I was revealing something they didn't want revealed. But they never complained about my objectivity and never gave me pause to think that they held personal ill will against me for just doing my job.<br />
<br />
Now let's speed up to Trump's tweet yesterday. Given everything I've just told you, you might understand why I would initially feel that he needs to man up and learn his new role as Commander in Chief and how the press corps figures into that relationship.<br />
<br />
But as I contemplated it some more, the fairness that dictated my life during those days at the AP also must apply to Trump.<br />
<br />
So to be fair to him, you have to look at the history of what has happened in the past 12 months leading up to that tweet:<br />
<br />
First of all, Trump needs to not be so disingenuous by ignoring the fact that he was given unprecedented favorable coverage for his rallies during the months leading up to the primaries. Anytime I turned on any news station, they were rolling those rallies in their entirety. I have never seen anything like it. While networks cut away from other candidates mid-speech, Trump commanded the air waves night and day, and many of the rallies were broadcast without interruption.<br />
<br />
I also would point out that there were many times when Trump's surrogates were allowed to spew falsehoods -- sometimes unchallenged by the broadcasters who had them on their shows. And one network -- CNN -- even hired Trump's former campaign manager. Tell me that isn't favorable coverage.<br />
<br />
However, we saw the tide start to turn when the Access Hollywood tapes emerged. By this time, even those who had been favorable to Trump changed their coverage approach.<br />
<br />
What we saw in the few short weeks between the release of that tape and Election Day was definitely an all-out assault on Trump. Every news outlet, with the exception of Fox News, threw everything they had AGAINST him.<br />
<br />
Regarding print media, the only outlets I saw that consistently were negative in their coverage were The New York Times, The Washington Post and Newsweek.<br />
<br />
I have to approach this topic with two personas: my journalist persona, and my "private American citizen" persona.<br />
<br />
As a private American citizen, I was thrilled with the aggressiveness demonstrated by The New York Times, Washington Post and Newsweek. I follow their reporters on Twitter and heavily retweeted their stories, in the hopes that it would be enough to defeat Trump.<br />
<br />
As a journalist, however, I have to admit to you that Trump is correct -- currently. In the beginning, he was treated as the golden boy, and now he is definitely being held up for as much public ridicule as the media can throw at him.<br />
<br />
Now why should this matter to those of you in the profession? Just this thought: The overwhelming bias for Trump in the beginning of 2016 ... and the overwhelming bias AGAINST Trump at the end of 2016 has severely curtailed the trust the public now has in what you are reporting.<br />
<br />
The problem now is ... even when Trump is engaging in terrible conflicts of interests, rocking the boat with China, appointing questionable mentally-balanced individuals to his Cabinet ... you as journalists have lost public trust to believe your stories, based on your performance in 2016.<br />
<br />
And you may wonder, "Well where were YOU, Heidi Lynn Russell, in 2016, if you're such a great journalist?"<br />
<br />
I was staying away from writing about politics. I knew I had zero objectivity to be able to cover anything fairly. So I stayed with my military stories and my business stories. As an American citizen, I was vocal against Trump. As a journalist, I didn't write one piece about anything he was doing on the campaign circuit. I didn't feel that with the training and experience I'd had, it was morally or ethically right for me to throw my hat into the ring on that front.<br />
<br />
Going forward, I really don't know what the future of our profession will be. It seems that Trump is laying the groundwork to go after the First Amendment, and we already see disturbing actions and words concerning the press. However, to re-win the public's trust in your coverage, you're going to have to fairly cover ALL of Trump's actions -- both negative and positive. For example, I did see a couple of Cabinet appointments that aren't all bad. And despite that phone call with Taiwan, as a private citizen, I wondered if it wouldn't be so bad if China knew they couldn't push us around. But I didn't see any news coverage that looked at this angle -- rather, everything I saw bashed Trump. In every story we cover, there is <i>always</i> a nugget of the other side of the story, and in all of the coverage, I didn't see that "other side" reflected.<br />
<br />
The bottom line here is that if you got into this profession to tell the truth, then tell the truth. Cover every single story as if you're an insect on the wall, observing it impassively. That's what we're paid to do. Let the public draw their own conclusions.<br />
<br />
Your job is to solely present the facts.<br />
<br />
And if you do that, then Trump will not ever be able to tweet again that you're not playing by the rules.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-2723159807343279992016-07-19T11:12:00.001-07:002016-07-26T07:26:39.762-07:00Why I Won't Write Political Stories Anytime Soon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dial back in time to 1996.<br />
<br />
Bill Clinton was running for his second term, and I ... I was second-guessing a decision I'd made as a cub reporter back in 1988.<br />
<br />
So let's amend our little time capsule and dial back further ... to 1988.<br />
<br />
I was one year out of college, still green and hungry to make a name for myself in the world of journalism. At age 23, I was working at a tiny little hole-in-the-wall paper called "The Coatesville Record" (now defunct) in south-central Pennsylvania. One day, Dave Lanute, one of my two editors called me over to his terminal.<br />
<br />
"Are you registered to vote?"<br />
<br />
"Yes."<br />
<br />
"What party?"<br />
<br />
"Democrat."<br />
<br />
"Change it."<br />
<br />
I blanched. "Change it to <i>what, Dave</i>???"<br />
<br />
"Change it to Independent. You don't ever want anyone knowing which way you lean politically. Ever. They will use it against you and claim that your news coverage is biased. You don't have to do it. It's not a prerequisite for working here. It's just some friendly advice. It will save you headaches down the road. OK, that's all I wanted to tell you," Dave said, and then turned back to his computer screen like we hadn't even been having a discussion.<br />
<br />
I changed to Independent that same week.<br />
<br />
But when 1996 rolled around, I was hankering to register Democrat so that I could vote for Bill in the primary.<br />
<br />
By this time, I was a "newswoman" (yes, that was my actual job title) for The Associated Press, covering Pennsylvania politics in the state Capitol, Harrisburg. If you visited the Capitol, you'd go straight up the sweeping marble stairs in a blindingly beautiful Rotunda, then hang a left through the door at the top -- and you'd be in the AP Bureau. And you'd see me sitting at a desk in the left-hand corner, busily calling people for quotes and pounding at my keyboard.<br />
<br />
It was mid-winter, so about three months before the primary election. Three Republican staffers, all young guys, came into our bureau. Simultaneously, all five of us looked up. One of the GOP staffers started laughing.<br />
<br />
"What do you want?" my bureau chief asked.<br />
<br />
"We don't want anything. We're here to tell you that all of you are going to love what's coming out soon," replied one.<br />
<br />
"And that is?"<br />
<br />
"That is ... We have gone through voting records of every reporter who works in the statehouse and are listing their political affiliations so that lawmakers will know how biased they are when they report on their bills."<br />
<br />
The room was silent.<br />
<br />
"Good luck with that, jackass."<br />
<br />
(Yes, that comment came from me ... sitting over in the left-hand corner.)<br />
<br />
They all looked at me, and one raised his eyebrow, smirking. "Oh we don't need luck, we already did it."<br />
<br />
"Then if that's the case, you'll find that those of us with two brain cells ARE REGISTERED AS INDEPENDENTS. Now go away, I have a story to write, and my deadline was five minutes ago."<br />
<br />
They stood in the doorway with their jaws agape. I looked up from my keyboard. "Go bother someone else, I said! We're busy! <i>Get out of here</i>!"<br />
<br />
I had a lot of fun that day, throwing that in their faces. I thanked my old editor at the Coatesville Record with every breath as I smiled to myself while they slunk away.<br />
<br />
But now let's speed up in time ... to 2016.<br />
<br />
I have been a full-time freelance journalist since I left the newspaper industry 15 years ago.This morning, I was on Twitter, bouncing private messages with a friend who had known me during the time I worked for the AP. He brought up an important question:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"You are so biased! Reporters need to be neutral, right?"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
See, he was referring to my penchant for tweeting heavily about my views against Donald Trump. Today, not only am I registered Democrat, but I hold nothing back in my political viewpoints on social media.<br />
<br />
So this needs to be addressed, both for anyone who wonders about it and for those of you who are just starting out in your professional careers as journalists:<br />
<br />
Yes, I'm a reporter. Yes, I have covered politics in the past.<br />
<br />
But you will not see me writing political stories anytime soon. In fact, if you dig through my social media posts, you will not see me posting any opinions about any of the topics on which I write.<br />
<br />
I refuse to take political assignments. I am at a point in life where I can pick and choose the types of clients for whom to work. My clients are either military magazines or business magazines. I stay away from reporting on daily news -- and I definitely stay away from politics. I'm a political junkie at heart, and I loved (loved!) covering politics 20 years ago for the AP. But that was a different lifetime. And I've decided that it's more important to me personally to be able to present my views and objections to political happenings that I feel are putting the country at peril.<br />
<br />
In my former life, I was required by my employers -- news organizations -- to shelve my views in order to try to give each story as much objectivity as I humanly could. Does it mean that reporters are objective? Of course not. Notice I said, "humanly." We're all humans, and if someone tries to tell you that they're an "objective journalist," never read anything they write again, because they're a big liar.<br />
<br />
However, we are to maintain the appearance of propriety as journalists, and as much as it depends on us, report stories with as much fairness as we can muster.<br />
<br />
It wasn't always easy for me. I can remember one specific story in Elkton, Maryland, when I sat across the table from the Grand Dragon of that state's Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was passing around leaflets near public schools, to recruit teenagers. I can tell you that I honestly wanted to lunge myself across the table and choke the smile off of that monster's face. But I wrote a story from the interview -- an objective story -- that laid out the facts about what the Klan was doing and how school district officials were combating it.<br />
<br />
No, the Grand Dragon did not like that story at all -- and it's because he thought it would be a puff piece. That's how well I masked my feelings.<br />
<br />
But back to politics. I think that in this era of social media, it's very important for young journalists to realize this:<br />
<br />
If you're going to be on social media, keep your political views to yourselves. Register as Independent. Go after every story as if you were covering a nebulous PTA meeting. And you already know this, but it bears repeating: Do not allow your views to taint your coverage.<br />
<br />
When I know that my views on an issue or a subject are so strong that it prevents me from doing my job, I back off. I refuse the assignment.<br />
<br />
Now there is an exception here. There are times when your past experiences or who you are as a person will contribute to the story. For example, I am a former Army wife, and my ex-husband went through three deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, leaving me home with a newborn infant, three weeks after this child was born.<br />
<br />
Obviously, I am going to have strong views about the war.<br />
<br />
However, I do have the perspective about how military life affects military families. So my stories will focus on how to help your child cope with deployments. How to reconnect after you're reunited. How to deal with PTSD.<br />
<br />
What you will NOT see me write about, however, are stories about the political decisions shaping our troops. I do believe that the war was an illegal war. As a result, I would not write stories about pending legislation on war efforts, for example. You would not see me doing a profile story on a Congressman with a Hawkish view.<br />
<br />
Here's another example: I'm a single mom, and as a self-employed writer, I pay for my own health care insurance policy. You would<i> not</i> see me write stories about Obamacare, however. You would not see me write stories about the insurance industry.<br />
<br />
But you might see me write stories about how to shop for insurance plans ... or how to cut your home budget to make room for health care expenses.<br />
<br />
Do you see the difference?<br />
<br />
So.<br />
<br />
Back to my friend's original question about my political tweets and my anti-Donald-Trump stance:<br />
<br />
I would never take an assignment that would involve Donald Trump or his shenanigans. I would never accept a story about a political rally, an anti-immigrant campaign or even on the plights of immigrants.<br />
<br />
However, you will definitely see me tweeting about it. You will definitely see me exercising my free speech right as an American to vociferously shout down hatred and bigotry.<br />
<br />
And as for the rest of the stories out there ... oh, there are so many stories! ... You will see my silence on issues where there is a chance that my byline may be linked to them.<br />
<br />
There are plenty of stories from which to choose. So choose wisely ... and wisely conduct yourself so that no one can say you acted with impropriety.<br />
<br />
And when in doubt ... register Independent. And keep your big mouth shut about it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-70221577719449031492016-04-15T07:03:00.001-07:002016-04-15T07:08:23.962-07:00The Troubling Development in the Lewandowski-Fields Fiasco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I usually feel like I have lived two lifetimes. The first was that of a news reporter, chasing stories on deadline and crashing into whichever politician, law enforcement authority or shady business that got in my way. The second is my current life, that of a freelancer and single mom to a boy on the autistic spectrum. My current life is not at all like the former, as you can see. So when a story like the Corey Lewandowski-Michelle Fields fracas hits, I'm intensely curious about what happened, given that previously, I found myself rubbing elbows frequently with people like Lewandowski.<br />
<br />
Until this morning, I was firmly in the Fields camp. And anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that I am hugely outspoken against Trump. (How can a "journalist" spout their personal views? That's a topic for another blog, but the short answer is that I no longer cover politics as a beat, therefore I am speaking out as a private citizen. But let's get back to this matter at hand -- the night in question.)<br />
<br />
You can hit this link and read Lewandowski's words for yourself (<a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/corey-lewandowski-michelle-fields-222005">http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/corey-lewandowski-michelle-fields-222005</a>), but in the meantime, let me shed some perspective:<br />
<br />
When I was in Fields' shoes, I was about her age, covering politics for AP in the Pennsylvania statehouse. Before that, I also covered court trials for a tiny newspaper in a little-known town, Elkton, Maryland. I also covered local school districts for a mid-sized newspaper in York, Pennsylvania at another paper. In all three assignments, I dealt with characters who seemed to stop at nothing to prevent me from getting the information I needed for a story. And I was not at all shy about standing up for myself and demanding answers. There were several times when I got into shouting matches with these people, and as unprofessional as it sounds, for me, it was effective. That's because, like Fields, I looked on the outside like a female who could be pushed around. However, I used this to my advantage. I allowed people to think that I was unobtrusive and easily cowed. When they put a toe over the line, I'd drop the hammer. And they never forgot it, either -- and I always got my story.<br />
<br />
Now here's the thing about the Lewandowski interview that bugs me:<br />
<br />
He claims that he called Fields that night to discuss the matter AND that he has cell phone records to prove that he placed that call.<br />
<br />
We already know that he lied about grabbing her. That much has been established with the video tape and the photos of the bruises on her arms, and I am not excusing that at all. And because he lied, we might say that he is probably lying about calling her.<br />
<br />
But.<br />
<br />
He has cell phone records that he placed the call.<br />
<br />
Now this is why this is important:<br />
<br />
Even though I had no problems going head to head with someone who tried to run roughshod over me like Lewandowski did Fields, I can ALSO tell you that in each and every case, the person ALWAYS called me to apologize.<br />
<br />
This is why I believe Lewandowski, because this happened with me as a reporter countless times.<br />
<br />
Maybe Fields didn't get the call. Maybe she was in the bathroom taking the photos of her arm when her cell phone chimed, and she was too upset to talk. Maybe she wanted to run the situation by her editors before talking to Lewandowski, because they of course would have to collaborate about an approach to a subsequent story.<br />
<br />
But even if that was the case, when someone calls you, you know they've called. As a reporter who is covering a news event, it's incumbent on you to pick up the phone, even if you don't want to talk to them, and have it out.<br />
<br />
And you know what?<br />
<br />
If they apologize, you accept their apology, and you move forward.<br />
<br />
In each and every case when someone apologized to me, I said, "Thank you. I accept your apology." And then even if I felt like they were 100 percent in the wrong, I still always added, "You know, few people realize I have an Irish temper and am a hot head. So I'm sorry for my part in this."<br />
<br />
I'm not saying Fields would have had to apologize for anything, because truthfully, she didn't do anything wrong here. She was a reporter out to get a quote, and she was probably on deadline, and any reporter worth their salt is going to chase down the source and get that needed quote. Absolutely, I would have done what she did, and I did on countless occasions.<br />
<br />
However, if Lewandowski called her afterwards, that was her opportunity to say, "Dude, do you realize how hard you grabbed me? I lost my balance. I have bruises on my arm! I just needed a quote, and this is why I went after your candidate."<br />
<br />
That would have opened up the opportunity for her to then forge a valuable source relationship with Lewandowski, because at that point, he is beholden to her. She's in the driver's seat going forward.<br />
<br />
And yes, I can say this definitively, because this happened to me personally. I always established a positive relationship going forward, and if they tried to block me from getting information, I always found a way around them. I always chased the story as if it were a game to me. The "Lewandowskis" were just pawns standing in front of the queen on the chess board.<br />
<br />
We don't know what Lewandowski's motives were that night, and of course, everything out of his mouth is highly suspect going forward. We're not in his head.<br />
<br />
But if he has cell phone records, proving that he made that call, it was incumbent on Fields at that point to accept the call, accept the apology, discuss things like a grownup, pursue an exclusive interview with Donald Trump (that's how I handled similar situations, and I always got those interviews) ... and let this guy know going forward that she was not to be treated like a Barbie doll.<br />
<br />
That's it.<br />
<br />
If you find yourself in a situation like Fields, first fight for that story. That's your job, and she did so valiantly. But if the person comes back later to apologize, you stand to lose everything if you refuse to pick up the phone -- and you stand to gain a lot personally, professionally and ethically by talking to the person who wronged you.<br />
<br />
And in the process, you will earn their respect, whether they admit it or not.</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-19326266551973548272016-03-07T07:50:00.004-08:002016-03-07T07:52:32.825-08:00A Blueberry, a Wildcat & a Chocolate Donut Walked into a Coffee Shop ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there's this coffee shop down the street from my kid's school bus stop, and the outside is about as non-descript as you can get, with a giant grey and black sign that simply says, "Coffee & Donuts."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've driven by this place without notice. Even though it's in my "neighborhood shopping center," I have also walked by it numerous times in favor of a Chinese restaurant next door, my hair salon across the parking lot and a pharmacy that I hit for my sundries. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But last week, I was hard up for something hot after waiting for that school bus with my child, and I decided that rather than drive about 10 minutes to the nearest Starbucks, I'd give this place a shot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was not prepared for the glory inside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It turns out the sad little "Coffee & Donuts" grey sign was camouflage for a place filled with hipsters and urban professionals alike, crouched over Apple laptops and chatting in business suits against a backdrop of sleek tables, a corrugated steel counter, blackboard menus with colorful chalk drawings, mood-boosting music, local beekeeper offerings of products like "Bourbon honey" and even cool T-shirts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I didn't even mention the coffee, did I?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the time all was said and done, I'd walked out of that place about $20 poorer, having spent it on the aforementioned Bourbon honey, a giant Chocolate-glazed donut and the only thing I can describe as nectar of the gods -- a "Blueberry Wildcat" -- which was a latte infused with blueberry syrup, espresso, milk -- and melted white chocolate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">OK, so what does this have to do with your freelance writing business? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's break this down:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My discovery of the coffee shop from Nirvana occurred last week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All weekend, I was being a good girl with my yoga workouts, but I kept thinking about that chocolate-glazed donut and that Blueberry Wildcat thing. (I'm not sure what's in that chocolate glaze, but I think they're putting sour cream in it to give it a good bite. Anyway, I digress ...)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fast forward to this morning. I take my kid to the school bus stop, and I know I have a couple of errands to run after he's safely on his way ... and I'm thinking about breakfast. I'd just thrown on my jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. No makeup. The hair ... well, if you're a woman, you know how important it is to attend to the hair. I hadn't yet. And I was wearing a pair of scuffed up shoes because of mud left behind by a couple of snow storms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In short, I was in no condition to walk into that coffee shop to scratch that Blueberry Wildcat itch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I did my errands and as I was considering going through a drive-thru for a Starbucks, I thought to myself, "No. NO! I am going to get that Blueberry Wildcat, dammit! I want that chocolate donut, dammit! I want to walk into a place with those cool people, makeup or no makeup, dammit!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I did. Despite the ease of a drive-thru window, despite the comparable taste of a Starbucks coffee, despite any embarrassment that might hinder my walking into a place without lipstick on my face ... I went BACK to THAT coffee shop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And yes, this has everything to do with your freelance writing business.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Are you giving your clients the same craving for your writing services that this coffee shop jarred in me for its coffee and donuts? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you're not sure, let's check off a few boxes. Ready?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. When you do your interviews, do you encourage people to send you their own typed answers in an email, or do you take the time to talk to them on the phone, encourage their verbal responses, push them to open up and work out extra gems of information they might otherwise hold back, even though it might add an hour or two to the time to complete the project?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. When you write up your story lead, do you go for the path of least resistance and regurgitate your story pitch -- or regurgitate the lead the editor gave you on the assignment form? Or do you go through your story notes and ferret out that perfect quote or anecdote to lure the reader into the rest of the copy?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. When you have a question about your notes, do you take time to contact your source again and ask if they meant to say things the way you are interpreting what they said? Do you go the extra step to ensure that you are accurately quoting them or representing their thoughts?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. When you have a pile of statistics in front of you, are you diligent to interpret those and present those numbers in the context in which they were collected?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. When an editor gives you a deadline, do you meet it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. When an editor gives you a word count limit, do you work hard to edit down your prose so that you will pack in as much meaning into a tightly-knit sentence? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">7. When an editor has questions, how do you respond?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">8. Are you professional when dealing with your sources? Do you answer all of their questions, even after the story has been turned in? Do you respond to every PR professional who contacts you, even if you've already completed the assignment? (For the record, I do. That's another blog entry, but suffice it to say, keep your eye on the big picture for future stories. Kindness and courtesy never hurt anyone.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">9. Do you look beyond the short-term goal of making money and seeing your byline, attacking each story as if it's a service to the public or your audience? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10. Do you see your writing profession and skill as a way to make the world a better place?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How many of those did you check off?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you got through the list and hit most (if not all) ... then congratulations. You're the coffee shop with the Blueberry Wildcat and Chocolate Glazed Donut and Bourbon Honey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And guess what ... if you're offering that level of service, even if you're not great at advertising yourself (guess what, my website hasn't been updated in 3 years, but I've been so busy with work, I haven't had time to do it) .... your clients will <i>go out of their way</i> to hit you for work ... each and every time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next time you consider taking a shortcut with your writing services, just remember me -- walking into a place without lipstick, hair askew, scuffed shoes and a pale make-up-less face, just so that I could get my fix for perfect food, perfect service ... and a perfect way to start the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-17240291025984792522016-02-16T08:12:00.003-08:002016-02-16T08:12:43.301-08:00Why 9/11 Set The Tempo For My Freelance Writing Business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
September 11, 2001.<br />
<br />
I was three months into my freelance writing business, having left a solid job as the Business Editor at The Fayetteville Observer in Fayetteville, NC. I had just netted my first three regular paying clients and was settling into a routine of reporting and writing stories from home.<br />
<br />
And we all know what happened that day -- the Towers fell.<br />
<br />
But this was the irony for me personally:<br />
<br />
I also happened to be newly married to an Army sergeant who was on his way to Manhattan to help with rescue efforts. And as I was sorting through the chaos of my own personal life and trying to make sense of what that would mean to my new marriage, my phone rang.<br />
<br />
It was one of my former colleagues from the Observer, and she wanted to let me know that people at the paper were talking about me. At first, I thought she might be calling because they were concerned about the welfare of my groom. But my stomach plunged as she revealed that, in fact, I had become the butt of a newsroom joke.<br />
<br />
She named names. She gave specific words and listed the digs.<br />
<br />
See, the fellow reporters (and editors) were feeling a little gleeful -- and smug -- that while I'd left them in the dust for a freelance lifestyle ... apparently my timing for starting a business was terrible. The Towers had fallen. The world as we knew it was in shambles. The economy would tank. And they were having a wonderful laugh at the idea that within a few months of my exit from the paper, I would fall flat on my face in my solo venture.<br />
<br />
They weren't concerned about my Army husband's welfare at all. They were laughing <i>at us.</i><br />
<br />
I hung up the phone, and I could feel my face burning. And in that one moment, I made a decision:<br />
<br />
No matter what was happening in the world, no matter what was happening around me, no matter who was affected in my personal life ... I would always generate stories. I would always look forward. I would never (never!) allow circumstance to dictate my work output, unless I was comatose in a hospital or six feet under.<br />
<br />
That moment set the tone for my entire business ethic.<br />
<br />
Let's fast forward.<br />
<br />
I'm approaching my 15-year anniversary of leaving that newspaper, in June 2016.<br />
<br />
Throughout the years, I've stuck to my pledge.<br />
<br />
And this is how, and I'm going to share this secret with you:<br />
<br />
Whatever is happening in your circle is NOT necessarily happening to a prospective or current client. They are moving through their business day, expecting you to make their deadline and turn in a quality writing project, regardless of what is happening in your neck of the woods.<br />
<br />
Today is a perfect example.<br />
<br />
I woke to a pea soup foggy morning -- 6 a.m. -- and icy roads -- and closed schools. My child is playing a Sonic the Hedgehog game as we speak, still clad in his Star Wars PJs. Normally, of course, he'd be in a classroom while I work on my stories.<br />
<br />
I'm doing three interviews for a story due on Thursday, setting up interviews for three other stories for two other clients ... and I'm also working on some marketing for new clients.<br />
<br />
One client is on the other side of the state, and although she has a child the same age as mine and similar weather, they're at the office today. One client is in New Jersey. One client is in Georgia. Obviously, they don't have the same weather that I do. And obviously, they're not single moms, balancing the entertainment of a kid home from school with a day of reporting and writing.<br />
<br />
Work does not stop just because we have an icy morning and a school closing.<br />
<br />
A few months ago, work didn't stop just because there were terrorist attacks in Paris. I remember that weekend well -- do you? That weekend, it seemed like the world stood still as people followed the events in France much the same way they did after 9/11. But I didn't stop. I was on deadline, writing a story that was due that Monday. I kept an ear to the newscasts, but all the while, I was writing my piece.<br />
<br />
Work does not stop for holidays, either.<br />
<br />
During New Year's Eve this year, I was calling sources for a story that was due shortly after the holiday. Most people were getting ready for parties, but I have a child to feed, clothe and shelter. When the work comes in, I take the work and do the work by the deadline.<br />
<br />
Work does not stop for illness.<br />
<br />
In September, I was down for 30 days with pneumonia. I worked on five stories, interviewing people propped up on my pillows and writing through fever and weakness.<br />
<br />
Work does not stop for a freelancer, if you mean business. This business isn't for the faint of heart. You are making your salary on 100 percent commission. It's incumbent on you to make deadlines, regardless of what is going on.<br />
<br />
When I look back on 9/11, of course I remember the tragedy. But I also remember the valuable business lesson. I remember the words that were parroted to me -- words of others that might have meant discouragement or that would have psychologically derailed anyone less determined. But for me, those words proved to be the catalyst that drove my work ethic for nearly 15 years.<br />
<br />
Those words set the entire tempo for my freelance business.<br />
<br />
If you mean business about freelancing, then conduct business.<br />
<br />
Work does not stop for everyone, just because your world stopped spinning. As long as you remember that, you'll make it as a freelancer.<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-35874446169318515712016-02-05T06:31:00.000-08:002016-02-05T06:35:40.815-08:00Demystifying Military Ranks: A Primer for PR Pros<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was a war bride, married to an Army sergeant in 2001, and the only word to describe the first year of my former marriage was chaotic. My then-husband was at the scene of the WTC three days after the Towers fell and shortly after that, deployed to Afghanistan.<br />
<br />
So I was thrust headlong into a military culture along with the rest of Fort Bragg, NC. I had to learn very quickly about the rank and file as I navigated how to get information about my spouse's welfare in the war against the Taliban.<br />
<br />
I tell you this so you'll understand that I <i>fully</i> sympathize (and empathize), if you are intimidated by representing a military outfit or service person to the media. Today, I am a freelance journalist for three military magazines, and the terminology, acronyms and the military's way of doing things are like breathing for me.<br />
<br />
But it wasn't always that way.<br />
<br />
In fact, I can remember one instance when I had to call my then-husband's unit one day when he was in Bagram. A gruff voice picked up the phone and shouted into my ear, "Hello-Sir-or-Ma'am-First-Sergeant-Smith-249th-Engineer-Battalion-Fort-Bragg-How-Can-I-Help-You!" The words tumbled from his mouth like the staccato machine gun blast.<br />
<br />
I took a breath, "Hello Sergeant. This is Sergeant Rafferty's wife."<br />
<br />
"FIRST SERGEANT!"<br />
<br />
I paused. "No, I don't think you understand. He's not the first sergeant on duty today. He's in Afghanistan."<br />
<br />
He groaned. Then he said again, "FIRST SERGEANT! I AM A FIRST SERGEANT!"<br />
<br />
"Oh! I see, I'm sorry, you're the first sergeant there today, thank you. OK, Sergeant, I am looking for information for my --"<br />
<br />
He interrupted again, "NO! I AM A FIRST SERGEANT!"<br />
<br />
Now I was really confused, because I honestly had no idea why this person was yelling at me and how I could stop him from yelling at me, I just wanted to find out if he had word about my husband's whereabouts.<br />
<br />
"Thank you," I continued, ignoring the loud angry breathing in the earpiece. I told him what I wanted to know, he gave me the information, and then as I hung up, I said, "You have been so helpful, Sergeant. Thank you."<br />
<br />
I heard a growl, a loud click, and the line went dead.<br />
<br />
This week, the memory of that happy conversation came tumbling back after I put out a query on Profnet, seeking military officers to interview for an upcoming feature story.<br />
<br />
I became very exasperated (and sent out a snarky tweet, I admit it), when one PR person after another replied to the query with, "I have a great Sergeant!" or, "I have an Airman First Class!" or, "I have a Chief Petty Officer!" or, "I have a Green Beret!"<br />
<br />
"Didn't these people read my query specs??? I said, 'Officer!'" I huffed to myself.<br />
<br />
Then I started getting phone calls, and everyone was saying the same thing:<br />
<br />
" I have a wonderful non-commissioned officer. Does a non-commissioned officer count as an officer?"<br />
<br />
Suddenly the light dawned. Bless their hearts, they were as ignorant as I had been back in 2001.<br />
<br />
So here is a little primer, for the uninitiated to the military, about how to understand the ranking system, and it won't take long for me to break this down for you. I'm focusing this blog entry primarily on Army ranks, because I'm most familiar with them and also because I write for a publication for the Army National Guard.<br />
<br />
But bear with me while I walk you through this:<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>ENLISTED VS. OFFICER</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The military members (and this pertains to all branches) are divided into two tiers: Enlisted and Officers.<br />
<br />
The enlisted people sign up for duty, or, "enlist." These are your lower ranks. Everyone in an enlisted rank reports to an <i>officer.</i><br />
<br />
To be an officer, you either have to complete ROTC in college or graduate from a military academy with a bachelor's degree. There is a second way to become an officer, too. An enlisted person can enter an officers' training school and earn the rank -- or become a "commissioned officer."<br />
<br />
<b>NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER VS. OFFICER</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Most people get very confused about the term, "non-commissioned officer," or NCO.<br />
<br />
Basically, these are the higher-enlisted ranks. Think of them in civilian terms as an employee that oversees a team of employees. They report to a manager in the management ranks. Does that make sense? So in the military world, you'd have an NCO over a team on a mission, and he or she would report to a lieutenant or a captain (a junior officer).<br />
<br />
If you look at charts of military ranks, you will see these ranks divided by "E" and "O" (Enlisted and Officer) ... and you will also see numbers, from 1 to 9.<br />
<br />
Everyone who is numbers 1-4 is of the lower rank, reporting to leaders. So E-1 to E-4, across all the branches, reports to <i>non-commissioned officers</i>, which are E-5 to E-9.<br />
<br />
If you flip over to the Officer side, O-1 to O-4 are your junior officers, reporting to the officers that make the top decisions and are the top ranks -- O-5 to O-9. (We also have an O-10, but I'll explain that one later.)<br />
<br />
The best way to sort this out is to take a look at one of my pins on Pinterest. You will see all of the branches listed. Each rank corresponds to the number. For example, an E-5 in the Army is a Sergeant, or the lowest of the non-commissioned officer ranks. An E-1 in the Army is a Private, the lowest of the ranks. An O-1 in the Army is a lieutenant, the lowest of the officer ranks, and an O-9 in the Army is a Five-Star General.<br />
<br />
Are you confused yet? Don't worry ... It takes time. Just take a look at this Pinterest board, and take a deep breath:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/183521753541360063/">https://www.pinterest.com/pin/183521753541360063/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>ARMY CHIEF WARRANT OFFICERS</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Now I'm really going to throw a monkey wrench into this, because we also have "Chief Warrant Officers." I still get confused about these guys, to be honest, because they are a category all by themselves.<br />
<br />
The best way to explain it is to quote the U.S. Army's definition:<br />
<span style="color: #20124d;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #20124d;"><b>"<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: nowrap;">Warrant Officers a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">re the technical experts in the Army. They have specific technical or tactical specialties (e.g., helicopter pilots), and manage and maintain many of the Army’s combat systems, vehicles and networks. Once they reach the rank of Chief </span><span class="targetword" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="word" style="border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: inline; white-space: nowrap;">Warrant Officer</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> Two (CW2), the President of the United States gives them the same status as a Commissioned </span><span class="targetword" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="word" style="border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; display: inline; white-space: nowrap;">Officer</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">."</span></b></span><br />
<br />
<b>ARMY GENERALS</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Here's a little trick to remember the differences between General that my ex-husband taught me, and it's this.<br />
<br />
Ready? You'll love it. It's so easy:<br />
<br />
"BE MY LITTLE GENERAL"<br />
<br />
That's all you have to remember.<br />
<br />
Now let's break this down:<br />
<br />
B = Brigadier General (O-7)<br />
<br />
M = Major General (O-8)<br />
<br />
L= Lieutenant General (O-9)<br />
<b><br /></b>
G= General (O-10)<br />
<br />
And then you have a "General of the Army," which is a Five-Star General. Think of Eisenhower. Top of the heap, and by the time you hit that rank, your next step is probably the White House.<br />
<br />
I hope I didn't mangle these ranks too badly for you.<br />
<br />
Don't feel intimidated by the military ranks. It takes a long time to understand them, but if you keep these basic guidelines in mind, you'll be able to weather any conversation with a journalist who covers the Pentagon.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-50654828640118861022016-01-20T05:38:00.002-08:002016-01-20T05:38:58.540-08:00A Warning for New Freelancers on Making Fast Cash<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm "one of those people" who gives Twitter a whirl before I move from my pillow, just after the alarm clock starts singing my playlist of the morning. Normally I wouldn't blog about one singular tweet. But this one caught my eye and deserved more than a 140-character response, because I think those of you who are new to freelancing really need to understand this:<br />
<br />
<b>YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY QUICKLY AS A FREELANCE WRITER.</b><br />
<br />
Let me repeat that in case you didn't get it the first time:<br />
<br />
<b>YOU CAN'T MAKE MONEY QUICKLY AS A FREELANCE WRITER.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Basically, the person on Twitter proclaimed that she would show you how to make money <i><b>within two weeks.</b></i> The tweet contained a link to her book on Amazon, bearing the same words.<br />
<br />
Intrigued -- because quite frankly, if this woman had discovered this "secret," maybe she had also discovered the cure for cancer -- I flipped to the "preview" section to scan her introduction. She discussed how she'd show you how to set up your business and move right into making fast cash.<br />
<br />
Now maybe there is a new market out there that will pay people quickly, and I just haven't discovered it. Or maybe my circle of clients are the type that stick to the 30-day payment turnaround time. So I offer this caveat before I dive in. Full disclosure. I may not fully know of all of the clients out there, those of whom will pay you within 14 days.<br />
<br />
That said .... For the uninitiated, let me explain how this works:<br />
<br />
First you have to find someone to pay you to write an article for them.<br />
<br />
Next, you have to do the research. And then write the article. If you're a crack journalist who has experience turning copy within 2 hours on deadline from assignment to press, that's doable. Actually, it's very easy. But let's face it -- most people do not have daily newspaper or daily wire service experience.<br />
<br />
OK. So suppose you are like I was when I first started and you DO have that experience. That's the best-case scenario, right?<br />
<br />
You show this editor your advanced reporting and writing techniques, and you flip a story in an astounding 24 hours (for the sake of argument, that would be what it would take to do it quickly, for a major magazine article, and that's pushing it).<br />
<br />
You turn in the article .... and your invoice ..... but then it doesn't stop there.<br />
<br />
The editor has to go through your copy, which in magazine parlance may not be that very day. They ask you questions about anything that needs clarification. Then they go to production.<br />
<br />
Now. This is where the tricky part comes in.<br />
<br />
Unless you have done due diligence by RESEARCHING the publication's payment cycle on writersmarket.com, you have no clue as to WHEN you will be paid.<br />
<br />
Writersmarket.com is a treasure trove of information for a publication's payment cycle. Every person that I contact for work has already been thoroughly vetted via this website. I have used this site now for 15 years as a freelancer, and this is how it works: It contains an enormous database of practically every publication in the United States and Canada. Those publications list entries about their writers' guidelines, their payment scale AND their payment SCHEDULE.<br />
<br />
Although payment amount is important, the thing that will sink or float your freelance business is the rate at which they will turn your invoice.<br />
<br />
I refuse to work for anyone who will not pay me in 30 days or less. I have only made one exception to that rule, and that's because I know the editor personally, and her company was just bought out by a larger conglomerate that changed their pay schedule. Based on my long history with her as a writer, I give that publication a pass. But as for new clients, I will not work for them if they say anything like, "Payment on publication."<br />
<br />
Let that sink in for a minute.<br />
<br />
<i>"Payment on publication."</i><br />
<br />
Suppose you write a story in November. You turn it in within 24 hours and think, "Oh goody. Look how fast I churned that copy. I can make thousands of dollars this year if I keep up this level of productivity!"<br />
<br />
Well yes, you will make a lot of money.<br />
<br />
The problem is ... when will the money hit your mailbox?<br />
<br />
When?<br />
<br />
See, as much as this author on Twitter would like to assert that she can teach you to make money in 14 days, what she's NOT saying is that it takes two to tango. You're out there on the dance floor, making killer moves. But your partner is standing on the sidelines wolfing down shots of Bourbon and chatting up that girl with-legs-up-to-here.<br />
<br />
And besides the publication's payment schedule, there are other variables.<br />
<br />
There have been literally dozens of times when a frenzied editor has either lost my invoice or has been so busy that she has completely forgotten about sending it over to accounting.<br />
<br />
There have also been times when accounting will say, "Oh. We lost it because it came in two days before Christmas, and we were at the company party that day."<br />
<br />
And there was one time when a publication that normally paid me on time suddenly said, "We changed our policy, and now we're only paying on publication," I said, "When are you going to publish it?" The editor said, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe in six or nine months."<br />
<br />
UNACCEPTABLE.<br />
<br />
You are RUNNING A BUSINESS. You have to pay your bills, put food on your child's table and clothes on your child's back, and someone says, "We'll pay you when we get around to it?"<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
(Can you tell I feel strongly about this?)<br />
<br />
Anyone -- ANYONE -- who tells you that they can teach you to get paid in 14 days probably also has a wonderful bridge for sale in Brooklyn, super cheap.<br />
<br />
There's one other thing I need to say about this, and then I'm off to make my own money:<br />
<br />
When I started freelancing in 2001, I already had 12 years of newsroom and AP wire service experience and newspaper editing experience under my belt. I already had interviewed crooked politicians, wise-ass cops, angry housewives at PTA meetings, bank robbers and murderers and even a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.<br />
<br />
I already had a resume replete with proof that I was able to do the job.<br />
<br />
And it has been 15 years since then that I have been working for magazines ranging from jobs for engineers and information technology professionals, to military magazines, to entrepreneurial magazines, to real estate magazines.<br />
<br />
Do you understand?<br />
<br />
If someone like me still has to hound editors for payment within the U.S.-business-accepted policy of 30 days, a new freelancer cannot expect to push for payment within 14 days.<br />
<br />
Maybe it can be done. Maybe I'm too nice. Maybe I've been asking for my honestly hard-earned wage in the wrong way. And if I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me and impart your wisdom as to how to cajole people into quick and easy payment.<br />
<br />
But if you go on Twitter and someone says, "I can show you how to make fast cash as a freelance writer!" and you're new to freelancing, please consider my warning.<br />
<br />
It is unrealistic.<br />
<br />
I guess anything is possible, and again, I may need to re-evaluate my payment policies, but I truly believe it is unrealistic.<br />
<br />
You can take that to the bank.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-42993057780577896892015-09-12T06:59:00.002-07:002015-09-12T06:59:33.591-07:00Pneumonia, Marie Callender's Pot Pies, Micheal Corleone -- and Why Any of This Matters to Your Freelance Marketing Approach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the past 2+ weeks, I've been sick with pneumonia, and not the "walking" kind. This is the full-force, 104-temperature-in-the-dead-of-night, rag-doll-weakness, feels-like-a-concrete-slab-is-sitting-on-my-chest-suffocating-me, so-dizzy-that-I-dive-to-the-floor-where-my-dog-rushes-at-me-and-puts-his-nose-on-my-nose kind of pneumonia.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that has <i>nothing</i> to do with freelance writing ... except that this unexpected battle with illness brought along an incident with my mother ... which, in turn, triggered a spiderweb of thought about marketing my writing business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But let's dial back a couple of days, to when my mother mercifully drove to my house to do some grocery shopping for me. (I haven't been behind the wheel of a car since my doctor's appointment two weeks ago.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She magically produced a pen and paper and commanded, "Tell me what you want." (If you've ever watched, "The Gilmore Girls," my mother is the epitome of Emily Gilmore, so just envision Emily Gilmore sitting on the edge of your bed while you hack up half of a lung.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went through the basics -- dog food, popcorn for my kid's nightly snacks, orange juice, etc. And then I said, "But I'll tell you what I'm really craving." She looked up from the paper. "I would like a Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pie, the kind with mushrooms and broccoli."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She didn't write that down. Then in her all-knowing Emily Gilmore voice she said, "I don't see why you'd want Marie Callender's. Wouldn't you rather have Swanson's? Or even the generic Kroger brand?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"No. But thank you. I would like Marie Callender's."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She stared at me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Write that down."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Why? Why would you want Marie Callender's, over all of these other chicken pot pies?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Why <i>not</i>?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(cue the theme song from "Gilmore Girls" .... <i>"If you are all alone ... feeling like your mother is crazy...." </i>wait, wrong words, but those <i>should</i> be the lyrics ...)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She put her pencil down. "Because Marie Callender's gravy is thick! It's not nearly as good as Swanson's. And are you sure you want the one with mushrooms? What if I can't find the one with mushrooms? Are carrots and peas acceptable?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Yes, Mom, I want Marie Callender's. I like the thick gravy. And I like mushrooms. But if you can't find the one with the mushrooms, carrots and peas are great. Thank you."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She scrunched her nose as if I had just ordered her to buy beets, sardines and liver, and we proceeded with the shopping list.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After she left for the grocery store, I churned about this -- not about my mother pushing back about the pot pies (we have more of these conversations than I can count, and after a while, they're just static noise). </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No -- I thought to myself, "Why did I actually insist on the Marie Callender's brand?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because, truth be told, there really wasn't much of a difference between the chicken pot pie brands. In fact, she probably was right. The Swanson's is a good pot pie, and even the Kroger generic brand is pretty decent. There was nothing extra special about the Marie Callender's brand, except for the mushrooms (which I like a lot). But when all was said and done, I knew in my heart of hearts that I <i>didn't </i>actually prefer the taste of one pot pie over the others.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then in a flash, probably a nano-second, it all clicked together:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wasn't attached to the Marie Callender's chicken pot pie brand because it was a culinary masterpiece.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was attached to it because of a memory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suddenly, I was back in time at age 23, in 1989, in a little hole-in-the-wall grungy Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. I was a cub reporter for a very tiny newspaper (now defunct) called The Coatesville Record. And I had been assigned to do a feature story about a spaghetti fundraising dinner that the World War 2 veterans were holding. (Yes, in those days, there were still World War 2 veterans, who were in their 70s and 80s). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was sitting at a long table, surrounded on either elbow and across the table by old guys, all of whom were joking and laughing and making me feel like I'd just discovered a cadre of surrogate Italian grandpas. (Maybe they weren't looking at me like that, but that's how I felt at the time.) I conjured the scene in "The Godfather," where Michael Corleone is watching Clemenza stirring the sauce. Clemenza imparts wisdom about the tomatoes. My group of "Clemenzas" were all very entertaining. I felt warm and happy. Safe. They had thoroughly charmed me like a group of pied pipers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a plate of noodles in front of me, when one of the veterans came up behind me and said, "Would you like some gravy on that?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Gravy?" I blanched, thinking he was about to dump thick roast beef gravy that you would normally put on mashed potatoes on top of my spaghetti.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The veteran across the table laughed. "That's what old Italian guys call the sauce," he explained. "We call it, 'gravy.'"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oh!" I smiled at the man behind my shoulder, who looked like he was about to drop a steaming vat of tomato sauce all over the floor. "Yes, please. I would like some gravy."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He heaped the sauce and a couple of giant meatballs on my plate.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The aroma, the steam, the robust laughter, the camaraderie, the embellished stories, the food that warmed me to the bones as snowflakes fluttered against a window pane, the cigar smoke, the strong handshakes, the direct eye contact -- all of those mosaic pieces that created a backdrop for my story -- it was a blissful memory.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It all came rushing back to me, 27 years later, in a bed where I had languished for two weeks -- that Italian dinner with those World War 2 veterans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And what did it have to do with Marie Callender's chicken pot pies?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then fast forwarded to about 10 years later. I was living in a different part of Pennsylvania, a single career girl working for The Associated Press, but this memory was in a grocery store. I had pulled in there after a 10-hour day covering politics in the state Capitol, scavenging for a quick frozen food meal to take home and eat on my couch next to my cat. (I know, pathetic.)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's when I saw the Marie Callender's BOX in the freezer case.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't know anything about Marie Callender. I had no idea who she was (I still don't). But I saw what looked like a pencil drawing of an elderly woman in the top left-hand corner. I saw the name -- Marie Callender. I saw the meal -- a spaghetti dinner, with thick red sauce and big meatballs. My mind clicked: "Italian grandmother. Italian name. Italian cook. Italian meal."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then my mind went one step further: "Oh. I remember those sweet old guys at the VFW in Downingtown, Pennsylvania! That was such a fun story. Those guys were so amazing!"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I flung open the freezer case and bought not one meal, but eight, to last me through the week of late-night story coverage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Truth be told, the Marie Callender's meals were not much better than any other freezer meal. But every time I grabbed one of those BOXES, I flashed back to Downingtown, either knowingly or unknowingly, and the way I <i>felt </i>on that day, in that moment, surrounded by those old Italian World War 2 veterans.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I waited for Emily Gilmore to bring back my Marie Callender's chicken pot pie with mushrooms and broccoli, I realized something else, too:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marketing my writing services has much less to do with my marketing approach and <i>more to do </i>with the <i>feelings</i> that my editors associate with ME when they see my name, see my photo, see my blog, see my website, see my Twitter account, see my LinkedIn profile, see an email from me or see my name flash up on their cell phone's caller ID. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do I make my editors <i>feel</i>?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do they associate me with a pleasant person? A writer who meets deadlines? A person of integrity who won't fudge details or quotes? A writer whose copy is consistently clean and needs few edits? A person who enthusiastically accepts work without complaining about tight schedules or asking for more time? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And for those who don't know me yet ... Of course I can't control their own perceptions and how those might affect their initial interactions with me. But I can control my professionalism right out of the gate. How does my professional website look? How many story ideas do I submit when they ask me for one? (I try to average a minimum of 12.) Am I courteous, well-spoken, polite? Do I convey confidence and assurance that if they place trust in me, I will turn in a product that will boost their readership?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The questions are endless, but they are as necessary as asking, "Why do I always go to that particular chicken pot pie, without fail? Why do I always choose that movie theater across town, when another one is closer to my house? Why do I take my dog to that veterinarian instead of the one who I used for five years?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you get right down to it, the answer will come down to a <i>feeling</i> that you associate with that person, product or service.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Emily Gilmore showed up, she had the Marie Callender's chicken pot pie with carrots and peas. (I guess the mushrooms were too much for her to stomach, even though she wasn't the one to be eating it.) </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as I dug into that steaming hunk of pie crust, chicken chunks -- and that thick gravy -- I thought, "This reminds me of those old Italian guys in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, when I was 23 years old, feeling like Michael Corleone listening to Clemenza's wisdom about the perfect tomato sauce."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I hope my editors feel the same way about me when my name flashes in front of their eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-182673995679457332015-03-02T10:59:00.001-08:002015-03-03T04:03:56.735-08:00The Art of the Story Lead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">Occasionally I am honored to
receive questions from people who are starting out in freelancing and ask me
for mentoring advice. A lot of experienced freelancers charge money to impart
their "wisdom," but I'm of the mind that writers need all of the help
they can get in such a competitive job market. So when someone reaches out with
a few questions, I'm more than happy to share what I know, to the best that I
know it.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Recently I heard from Tanya Kinney, a new freelancer in Texas. She had some
questions about story leads, and I thought this would make a great primer and
blog entry. I'd like to start doing blog entries like these regularly, so if
you also are trying to make a go of freelancing and don't want to spend oodles
of money asking someone for guidance, just email me! This give-and-take is good
for my soul, and writing these blog entries also fuels me for the bill-paying
writing that I do daily. I can be reached at heidilynnrussell@hotmail.com.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Here are Tanya's questions about the story lead.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Q:</span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"> <b>What is a lead? </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">Your lead is the most important part of your story, because it will
determine whether people keep reading. Simply put, it's your first sentence or
first paragraph -- your introduction. But it's much more complex than just
that, because it's the manner in which you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>lead<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>the reader into the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>reason</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for the article. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Think of it this way: Something amazing happens to you, and you're about to
meet your best friend for coffee. You sit down with your steaming brew, and
look at him or her across the table. And what are the first words you say about
this personal news? </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
That's your lead.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
That's the spirit you want to carry into every single article that you write.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
<b><br />
Q: How does a story suffer without a proper lead? </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">People won't read it. My only description is what happens to me in a
book store. I wander in and browse for a new book, but I'm not sure what type
of book I'm in the mood to buy. I pick up one book after another, and you know
what I do? I read the first sentence in each book. Maybe I'll glance at the
title and the jacket to decide whether to open the book in the first place. But
my decision on whether to buy? It all comes down to that first sentence. If the
writer doesn't hook me immediately, then I know I won't find the rest of the
book interesting. It's like meeting someone for a blind date. You know almost
immediately if you want to keep pursuing things, don't you? Your story lead is
your chance to lull the reader into your story, so seduce the reader. Give the
reader a reason to stay with you.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A great lead is great foreplay.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Which leads us into our next question ...</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Q: What constitutes a good lead and what are the benefits of a good lead?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">I worked for The Associated Press for five years of my life, so my
philosophy about good leads is really grounded in what I learned during my time
there. So keep that in mind.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A good lead, in my view, is a sentence or paragraph that will entice the reader
to keep reading, told in as few words as possible. The tighter the sentences,
the better the lead. The more punch you can pack into a sentence, the better
the lead. What do I mean by, "punch?" Just simply that you want to
give the reader an overview of the information that will be covered in the
story, but you weave it into prose that will hook them. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Punch. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Q: How many different types of leads are there? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">In basic college journalism school classes, you'll learn that each story
should include answers to the questions: Who? When? What? Why? Where?
How? </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
When I worked in daily newspapers and for the AP wire service, we had what we
called "first-day leads" and "second-day leads." Two of the
newspapers for whom I worked were afternoon newspapers. Our competitors were
morning papers. What that meant was that every lead we wrote was a second-day
lead. We knew the competitors would be telling the news first, and we were
getting a second crack at it, because our newspapers were delivered later in
the day. Our role, therefore, was to advance the story. We still had the basic
news in the lead, but we took it an extra step, by giving the "how"
and the "why" behind the story, rather than just the "who,"
"when," "what" and "how." I firmly believe that
this approach helped me as a journalist to crystallize my thoughts on every
story I wrote going forward. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
In the AP, I learned to write both first-day leads and second-day leads, as
well as broadcast snippets for radio and television. But because I'd honed my
skill at the afternoon papers for second-day leads, the first-day leads came
very quickly to me.They were so easy to write that they were like
breathing. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Now we have a new era of the Internet, where news is immediate. So if you want
to learn to write a great lead, take those stories you see on the Internet and
practice making them second-day leads. Think about the "how" and the
"why" behind each of those stories. Read the articles in their
entirety. And then practice writing new leads that introduce each of those
stories, with the "how" and the "why" driving the
thoughts. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
The other type of lead, of course, is the magazine lead, which is my focus
nowadays. You can have so much more fun with these. Often I use anecdotal leads
to get into my stories, because people love hearing about the first-hand
accounts of other people. But you can also get into telling a story by
describing an event or a scenario that led to the issue about which you are
writing. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Q: What type of lead do you find yourself using regularly?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">As I said earlier, now that I'm in magazines, anecdotal leads -- those
that delve into people's lives and people's thoughts -- are my go-to leads. I
just find that they speak to the heart more effectively than anything else and
will guarantee that a reader will stay with me.<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Q: Can you share examples of a good lead and provide why they make for a good
lead?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
A:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;">Rather than giving you examples of good leads, what I would like to
suggest is that you find a writer who you admire. Then study that writer's
leads and emulate that writer. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
In my case, when I was 23 years old, an editor advised me to start reading the
work of David Simon, who wrote for The Baltimore Sun. I had just landed a job
covering the courthouse in Cecil County, Maryland, for a 150-year-old newspaper
called, "The Cecil Whig." We only had 15,000 readers per day at the
time.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Simon was the police reporter at The Sun. So every day before work, I'd hit a
convenience store and pick up The Sun and look for his stories. I studied his
story leads and ingested them like fine French cuisine. I was starving for an
example of a great writer, and Simon was it. I'd clip his leads and put them on
my refrigerator and study them at home every time I opened the fridge door.</span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Personally, I don't think I will ever attain the writing greatness of David
Simon. I see him as the Michelangelo of journalism -- a rarity for his gift in
storytelling and prose. </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
If you want some good examples, visit his Web site and check out his story
leads at this link: </span><span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://davidsimon.com/category/prose/journalism-prose/">http://davidsimon.com/category/prose/journalism-prose/</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d5a6bd; font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
If he's not your style, that's fine. Everybody is different, and writers are
like wine -- everyone has a unique taste palette. The point is to pick up
publications that you admire (two magazines I admire greatly are The New Yorker
and Vanity Fair). Then study their leads. You'll be able to pick up the rhythm
and pace, the staccato of the words, the beat that matches your own heart's
beat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
I hope these little tips help! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Happy writing, and if more questions are out there, be sure to email me with
them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Estrangelo Edessa'; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
Heidi Lynn Russell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-62345935224577812122015-01-23T10:01:00.003-08:002015-01-23T10:01:56.559-08:00On Being Paid Fairly as a Freelancer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now we come to the pink elephant in the room for many writers and freelancers:<br />
<br />
Money.<br />
<br />
People ask me frequently, "How much do you charge? How do you know how much to charge? Would you take work from someone who only provides a byline and no pay? Would you take work from someone whose 'payment' is copies of the magazine where my article appears?"<br />
<br />
Before we dive in, if you want to skip past all of my rhetoric to the bottom line, the bottom line is this:<br />
<br />
Join the <a href="http://www.nwu.org/" target="_blank">National Writers' Union</a>, and you'll get great guidance on the fair amount of money to charge, as well as the heads-up on any unscrupulous publisher, editor, publication or Web site of which to steer clear. The NWU's dues are on a sliding scale, depending on your tax returns as a writer from the previous year. So if you're new to this game, you're looking at a nominal fee for their help, and if you're not new to this game, let me assure you that they're worth every red cent.<br />
<br />
Now if you want my personal take (why I charge what I charge, and why I think it's important to charge for your work) ... keep reading.<br />
<br />
Let's start with the obvious ... the question of publications that are "doing you a favor" by "giving you a byline" in their publication "with thousands of readers" and "the recognition you need for your resume" and "the public spotlight on your name."<br />
<br />
Payment of a "byline," or payment by sending you copies of the magazine in which your article is printed is not payment. It's slave labor. And if you work for one of these whorehouses, you are selling the rest of us down the river (those of us who are professional writers and depend on our craft to pay the bills). If you'd like a list of these places to avoid, just join <a href="http://www.nwu.org/" target="_blank">NWU</a>.<br />
<br />
The same goes for publications that offer you any less than 30 cents per word for your work.<br />
<br />
Here's why:<br />
<br />
Do you realize that not everyone can put two words together on paper? Do you realize that most people make so many grammatical errors, that even my 6th grader can eyeball them on the Internet? I had one client who sent me her "notes" for ghost writing under her name, and they were nothing but scattered thoughts ... usually incomplete sentences .... and always riddled with grammatical errors .... FROM HER CELL PHONE, sometimes in a short text. This person could not even find time to sit down at a computer and write an email. I had to assemble her thoughts by talking to her on the phone, because there were no "notes" to be had with which to construct her book.<br />
<br />
Do you also realize that most people diminish your value as a writer by thinking they can do what you can do? They assume that they can pay you a pittance, because you really aren't worth that much. You will be satisfied with your "name in lights," as it were. And they think they can pull off what you can pull off. But because they "don't have the time," they ask you to do their work for them. The truth is that they have no idea how to put together meaningful prose that will interest a wide readership.<br />
<br />
OK, still not convinced? Let's take a couple of examples from other professions. I'm not claiming that my work is as important as these people's work, but you'll see where I'm going. Just stick with me.<br />
<br />
<b>SCENARIO #1:</b><br />
<br />
You wake up with a high fever, shortness of breath and a gouging pain in your right side that's so bad that you start praying for death. You pass out and wake up again, and now you're on the floor next to your bed, and your dog is standing over you licking your face.<br />
<br />
So now. Choose one. You:<br />
<br />
1. Call your best friend on the phone and ask them what they think it is.<br />
<br />
2. Try to solve the problem by swigging down some Mylanta and Tylenol.<br />
<br />
3. Call 911 and get yourself to the nearest hospital.<br />
<br />
I'm wagering it's number 3. You're going to go to the place that has the people who have been trained to solve the problem. You want a surgeon, not a physician's assistant, and not even a registered nurse. You're not going to gamble your life with someone who says they've been reading up on WebMD.com and think that you might have the latest flu bug, are you?<br />
<br />
Let's take another situation.<br />
<br />
<b>SCENARIO #2</b><br />
<br />
You're falsely accused of a serious crime and are looking at prison time, maybe more than a couple of decades. Choose one. You:<br />
<br />
1. Call your cousin who is a paralegal and ask him if he thinks this is something you can beat with a public defender.<br />
<br />
2. Represent yourself.<br />
<br />
3. Cash out your retirement accounts to hire the best lawyer you can afford.<br />
<br />
My guess is .... #3.<br />
<br />
Now let's look at the lowly writer. Heck, let's just use me for an example. And this situation happens to me all of the time ... An editor will call and say, "Can you do a last-minute assignment? I just had somebody drop out." (<i>Translation: "I hired somebody who had less experience than you do so that I wouldn't have to pay more than 50 cents a word, and they flaked out, and now I have space to fill in my magazine. Oh. And my deadline was yesterday."</i>)<br />
<br />
Why do they call me? At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, let's run through the reasons:<br />
<br />
1. <b>They know I can turn around accurate copy, and I can do it quickly.</b> I have 25 years of experience under my belt, 12 of which were in the mainstream newsrooms, and five of which were with The Associated Press. I am accustomed to dealing with deadlines that were "five minutes ago." I have a wide network of news sources and a wider network of PR people who can connect me with sources. I can do the reporting on a story within 1 day and, if I have to, write it that same day. (That's rare now that I no longer work for daily publications, but it's definitely a skill in my toolbox.)<br />
<br />
2. <b>They know I have experience unearthing unusual details to give the story edginess. </b>I know how to ask questions. I know how to interview people to get to the heart of the issue. I know how to find the hard-to-uncover truths, because, again, I have experience.<br />
<br />
3. <b>They know my copy will be clean. </b>Unless we have a miscommunication about the editor's desired angle, there is a rarely a time when I have to do any rewrites. Editors can take my raw copy and pretty much print it, verbatim. Fact checks come back clean, and if there are discrepancies, it's because the source usually has second thoughts about their quote once they see it in black and white.<br />
<br />
4. <b>They know I'm honest. </b>I don't make things up. I don't take people out of context. I don't rush a job. I don't turn in substandard copy to make a quick buck. I am available day and night, for any question, any edit.<br />
<br />
5. <b>They know that if I have an emergency, I'll still get the work done. </b>Remember the story earlier about waking up with a gouging pain in your right side? OK, well that happened to me in September 2013, and I had to have emergency surgery. AND, I had a story that was due in four days. I spent the day at the hospital, went under the knife and was released at 11:30 p.m. The next morning, I called my editors and explained what had happened. They told me I could have extra time to finish the story. But you know what I did? I rested for 24 hours, and then the NEXT morning, I wrote that sucker from bed while my mother brought me mugs of tea and chicken soup.<br />
<br />
Sorry if I sound like a street-wise teenager, but <i>I don't mess around</i> when it comes to my deadlines. And the editors know that.<br />
<br />
Now I don't have any qualms charging what I charge. I am very confident in my work, and I am not shy about letting a client go if that client 1) acts like my work is substandard (because it isn't) and 2) acts like I'm not worth what they're paying me and 3) gives me all kinds of reasons why their pay scale is so low.<br />
<br />
If you are working for someone who is short-changing you on payment, they are probably treating you very badly. Anyone for whom I ever worked who paid me on the low side of the scale ALSO was very manipulative, very unappreciative, very demanding, very difficult to please, very full of their own opinion of their own ability to "write."<br />
<br />
Conversely, people who have paid me well treat me well and love my work.<br />
<br />
It's not worth it for you to spend time with the bloodsuckers. Cut yourself a break and cut them loose. Work for people who will pay you what you're worth and treat you with the professionalism that you deserve.<br />
<br />
Now what if you're really a "physician's assistant" and not a "surgeon?" What I mean is, what if you're fresh out of school, jumping into writing from another profession, etc.?<br />
<br />
You still have the right to expect fair payment for your work.<br />
<br />
Do a personal assessment. How much would <i>you </i>pay <i>you</i>?<br />
<br />
How much do you really think you bring to the table? Get a number in your head and then inflate that by another 30 cents per word. That's how much you should be charging. The reason I can assert this is that it goes back to the original issue: Most people can't write. Most people are paying you to do what THEY CAN'T DO. Don't let those people -- those who would underpay you or not pay you enough -- treat you like they're doing you any favors.<br />
<br />
You're doing them a favor by giving them the words they don't have.<br />
<br />
Do <i>yourself</i> a favor and demand that they treat you fairly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-76529246297359181802014-12-20T11:12:00.004-08:002014-12-20T11:47:02.255-08:00The Botched Scrooge Story by ABC News<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This morning ABC News had a report about a so-called "Scrooge" in Ross Township, Pennsylvania. But if the reporters had done their jobs, they would have discovered that the <i>real </i>Scrooges were the people who were accusing this man of insanity.<br />
<br />
For years, brothers Bob and Bill Ansell of Ross Township, PA, had an enormous holiday Christmas light display. This wasn't just any light show. We're talking 84,000 watts of twinkle lights. The brothers would work from Labor Day up until the Christmas season hit to assemble everything, sort of like their personal hobby. They'd put up lights on weekends and about five hours per night on weekdays after they'd finished their daily jobs as electrical contractors.<br />
<br />
They weren't doing it just for sheer kicks, either.<br />
<br />
These two guys had a donation box in front of their house, whereby anybody who came down the street to see the lights could leave a little something for charity. Old news articles indicate that they started accepting money in the late 1980s and early 1990s for a children's hospital and The Salvation Army.<br />
<br />
What <i>jerks,</i> right? :-P<br />
<br />
OK, so apparently, the neighbors didn't like the traffic on the street that this display generated.<br />
<br />
One in particular, Vince Heck, started complaining to township officials. He fussed and fussed. That was in 2005. See these articles for the back story, and read it for yourself:<br />
<br />
http://triblive.com/x/archive/1436062-74/archive-story#axzz3MSiWUPJs<br />
<br />
http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/columns/heyl/s_405093.html#axzz3MSiWUPJs<br />
<br />
<br />
Let's fast-forward to this weekend now.<br />
<br />
I learned about this story, but not because of the harassment that the two brothers endured, for what seems like a pretty long time.<br />
<br />
I learned about it because ABC News had a story about Bill Ansell (which Yahoo News put up on its home page this morning). Here it is:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/one-man-terrorizing-neighbors-hostile-holiday-decoration-display-165658608--abc-news-topstories.html">http://news.yahoo.com/one-man-terrorizing-neighbors-hostile-holiday-decoration-display-165658608--abc-news-topstories.html</a><br />
<br />
From this account, it appears that Bill is pretty crazy. The neighbors describe him as "an angry person that's very unstable." He has changed the display into a beheaded choir, a hanging Mickey Mouse and a urinating Santa, among other things.<br />
<br />
Apparently, it changed after Vince Heck's wife, Pamela, called Bill one Thanksgiving to ask him to turn off the lights because they were bothering her dinner guests.<br />
<br />
When you read the story, you're under the impression that's what kicked this six-year feud off. However, if you look at the archives from the local newspaper, you get a completely different picture.<br />
<br />
When you read the history of how Vince and Pamela Heck harassed, cajoled, complained and fussed about ALL OF THE MONEY BEING COLLECTED FOR A CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND THE SALVATION ARMY, is it any wonder that this guy is pissed off?<br />
<br />
I'm not going to defend his actions today. But I understand him. However, what I don't understand is how a national news organization -- which apparently aired this segment on 20/20, of all things -- covered this like an in-depth piece and didn't even get the other side of the story into it. The other side of this story is pretty significant, if you ask me. All they had to do was look at newspaper archives.<br />
<br />
And what happened to Bob Ansell? Why isn't he even mentioned in the piece? That's another piece of the puzzle that may also shed some light on Bill's hostility.<br />
<br />
I know people get tired of me Monday Morning Quarterbacking a lot of these news organizations. But come on. This type of sloppy reporting is something that J-school freshmen students do. The standards of journalism have been plummeting since the proliferation of bloggers that self-style themselves as "reporters" and news Internet sites that hand over the reporting reins to people without classical journalism training. But now when I see this type of reporting by a national outfit? I'm seriously concerned about the future of our industry in this country.<br />
<br />
And I hope that Bill Ansell keeps putting up his beheaded choir year after year, because he was trying to do a good deed and has been brush-stroked as a crazy criminal.<br />
<br />
I don't think he's crazy, for the record.<br />
<br />
But I do think that <i>you're </i>crazy if you work for ABC News and are proud of the "work" that went into this piece.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-66369415313850704712014-12-12T06:45:00.002-08:002014-12-12T10:39:45.775-08:00How the CIA "Handled" a Roomful of Journalists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>First of all, you're going to get offended, because I'm going to use some bad language and bad descriptions, and I'm not holding back. So if you're wearing your granny panties and can't take it, click the X button on the upper right portion of your screen. You have been duly advised.</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Now.<br />
<br />
Most people these days are fussing and fuming about the Torture Report on the CIA's antics, recently released by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.<br />
<br />
But today, I'd like to fuss and fume about the malleable idiot "journalists" who covered the press conference yesterday by CIA Director John O. Brennan.<br />
<br />
I really have to hand it to Brennan and his PR team. They did a <i>masterful </i>job of stroking the press corps into post-blowjob submission. I watched with my jaw agape as Brennan deftly moved through softball questions and deliver his statement as if he was reading a page out of Webster's dictionary. In fact, watching him, I kept envisioning the goblin named Griphook from Harry Potter, standing behind a podium and asking for Harry's keys to the Gringotts vault with no-nonsense authority.<br />
<br />
But I digress.<br />
<br />
Here's the most important part of what happened yesterday. The CIA got those reporters under control by doing one simple thing:<br />
<br />
Sanitizing the events described in the report by changing the description from "torture" into a bureaucratic phrase:<br />
<br />
"ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES."<br />
<br />
Actually, the more I think about it, Brennan didn't even use <i>that</i> phrase very often.<br />
<br />
What he said over and over was:<br />
<br />
"EITs."<br />
<br />
I came in at the middle of the press conference, and I'm listening to Brennan saying, "EITs," thinking, "What is an EIT? What is that?" Suddenly, ABC News put on the bottom of the screen the words, "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques."<br />
<br />
I caught my breath.<br />
<br />
Were the producers at the network actually going along with Brennan by <i>substituting </i>the word, "torture," which was the actual description of what happened in that report, with this bureaucratic bullshit?<br />
<br />
Apparently, they were.<br />
<br />
Then, I watched in further amazement as the REPORTERS started using the terminology!<br />
<br />
In question after question, they stood up and assigned the acronym, "EIT" and occasionally the phrase, "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" in place of the word, "torture."<br />
<br />
Question after question.<br />
<br />
Sentence after sentence.<br />
<br />
Enhanced Interrogation Technique.<br />
<br />
EIT.<br />
<br />
And the producers at ABC kept putting it up on the screen.<br />
<br />
OK, now I do know what those of you who are political reporters are going to say to me next, because I've been in your shoes: It was a very rare press conference, held by a very secretive organization, with a director who will rarely do exchanges with members of the press. Therefore, you might argue, it was incumbent on you to play along, be respectful, give him his due, give his phraseology a respectful nod.<br />
<br />
Um.<br />
<br />
Pardon me for regressing into my old infantile newsroom persona when I say this to you:<br />
<br />
No, it FUCKING WASN'T!!!!<br />
<br />
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???<br />
<br />
Do you realize that this is what the NAZIS did when they substituted the words, "mass murder" with "The Final Solution?"<br />
<br />
Listen. I get it. I covered politics for The Associated Press in the Pennsylvania State Capitol from September 1995 to January 1999. I don't know if you've ever been in that grandiose building, but it's one of the most intimidating places on the planet, and I'm not even making this up. It is ornate and awe-inspiring and jaw dropping, with marble and stained glass and long corridors of power and all that we envision when we think of the seat of government.<br />
<br />
And that's just one state Capitol in our grand nation.<br />
<br />
I understand that if you're in Washington, D.C., and you've been summoned to a press conference by the CIA director over one of the most controversial stories in our history, of course you're going to be intimidated by the surroundings. Of course you're going to be acquiescent. Of course you're going to be respectful.<br />
<br />
<i>And that's exactly what the folks at the CIA were counting on.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
But that doesn't mean you have to play along with their rules! Yes, you are on their turf, but you are a representative of the "freedom of the press" that we love to wear on our lapels like badges of honor. It is your God damn responsibility as a journalist to be in your face and be your no-nonsense self right back at them.<br />
<br />
God damn it!!!!<br />
<br />
I will tell you that more than once, I got into yelling matches with politicians and their PR flaks in the hallways of that Capitol building. In fact, I once screamed at the PR guy for former Gov. Tom Ridge, right outside Ridge's office, knowing Ridge was on the other side of the door and could hear every fucking word I said. I told him he had five minutes to get an answer for me, or I was putting my story on the wire. I marched down to my office and told my editor, who then told me to "GO BACK UPSTAIRS AND APOLOGIZE." I then had a yelling fight with the editor about why I would NOT do that, and he was about to fire me, when the phone rang. It was the PR guy. And he was calling to apologize to ME. And give me a statement. And tell me everything I wanted to know. I looked at my editor with one eyebrow raised, stuck my tongue out at him and started taking notes and filed my story in 15 minutes. Yes, I did.<br />
<br />
And he didn't fucking fire me.<br />
<br />
Don't for one second try to say to me with a straight face that you had to accept that bureaucratic terminology from the CIA for what can be described as nothing else but FUCKING. TORTURE.<br />
<br />
You are representing the people of the United States of America. We have free rights here. We have a freedom of the press. You will NOT GET INTO TROUBLE FOR GETTING INTO THE BAD GUY'S FACE AND TELLING HIM THAT HE IS FULL OF SHIT.<br />
<br />
Still on the fence about whether you should have complied with his usage of "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques?"<br />
<br />
OK, let's look at a few of those "techniques."<br />
<br />
1. They kept human beings in pitch black rooms for days on end with blasting music and sleep deprivation and buckets for their waste. When they opened the doors, these people were crouched in corners "like kenneled dogs."<br />
<br />
Do we even treat our dogs like this?<br />
<br />
2. They dragged a guy naked from the waist down around and left him in sub-zero temps so that he and his penis froze to death.<br />
<br />
If you're a man, just let that sink in for a few seconds.<br />
<br />
3. They waterboarded three people. Well, they say there were three. But you and I know that people in the CIA like to brag that they tell lies for a living, so if you want to believe there are only three of them, then I have a wonderful bridge in Brooklyn for sale. And it's super cheap! Contact me for details!<br />
<br />
4. And oh! This one is my FAVORITE:<br />
<br />
They took hummus, raisins, nuts ... I think there was a fourth ingredient, but I lost count after reading those first three ... and they put them in a plunger thing and shoved it up a man's ass to "feed" him.<br />
<br />
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.<br />
<br />
EITs.<br />
<br />
If you want to keep using that description for what would make a Quentin Tarantino film look like a Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse TV show, then be my guest.<br />
<br />
But just be aware that John O. Brennan and his team at the CIA are giving you your own hummus-raisin-nut enema and laughing at you while they shove those words up your ass.<br />
<br />
<i>Do your fucking jobs </i>or go work for the CIA's public relations team, because that's exactly what you did yesterday.<br />
<br />
I'm done here.<br />
<br />
Post critical comments at your peril.<br />
<br />
<br />
--Heidi Lynn Russell<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-10122959891169575712014-10-22T08:18:00.001-07:002014-10-22T08:18:22.560-07:00Writing on Deadline with a Yoga Mindset<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During the past 18 months, I have become more and more entrenched in a yoga lifestyle.<br />
<br />
Notice I didn't say yoga "workouts," but a yoga "lifestyle."<br />
<br />
What I mean by that is, when you regularly practice yoga as a physical exercise, soon other things follow ... Your taste for food changes so that you crave healthier options. You sleep better. And you actually start to take different approaches to your way of thinking and solving problems.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure why all of this happens, but I apply the way I think about conquering certain yoga poses to the way I am tackling the challenges in my day.<br />
<br />
This is especially true when I am on deadline.<br />
<br />
During a yoga class, you move from pose to pose, and your body has to adjust to new ways of bending and stretching. Some poses come to you more easily than others. For example, I've gotten to the point where I could move through Warrior poses and Triangle poses in my sleep. In fact, usually during yoga class, I move through those poses with my eyes closed and almost go into a dream-like-state while I do it.<br />
<br />
Then there are other poses that don't come so easily for me. With those, I have to learn how to transition my body with an intermediate pose before I can actually move into the actual pose full-throttle. And there are still others that I can't master at all, even with the transitions. For those, I have to revert to Child's Pose while I catch my breath.<br />
<br />
Now what does this have to do with writing on deadline? Everything.<br />
<br />
There are some days where I feel the world is crashing on my head -- in short, a series of difficult yoga poses.<br />
<br />
Today is one such day. <br />
<br />
I have two magazine assignments due on Friday. Two days ago, the foundational source for one of my pieces suddenly flaked out and said she wouldn't be interviewed. (Another blog entry, but I digress.) I had to rebuild the framework for that story and find replacement sources. The other story was ready to write, but I have tons of notes and a word count ceiling of 600.<br />
<br />
In the middle of that, my child got sick and is home from school with his third virus in the past two months.<br />
<br />
On top of that, yesterday morning I stepped on a shard of glass (dropped the night before by the same child ... and I thought I'd swept all of it up, but I guess NOT) ... and have a nice slice into my right foot -- which is either here nor there when it comes to time management, but I think I've replaced bandages about 12 times since then and fussed with some Epsom salts -- anyway, it's been another distraction.<br />
<br />
I would call this the equivalent of moving from one difficult yoga pose to another.<br />
<br />
Today I am completing two more magazine interviews for one of the stories, outlining and writing the second one and .... oh yeah .... simultaneously communicating with a second client, for whom I am ghost-writing a book about a chapter that we are tackling this week.<br />
<br />
Sooooooooooooooo .... This is where a yoga "lifestyle" comes in:<br />
<br />
First, in yoga, with a difficult pose, you learn to master the intermediate pose.<br />
<br />
In this case, to jump start my writing cylinders, which completely feel zapped, I am tackling an intermediate pose: I am writing this blog entry. You might think that this postpones the magazine article, but it doesn't. For me, when I'm writing something that has nothing to do with the immediate deadline assignment, I kick-start my brain into the required action of concentrated word gathering and organization.<br />
<br />
Next in yoga, as you move to the more difficult pose, you learn to breathe through the discomfort.<br />
<br />
There are poses that I want to get out of as soon as I've entered them. I close my eyes and practice the art of the "breath." When you focus on your breathing, the physical discomfort begins to vanish, and you start to relax into the pose.<br />
<br />
In the same way, as I work my way through endless interview notes and organize them into a coherent story format, I "breathe." The "breath" for me looks like this: I put on music that I know will motivate me. The music relaxes me, I start literally breathing deeper, and I automatically sink into organizing and writing.<br />
<br />
Finally, you master the difficult pose. You are able to hold the pose and allow your mind to travel to the state of relaxation.<br />
<br />
Once I have the notes and outline and lead of the story conquered, I master the story in much the same way. The words flow like water. The "pose" is no longer an issue.<br />
<br />
Then it's time to move to the next "pose" ... and by then, you're home free, because if you find it's difficult, you just put the same plan into motion again -- hit a transitional activity to jump start the mind or body and then breathe into it.<br />
<br />
And now that I've successfully blown through my transitional time, i.e. writing this for you, I'm off to plugging in some music, breathing deeply and starting the difficult work of the day. <br />
<br />
The next time you hit a tight deadline and face challenges that may circumvent you from reaching it, try this. Even if you don't practice yoga as a physical exercise, learning to move from one activity to the next with a sequence of transitional activity and relaxation will free your mind from stress. Creativity then takes over, and before you know it, your work will be done.<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-47903305773663269142014-10-09T09:09:00.002-07:002014-10-09T09:09:36.392-07:00Freelancing, Time Management & the Single Mom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For the past three weeks, I've been on a tear, racing from one activity to the next.<br />
<br />
<b>Here's what I had on docket professionally: </b><br />
1) A book ghost-writing project<br />
2) A Web site writing project, with 10 pages of Web site copy to churn out<br />
3) An annual project in which I write up 40 bios of top military members<br />
4) A major feature story for my top magazine client<br />
5) Two short stories for my top magazine client and one short story for yet another magazine<br />
<br />
<b>Here's what I had on docket personally:</b><br />
1) Doctor appointments for my child, who has a form of high-functioning autism<br />
2) Schoolwork for my child, which takes on average 2 hours per night to complete (including two major school projects)<br />
3) Not one, but two viruses that my child brought home from school (which sidelined both of us)<br />
4) Two ongoing personal crises that have absorbed countless hours<br />
<br />
Now.<br />
<br />
This is where the beauty of a freelance lifestyle comes in.<br />
<br />
I am a single mom. The challenge here, of course, is continuing to generate top-quality writing product, on time, while also balancing the needs of my child.<br />
<br />
If you've ever wondered about whether you can adequately manage your time on a freelance lifestyle, then take it from me ... I've had every conceivable hurdle and challenge known to womankind thrown in my pathway for the past 4 1/2 years. During the past three weeks, all of those professional obligations I listed had the same deadline priority. Every. Single. One. None could be sidelined while I worked on others. And all of the personal obligations had an equal or higher priority. You can't shelve a child, can you?<br />
<br />
So how do I do it?<br />
<br />
I learned long ago that to conquer the clock, you have to be willing to work in the nooks and crannies of your days and nights.<br />
<br />
This is what a typical day looks like for me:<br />
<br />
<b>6:30-8:30 a.m.</b>: Rise and shine, walk the dog, make the school lunch, get the child ready & take to school.<br />
<b>Morning and Early Afternoon:</b> Write or do magazine interviews. Three times a week, I go to a yoga class. Walk the dog a second time.<br />
<b>2:45 p.m.:</b> Pick up child from school ... walk the dog for the third time ... Talk to the child about his socialization challenges at school, which are connected to his autism and must be addressed before homework can be started.<br />
<b>5-5:30 p.m.: </b>Make dinner and feed child.<br />
<b>5:30-8 p.m.: </b>Homework.<br />
<b>8 p.m.-9:30 p.m.: </b>Walk dog for the 4th time of the day, get child showered and start bedtime routine.<br />
<b>9:30 p.m</b>.<b>:</b> If I'm on a tight deadline, I return to writing and usually write until midnight.<br />
<b>Midnight-6:45 a.m.:</b> Sleep.<br />
<br />
I didn't really come up with this schedule as a hard-and-fast routine, but it just sort of fell into that automatically. Things are adjusted, depending on deadlines, but each minute of each day must be carefully scrutinized and treated as a highly-valued commodity. There is no room for much else.<br />
<br />
If you throw in a pediatrician's appointment, a crisis at school that necessitates a visit to the principal's office or a teacher conference, a stomach virus, a dog's mishap that requires an unexpected trip to the groomer ... and the regular daily activities like grocery shopping, bill paying, laundry .... You can see where freelancing for me is a lifestyle that I can't afford to lose.<br />
<br />
Many people look at my job and say, "You have my dream job. I wish I could do that." Well, I'm here to tell you that you CAN do it -- but you also have to realize that you have to be a master at juggling multiple tasks. Editors do not care about the extra hurdles that may prevent you from finishing a story. If you accept a deadline, turn the story in on time. And to do that, you have to carefully plot each hour (sometimes each minute) of your day.<br />
<br />
Freelancing offers me a lot of freedom. When I complete projects, like this week, I'm able to spend more time on things like ... blog writing. And this summer, my child and I spent 10 wonderful days in central Florida, unencumbered by work. I also took a few days to travel solo to Denver for some needed R&R and to sink into more in-depth yoga instruction. When I'm home, I can dash off to a yoga studio and plan my writing around my need to stretch, without worrying about an employer wondering where I am. But at the same time, I DO make my deadlines. I DO turn in a quality product. I DO remain accountable and available for editing and follow-up work to what I have already turned in.<br />
<br />
My secret is to analyze the scheduling requirements of each day ... then each week .... then each month ... and what it will take for me to meet those requirements. <br />
<br />
Freelancing does mean freedom. But it also means being responsible to your editors, your family ... and yourself ... with smart time management.<br />
<br />
Oh .... did I mention time at the hair salon?<br />
<br />
Don't forget to do that, either!<br />
<br />
When you're dashing around as a freelancer, it always helps when you're exhausted to look in the mirror and see a rested and well-styled reflection staring back at you. :-)<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-45499705317313893512014-07-30T16:09:00.003-07:002014-07-30T16:17:10.207-07:00Book Ghostwriting: Getting Into "Character" with help from Richard Armitage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><i>"I think I'm a concentrating actor. So in order to do my work in the
course of a day, particularly with a character like this I have to
concentrate. So it's about staying in the scene, staying with my head in
the scene and attempting to keep the character with me. It doesn't mean
I can't have a conversation or go and make a cup of coffee. But I
actually stay with the character for 18 months." ~ British actor Richard Armitage, star of "The Hobbit" film series</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
As a writer, I love reading quotes by other famous writers (Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis, in particular) for inspiration when delving into a project.<br />
<br />
However, during the past six weeks, I've had to turn to a completely different type of "artist" -- an actor -- to light a spark for a new project.<br />
<br />
I've just signed on to ghost write a book. I can't divulge details yet. But right at the outset of this project, I hit a major snag:<br />
<br />
I was ghost writing <i>in my own voice</i>.<br />
<br />
I had worked on my introductory chapter and was really pleased with myself! I have to say ... I felt smug. I just <i>knew</i> my client would be effusive! I'd worked for about two days on this chapter. I was certain that I'd covered everything she wanted to convey, in a manner that would capture the reader's fancy and drive them further into the book.<br />
<br />
The morning after I sent it off, I sat down with my steaming mug of French-pressed coffee and a gorgeous Southern biscuit slathered in honey. I gleefully opened my computer, expecting to see an email that said, "You're brilliant! Thank you! I love this!"<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.<br />
<br />
Yes, that's what she said.<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
My ego hit the floor like a a guy taking a knock-out punch from Floyd Mayweather.<br />
<br />
<i>"How in the world could she NOT like this?" </i>I thought.<br />
<br />
To assuage my angst (if you're a writer, you know how you have to recover after your material is rejected), I took a mental break and pulled up some Youtube interviews with a favorite actor, Richard Armitage. You may know him for his role in "The Hobbit." On this particular morning, I pulled up an interview that he did to promote his current theatrical performance in London on "The Crucible." As I listened to how he traveled to Massachusetts to wrap his brain around the Puritanical community and the character he would be playing ... suddenly it hit me.<br />
<br />
Ghost writing really is nothing more than acting on a page, rather than on a stage.<br />
<br />
I pulled up more interviews by Armitage to see how he gets himself into character. One of his more fascinating exercises is that he writes his own fiction, creating "character diaries" for each person he is portraying.<br />
<br />
<i>"I kind of do stay with the character, yeah. He's always there. It's
like marinating something – you're sitting in a marinade the whole time," he told one interviewer.</i><br />
<br />
What I was missing was my client's voice. In short, I needed to "sit in marinade" in her character.<br />
<br />
Part of her book is about her strong passion for her vegan lifestyle. So this week, believe it or not, I have eschewed MEAT. I have watched every link she's sent (Netflix documentaries and Youtube videos alike) about the evils of the agricultural industry.<br />
<br />
And today, I hit the supermarket and picked up vegan butter, vegan sour cream, soy milk ... and looked into how to prepare vegan meals ... and have prepared a fully vegan diet to follow while I write this book.<br />
<br />
Extreme, you may say?<br />
<br />
Well, all I can tell you is that when I turned in the re-write of that chapter, the client came back to me and said one of her best friends remarked, "It sounds just like you." She's pleased with the changes.<br />
<br />
I've been writing newspaper, wire service and now magazine articles for 25 years. I've never had to write in someone else's voice until now. But I am having so much fun "marinating" in my "character."<br />
<br />
And, thanks to a fellow creative artist/soul, I think I've found the answer to successfully segueing into a new writing venture. <br />
<br />
I'll keep you posted to let you know how the rest of the project goes. </div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-12020570456203637852014-07-29T11:33:00.001-07:002014-07-29T11:33:21.469-07:00When Something Smells Rotten in Denmark<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So you want to be an "investigative journalist."<br />
<br />
Let's make one thing clear: If you're a reporter, it doesn't matter what beat you are working -- you could be covering the local PTA and school board meeting, the municipal sewage/water authority, cops and robbers or the sports desk. There is <i>always</i> an opportunity to be an investigative journalist. The problem is that most "journalists" think that they have to be assigned to a political desk to do any meaningful work. But oftentimes, the stories of corruption are sitting right in front of you. You just aren't being observant enough -- or your antenna may be so tuned in to one direction of the wind, that you may be missing the storm brewing behind you.<br />
<br />
I started thinking about this because of a personal circumstance, ironically, which has nothing to do with my freelance writing job. Human nature is human nature. And eventually, someone's dark side <i>will </i>surface if it's something they are trying to hide. It's just a matter of time before you put the pieces together.<br />
<br />
Here are a few tale-tell signs that I've learned along the way:<br />
<br />
<b>1.</b> <b>The person that people trust the most is the person you should suspect the most. </b>I know, it sounds counter-intuitive. But ironically, the most trusted person in the room usually is the person hiding something. Think about it -- pedophiles aren't usually creeps hanging out in dark corners. They're Catholic priests, Boy Scout leaders, classroom teachers. Ever hear of Jerry Sandusky? Google him if you haven't.<br />
<br />
Did you know that Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus Christ, was the treasurer for the group of disciples and embezzled their money? Anyone who handles money for someone else is highly trusted. Always look in that direction for clues. <br />
<br />
I had a case when I was working at The York Dispatch ... we were a union shop, and the reporters had to pay union dues every month. Ours were $40 per reporter. I was 27-29 while I was there, and I was making a paltry $27,000 per year. So $40 per month was a lot of money for me.<br />
<br />
I asked the union treasurer -- who was the newspaper's retired librarian -- to bring in the union accounting books so that I could see how the money was being spent. It just didn't seem very logical to me. Where was the money going? She was about 75 years old and very beloved in this newsroom. She refused to bring in the books. So I refused to give her my dues. Things came to a head. People who loved this little old lady told me I was a big meanie (well, they used OTHER words, but use your imagination, and you've got it ...) and that I should just pay the dues. I said the little old lady should bring in the books if there was nothing to hide.<br />
<br />
To make a long story short, after a big brew-ha-ha, the union treasurer confessed that she had been embezzling the funds. It gets better. She had a gambling addiction and had taken the money to Atlantic City, NJ, on weekends, and lost thousands of dollars. She had been maintaining two sets of books to hide it.<br />
<br />
So if you're covering a local municipality, school district, whatever ... that leads us to point number 2:<br />
<br />
<b>2. Always ask for budgets.</b> Don't say to me, "But Heidi, I only scored C-minus in math, my entire time in school. I'm a gifted writer, but I'm not an accountant."<br />
<br />
Bullshit.<br />
<br />
You want to be an investigative reporter? Get a calculator.<br />
<br />
Ask for budgets. Ask questions about the budgets. If you don't know how to add and subtract, get a tutor. You will never uncover anything unless you're willing to go into the world of numbers.<br />
<br />
<b>3. The people who are pointing fingers are usually the people hiding something.</b> I'm not talking about whistle-blowers here. I'm talking about people who are in a collective huff -- the people who want to see another person or another group of people fall. These are the people who are so busy pointing out the faults of others that they can't see their own faults. Usually, this type of story is the easiest one to cover. The only thing you have to do is let them hang themselves with their words. The minute you get an invitation to cover a big "event" where a group of people is "exposing" the wrong-doings of someone else, bring your tape recorder and transcribe EVERYTHING that is said. You can probably get the other side of the story very easily just by the way Group A portrays Group B. Usually you can anticipate what Group B's response will be, because the things Group A throws around will start to sound so ridiculous that their credibility will dissolve like vapor.<br />
<br />
<b></b><br />
<b>4. If people start acting defensive when you ask questions, you're on to something. </b><br />
<br />
People with nothing to hide will be forthright. They may seem taken aback by questions, but they will always be eager to show you that they have done nothing wrong.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, people with something to hide will immediately put up their defenses. They'll do everything conceivable to avoid answering questions, will cast blame elsewhere ... and may even accuse you of being a hack journalist.<br />
<b> </b><br />
Don't let that throw you.<br />
<br />
Just stay with your line of questioning, which will lead to point number 5:<br />
<br />
<b>5. Somewhere in the group that is hiding something, there is a person <i>who wants the truth to be told</i>. </b>I have lost count of the number of times during my newspaper and AP wire service careers when I would get an anonymous note or phone call. The person on the other end would say something like, "I was in the room when you were asking questions of So-and-So, and they weren't telling you everything. I can tell you the truth, but you have to keep my name out of it."<br />
<br />
Sometimes these notes would be sandwiched between my wiper blades and car windshield. (When that happens, it's not only freaky to know that people know your car, but also your schedule. And it also means you've nailed the story.)<br />
<br />
Once you get to that point in your information gathering, go to your editor for next steps. Proceeding ahead on a story of this nature requires the backing of your publication. Do not do this alone in a vacuum. You'll want everybody on board -- including the publisher, who may have personal community ties that could threaten the story's publishing. You need the publisher in your corner especially.<br />
<br />
This was a quick primer, but if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section. This can be a complicated issue for anyone covering news, but with practice in studying human behavior, you may be winning your investigative trophy in no time. </div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-73629677873744370742014-05-19T01:45:00.001-07:002014-05-19T01:45:29.545-07:00Vanity Fair's Lost Opportunity with Scarlett Johansson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vanity Fair, for me, usually gets the gold star when it comes to jaw-dropping-no-stone-uncovered research that reveals savory details to set a foundation for lusciously written prose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So I was pretty excited to see that the magazine had a feature spread on Scarlett Johansson, who I consider to be our generation's Marilyn Monroe on steroids. If anybody could do Johansson justice -- if anybody could give this starlet depth of respectful journalistic coverage like a down white blanket over the glittery sex kitten persona -- Vanity Fair could.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Wrong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I was hugely let down by this story, and I felt it deserved a blog entry, because it's the epitome of the mistake that every single person who claims to be a "journalist" should avoid at all costs:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Inserting yourself into the story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Right out of the gate, we weren't reading about Scarlett, but about this writer's penchant for playing it cool with celebrities and then being awestruck by her dazzling photo shoot in a posh hotel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We get a play-by-play of lustful thoughts, as the writer struggles to regain composure and concentration for the interview. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then, we see the writer's feelings hurt, as Scarlett "firmly" (the word used in the article) refuses a glass of wine before the interview begins. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">(Seriously???)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The writer then veers off course to give us background of the actress's career, which, under normal article-writing standards would be just fine, except that we're still waiting for the "main event," as it were -- the actual INTERVIEW.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Finally (finally!), the writer allows Scarlett to speak.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But by the time we get to her thoughts, we basically are reading a shallow discussion, as the writer continues to wrestle with thoughts about how Scarlett now resembles more of a graduate student than a glittery icon. The depth of content is as scanty as the negligee this writer has been conjuring since setting eyes on her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I put the magazine down feeling like I'd just picked up a wanna-be-Playboy-article -- but definitely not something worthy of the prestige of Vanity Fair -- and definitely not something that could have given this bright young talent the respectful narrative she deserved.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And it got me thinking about people who call themselves journalists but are more like voyeurs who happen to have a gift with words. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">See .... once you put yourself and your feelings and your thoughts in a personal profile piece, you've lost the entire game. Your job is to give the reader an opportunity to live vicariously through you. They should be the one sitting in your interview seat, hearing the words through your ears, seeing the subject through your eyes, but not seeing <em>you.</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><em>That's </em>where we have to strike the balance as journalists. We bring the person to life on a page -- magicians who are unseen, conjuring the images and emotions with a masterful pen stroke that gives the reader the intimacy they crave without knowledge that we were even in the room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Have you ever gotten in the way of a story?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I know we're all tempted to do it, and I'm sure that when faced with a larger-than-life persona, our own egos fight to let the world know that <em>we</em> were there <em>with them</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But if the reader gives you enough respect to take a few moments to read words you have written, at least give <em>them </em>the respect they're due. Get your arrogant ass out of the way, and let the interviewee step to the forefront.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In this case, the writer for Vanity Fair basically shoved Scarlett to the wings of the stage and took its center. Her spotlight receded, while this person's waking wet dream jumped up and down and screamed for attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">OK.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It got my attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But this story's writer -- and whoever edited this drivel -- didn't win what they were seeking:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">A reader's respect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And I have to wonder if Scarlett Johansson cast the piece aside, thinking much the same thing.</span></div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-91092220515505765672014-01-28T07:24:00.003-08:002014-01-28T07:24:41.704-08:00Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">People ask me all the time:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">"How do you come up with your ideas as a freelancer? Do editors assign you stories, or do you have to come up with things by yourself?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Both. I do get assignments from editors. But before that can happen for any freelancer, you have to establish a rapport with those editors to receive unsolicited work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">And how do you go about doing that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Send them a list of ideas that will appeal to their readers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Believe it or not, it's not as difficult as it sounds. Here are a few things I do regularly online to come up with no-fail pitches:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">1. <strong>A simple Google search:</strong> I know you're going to laugh and say, "It can't be that easy," but here we go: Go to the Google search box and type the type of market you are pitching along with the word, "issue." For example, I write for military magazines. Yesterday, I needed to come up with pitches for a publication that is read by members of the U.S. National Guard. So I went to Google and typed in, "National Guard issues." Voila, up came lists of news stories that affect my readers. I drilled into those to advance them into timeless ideas. You can do this with any market. One of my other magazines reaches pizza restaurant owners throughout the United States and Canada. I do the same thing: "waitress issues," "front of the house issues," "back office issues," "entrepreneur issues" ... you get the idea. I know, I know, I know, it sounds too simple to be effective, but you'll be amazed at how many things you can find that can be expanded upon into great feature stores.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">2. <strong>Subscribe to blogs and e-letters focusing on your personal interests: </strong>I have varying interests and hobbies that are separate from the types of trade magazines for whom I write. I practice yoga. I'm a single mom. I'm dating. I'm an antique lover. I dig British history, everything from Richard III to the Regency era. And I love experimenting in the kitchen. Attached to all of these interests are blogs that I hit periodically. "Well," you might say, "what do any of those things have to do with a military magazine? Or an entrepreneur magazine? Or a Realtor magazine?" Sometimes nothing. But sometimes I'll hit a blog entry pertaining to single parenting that can also be applied to military spouses whose husbands or wives are deployed. I might read a blog about the history of a battle in the Middle Ages or weaponry and spin that into an article about how ancient warfare tactics apply today. Or I might hit a yoga blog about building a yoga teaching business -- and the concepts are similar to what a Realtor can do to advance his or her operation. Or I might see something about Victorian architecture, which can also be applied to home sale stories for Realtors. Last year, I saw a blog about recipes for people with allergies, and that led to a story about marketing to people with allergies for pizza restaurant owners at my pizza magazine. Basically, it's taking your personal interests and thinking outside that box to see how those interests might dovetail into your niche readership. Yes, it requires a bit of brain pretzel twisting, but it's worth your time and effort. And, frankly, it's fun!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">3. <strong>Keep an eye on trends in social media. </strong>I have about 4,200 followers on Twitter and 300-some on Facebook. Besides my addiction to Candy Crush (it's pretty bad, but I digress), I use social media to chat and keep my radar up for issues that concern my friends, which always translates into something that concerns my readers. On Twitter, I follow a lot of parents who have children with Asperger's Syndrome, which my child also has. Again, that leads to story ideas. I also have met great PR professionals on Twitter, who tag me when their clients have stories that may interest my readers. Facebook is another treasure trove, because my inner circle friends will discuss things that I may not otherwise hear on the more public Twitter forum. This week, we were talking about the differences between Internet Service Providers, because I'm moving to a new house and am shopping. The discussion led to an idea about customer service and marketing tactics for people moving into new homes, which I will pitch to my Realtor magazine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">The bottom line is, if you have a computer, tablet or phone, you can find ideas. The trick is using the tools online effectively to constantly think creatively and intuitively. Your editors will thank you, and your bank statement will balloon in no time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-60804732128012264812013-12-13T08:43:00.000-08:002013-12-13T17:01:54.023-08:00My Favorite PR People<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whether you're a journalist or a PR professional, you already know about the unspoken tension between the two camps. I've been doing my job now for 24 1/2 years, and I can tell you that there are times when I shake my fist and curse the existence of PR people and others when I thank God in Heaven for putting them on planet Earth.<br />
<br />
And how do I show thanks to those who make my life easier?<br />
<br />
Well take this morning as an example: I had a new story assignment. Rather than put it up on Profnet.com to the masses of PR professionals, I contacted one who keeps in touch with me regularly. This person follows me on Twitter, takes time to ask how I'm doing and this week had lined up a stellar source for two of my stories. I gave him first dibs on this new assignment for one of his clients. If they pass and don't have anyone who fits the bill, then I put the story up on Profnet for everybody else's consideration.<br />
<br />
I do this regularly with about a half-dozen favorite PR people.<br />
<br />
How does a PR professional gain become a journalist's "favorite?"<br />
<br />
It's really very simple: Stay in touch. Be human. OK, here's another example: The week before Thanksgiving, I had a highly unusual story for one of my military publications. I had to write about jobs in a specific technology career and how military service people find opportunities in the civilian market place for that niche. I have to admit, I was daunted. So I went on LinkedIn and typed in a search for that specific job ... and voila! A list of opportunities showed up! With that, I could see which companies had the most prominent needs. I contacted those companies to find interviewees.<br />
<br />
One of the responders called after Thanksgiving, and by then, I'd actually completed all of my interviews. I explained to the PR person that because of the holiday and the tight deadline, I'd already finished the story, but I told him other opportunities might come up for other stories. Most PR people at that point would say thank you and hang up, but this person pressed me: What types of stories?<br />
<br />
Well, as a matter of fact, I had a new assignment that day. This one covered initiatives to recruit and retain wounded warriors. Would his company like to comment on anything they were doing in that arena? He said he'd get back to me.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, he called again ... and it turned out that he was shocked to discover that his company <i>didn't</i> have anything organized. He was chagrined and very apologetic.<br />
<br />
I tell ya what: This guy immediately goes to the top of my "favorites" list, because even though he couldn't help me with two stories, he tried so hard to be accommodating! From now on, every time I get an assignment that is related to job hunting, guess who I'm going to hit first to see if they want to participate?<br />
<br />
There's a third example: I've interviewed one particular expert for three different magazines in the past month. The reason is that he called one day just to discuss ways he could help me come up with story pitches. He wanted to find out about all of the magazines that use me regularly, and he wanted to be available to help develop ideas that would interest them. He had great suggestions, and if any of those pitches turn into assignments .... guess who gets the first call?<br />
<br />
Most people want a quick-and-easy way to form relationships with reporters. As you can see from these examples, they happen organically. In the age of social media, we don't necessarily cavort over cocktails at 5 or coffee klatches at the Chamber. We connect via Web portals, phone texts, emails, Facebook and LinkedIn posts and Twitter. That said, the importance of the quality of the connection can never be over-stated.<br />
<br />
Once the barrier is broken with me, I have no qualms about sharing personal stories with PR professionals about my child, my yoga practice, even my dog. Some people may say to me that it's inappropriate to be so open and friendly. But I'd assert that being this way leads to an enriching give-and-take and leads me to wonderful people who have amazing stories to share.<br />
<br />
And in this age of connectivity, isn't this type of connection what our work is all about?</div>
About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099393686914770479.post-80247563321144297942013-12-10T13:49:00.004-08:002013-12-10T13:53:13.843-08:00Eggnog and Yoga to the Writer's Rescue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tumbling through the front door, we cast a school backpack on a piano bench, kick shoes in wide-flung directions, shed bulky coats and drop car keys with a clatter on the kitchen counter.<br />
<br />
I grab stemware from a cupboard, open the refrigerator and spy what I desire -- a carton of eggnog -- and fill the glass with the sweet and cold liquid, topping it with a shake of nutmeg. <br />
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"Ahhhhhhhhhh," I sigh, staring out of the window at a winter blue sky, breathing deeply and savoring the seasonal drink.<br />
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Lately I have been steeping myself in these moments -- stolen snatches of peace and calm in the midst of chaos.<br />
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If you're a writer who works at home -- and if you also happen to be a single mom -- you already know that December brings with it too many distractions and interruptions. Time cannot be a wasted commodity, and each workday must be meticulously planned so that deadlines can be met while at the same time a child is provided for and Christmas gifts are sought.<br />
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However, this December is even more frenetic for me, because although I normally am signing with creativity and brimming with holiday enthusiasm .... I am zapped of all energy.<br />
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Two months ago I hit a very unexpected health crisis event. Although I have fully recovered and am back to my normal workload, my Muse has not caught up with the rest of me. While I charge ahead with bill-paying writing assignments and juggle "mommy duties," my desire for imaginative composition has been non-existent.<br />
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I feel flat, one-dimensional, boring, robotic.<br />
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If I were to follow my own advice, to pull out of this funk I would tell myself to suck it up and write what I love to write. In the past, this strategy has worked well and has fueled me enough to not only complete my magazine assignments, but also infuse my creativity.<br />
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But even now, I can't kick myself to the curb in that manner. I've been resigned and, quite frankly, have felt nothing short of pillaged.<br />
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That is until today.<br />
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Today, in a last-minute decision, I grabbed the latest edition of Yoga Journal magazine from my bedside as I raced to pick up my child from school. I figured I'd read it in the parking lot while I waited.<br />
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To the backdrop of British trumpeter Alison Balsom on my car CD player, I thumbed through each page .... and slowly started breathing again. <br />
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And I suddenly realized an important practice I had been overlooking since that harrowing hospitalization event -- that of self-care. Within 36 hours of my hospital release, I was writing and completing magazine assignments. I only stopped working long enough for the after effects of the surgical anesthesia to wear off, and I was right back to it.<br />
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What I have found is that in my yoga practice, I have had to force myself to slow down, even if it's just for an hour-and-a-half at my gym three times a week. I recently picked up a subscription to Yoga Journal, not because I wanted to write for this publication, but because I <i>needed </i>it. The articles are a balm for me. They don't only touch on yoga asanas (poses), but also cover everything from human compassion, to healthy eating, to finding your bliss.<br />
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As writers, and especially as American writers with our Puritanical mindsets, we have a tendency to convince ourselves that if we're reading it, we'd better be writing it, too.<br />
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But I've decided lately that <i>sometimes</i> it's really just fine to soak in the art of others and allow the words of others to strengthen us, solidify our thinking, firm up our sensibilities.<br />
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If you've hit a wall like I have recently, consider gravitating to something you love. It doesn't have to be something you read. But I have found that in my pursuit of yoga as an exercise and now as a mindset, focusing on this particular subject gives me a great deal of joy and satisfaction. Clouding that with the obligation to write about it would conversely take away from the purpose of appreciating it.<br />
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After my child exited the school and we rolled through the countryside of Kentucky's horse farms, I suddenly started noticing my surroundings, things I'd hypnotically ignored on the way in: the beauty of the animals in the fields, the sweeping arc of birds in flight, the purity of the sky's hue.<br />
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And as I stepped back into my home and cast off the trappings of a busy life -- school backpack and all -- I gingerly laid the magazine on the kitchen counter and thoroughly enjoyed that cold glass of eggnog. I sank in to the beauty of the afternoon and whispered a prayer of thanks for health, for my child, for my blessings.<br />
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"Writer's Block" is a phrase we kick around -- usually with a curse under our breath -- but I'd encourage you that next time you hit the wall like I have, dig deep to think about what you love. Then enjoy what you love. <i>Really enjoy</i> it. <br />
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Because it's only when we shun the obligation in favor of the joy that the real writing begins again.<br />
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About Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11750216202890211361noreply@blogger.com0