Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Sandy, Staying Sober: 12 step meetings in the dark, in the cold

His house was carried out to sea. It could be weeks before his business will be purring again.  But he didn't drink.  The group at the 12 step meeting in the dark, without heat agreed he had done the right thing: Not drink.  The rest of the whatever would take care of itself.

At the end of the 1930s, also a time of crisis, a stockbroker and a medical doctor created a 12 step program for those who had become dependent on alcohol.  Because they did millions of people who might have drank their way through Sandy didn't. 

Instead they showed up in parish halls, church basements, and nursery schools to join in the solidarity of those who decided, for that day, not to drink alcohol.

Miller Public Libarary: Hamden, CT "Third Place," post Sandy

On Wednesday when the Miller Public Library opened, after being closed since Saturday evening, just about everyone in Hamden, Connecticut parachuted in.

They brought their cell phones and laptops to recharge.  In many areas all electricity was out and it wasn't coming back on in the near future.  Others needed access to the Internet.  ISPs like AT&T and Comcast had disruptions in service.

Then there were those who wanted books, those print entities which cost over $20 in stores and, even purchased used from Amazon, cost a pretty penny because of shipping fees.  Some wanted to read THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, HARTFORD COURANT, and NEW HAVEN REGISTER.  And there were those who just wanted to hang out, the classic activity of "Third Places" in society.  They hook up with their friends on one of the several floors.  The second floor has been claimed by the chess players. 

Unlike other third places such as Barnes & Noble and Panera, there's no expectation of making a commercial transaction.  As the Beatles had put it, folks can just be.

THE NEW YORK TIMES' Watergate: What did Mark Thompson know, when

Allegations of child sex abuse are corrosive on the moral fiber of an institution. 

Just think back to when the BOSTON GLOBE broke the story of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.  Then there was the fall of Penn State from its iconic sports status when it was proved the Jerry Sandusky sexually abused boys. 

So, THE NEW YORK TIMES should be very cautious how it handles one it could inherit from the BBC.  Its incoming Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson has a cloud hanging over his head.  It was on his watch that the BBC killed a documentary about one of its retired performers Jimmy Savile who, when with the media company, might have abused children.  He is now dead.

What did Thompson know and when.  Inside and outside THE TIMES people want answers.  Meanwhile public relations firm Edelman has its London pro Ed Williams counseling Thompson, reports Odwyerpr.com.  Thompson is due to start his new job in the second week of November.  Williams will have to work fast.

 

New Jersey: Symbolism of home ownership, waterfront property lose their luster

Values are usually the last thing we let go off when forced to change.  So, we have to anticipate that post-Sandy, the residents of New Jersey aren't going to easily surrender their beliefs in home ownership and waterfront property.  Those had been practically unquestioned symbols of smart investments and success. 

Remember back in the 1980s when we emerged as The Professional Woman.  Sure, we might have worn those silly bow ties for supposed protective coloring.  But we frequently still believed that our performance in doing our jobs was what mattered.  It wasn't until we absorbed all the deconstructions of the corporate game by diverse experts like Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Deborah Tannen that we came of professional age.  We embraced game theory, its rules, and that some of us were better players than others.  The weaker would or should exit early.

Unlike home owners who may or may not have had flood insurance, renters at the Jersey shore and in Hudson County didn't have much at stake during Sandy.  Even if they didn't have renters insurance, how high could their losses tally out at?  Maybe leasing is wicked smart in this era of crazy weather patterns. 

The longing for waterfront property might have hardened into a ball of fear.  How long would it be until the next hurricane?  Maybe a dull inland habitat was the way to live.  Some of us would feel emotionally and even physically safer in a tent pitched in the woods.

The American Dream might have become putting together a life which doesn't entail so much worry.

 

The Sandy Museum: The only place for all the photos

Photos - like this one from THE NEW YORK POST - are capturing the uniqueness of the Sandy story.  Here we see a boat on the train tracks. Others showed rows of yellow cabs in a flooded parking lot.  Then there was the building without a front which was a dead ringer for how my doll house had been.

Surely, a philanthropist has to provide the funding for The Sandy Museum to house these photos.  It has to be located on the Northeast Corridor.  And it has to be constructed to hold up against even the worst hybrid storms. 

Sandy & Hudson County, New Jersey: For once it's not in the shadow of Manhattan

Hudson County, New Jersey is under water, just like parts of Manhattan.  But, as media stories go, it is not standing in the shadow of Manhattan. 

When I was growing up in Jersey City back in the 50s and 60s, there was not much to look up at or forward to but Manhattan. Here is my e-book on that time ( Download CUsersjasneDocumentsjg).  Then after a long fast downward trajectory, Jersey City became the Wall Street across the Hudson River.  Hoboken became a publishing capital.  Bayonne became an affordable place to live that was still near water.  Lots of folks in Manhattan began that reverse commute.  Some moved to the pricey high rises in downtown Jersey City. 

Gentrification has made Hudson County worth media attention.  The flooded streets, downed trees, and human despair are being covered with some of the same microscopic focus as the same enties in Manhattan.

Credit Score: Current status symbol

How's your credit score? (not waiting for an answer) Mine is in the 800s.  - Everyman, watching football game with acquaintances

No question, our credit score is very important. 

It can determine the interest rate of a mortgage or if we get that mortgage at all. 

Employers can knock us out of the box for a job because of it. 

And good luck being able to lease an apartment with a subpar score. 

Yet, for some peculiar reason a high score has become a status symbol.  The gushing about it started, at least in the circles I travel, about seven years ago.  The huge apartment complex - Briarwood, North Haven, Connecticut - I was living in was sold.  The new owners made it pet-free.  A Sophie's Choice was presented to us: Get rid of the pets or move.  We all decided to move. 

When we were frantically looking for apartments, the gushing started.  A young couple told everyone how the leasing agent at the Seymour, Connecticut complex said they had the highest credit score of anyone who had ever applied.  I was puzzled why in the world they would be proud of that. 

Now I know: It's a status symbol. In her book "Girl, Get Your Credit Straight!" financial coach Glinda Bridgforth talks about how much a high credit score is talked about.  She provides the anecdote of the man who became obsessed with raising his credit score.  Since it has become an important value it's surprising that more marketers don't play with the meme in their promotions for products, services, and causes not related to that at all.

Print, BabyBoomers/Silent Gen, Supply Chain Management & Sandy

.It was a disappointing day for Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation on the Northeast Corridor.  After being confined to digital reading during Sandy, we went out today to put our hands on print material.  We never considered the issue of supply chain management.  The trucks couldn't deliver THE NEW YORK TIMES and THE NEW YORKER from New York.

In Barnes and Noble in North Haven, Connecticut there were no publications fresh with the latest news.  Instead of latest THE NEW YORKER on the shelf, there was a hole.  In the deli on Eastern Street, New Haven, Connecticut, there was not one out of town publication.   No THE DAILY NEWS, No THE NEW YORK POST.  As I entered the store, long faces met me on the way out.  The neighborhood is filled with Baby Boomers like myself.  We look forward to the print newspaper in the morning.  This morning we were disappointed.

 

 

Connecticut Speechwriters: Trading best shot at business for less trauma

"When my husband and I moved from our apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to a large house surrounded by so many trees in Westport, Connecticut, we assumed that his speechwriting skills would still be in heavy demand.  All he had to do was jump on Metro North to confer with clients at the Fortune 100. That didn't happen.  Within a month in Westport, he had fallen off Manhattan's radar screen." - 50ish wife of once-prominent Manhattan freelance speechwriter

Few speechwriters believe that relocating from frantic Manhattan to sleepy Connecticut will deliver a hit to our business.  After all, we are a train ride away.  No big deal.  But it turns out that it is a big deal in the mindsets of those who make assignments.  In Manhattan trumps easy access to Manhattan.

Of course the more ambitious speechwriters among us have considered moving back to Manhattan.  Then comes Sandy and we get it why we left the Big Apple.  The bottom line is that daily life is easier on Connecticut.  Sure, there had been suffering here in Connecticut during Sandy.  But not like the ordeal those in Manhattan had endured. 

Actually, here in New Haven, Connecticut, with a terrific railroad within easy access of public transportation, power has not been affected.  Several times last evening the DSL line for my Internet connection, which is supplied by AT&T, flickered off several times. But soon enough it was back on. I won't be contacting the insurance company because my trusty Chevy was flood-damaged.  Yes, a few trees were knocked down.  But most are here this morning to continue to enjoy.

In the book "The Psychology of Wealth" by Charles Richards, the issue is raised: How do we define "wealth?"  Richards shows how various cultures such as Latinos in low income areas who can pay their bills see themselves as "wealthy."  To them, having enough translates into a sense of well being.

Most of us speechwriters in Connecticut have enough work.  Come to think of it, then, we are as wealthy as Donald Trump, as least according to our own definition.

Dave Letterman & Sandy: Is a joke a joke w/o laughter?

There is the existential question: Can a joke be a joke without the response of laughter?  That raises the issue of whether Dave Letterman, who performed his monologue without a live audience, really did perform.  Doesn't the five-day-a-week ritual require real time laughter?

NEW YORK Magazine examines this weighty matter, as well as providing a video excerpt of last night's show.