Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Purdue Pharma's Sackler Family - What kglobal Crisis Czar Gene Grabowski Observes

Brand equity is money. 

So, what the members of the Sackler family of Purdue Pharma could lose in the proposed settlement of the opioid lawsuits is not just a major chunk of their $13 billion fortune. 

In addition, as kglobal public affairs' crisis czar Gene Grabowski observes in SFGate, they could also lose their reputation as philanthropists.

That's pricey brand equity. It could take more than a generation to restore that aura of being do-gooders, notes Grabowski.

Grabowski's prediction of long-term damage may shock some.

After all, didn't "evil genius" lawyer in the Nixon Administration Chuck Colson manage to rebrand rather quickly? By time he emerged from prison he already had become a respected and inspirational spiritual healer.

However, Colson's "sin," - to leverage that old-fashioned concept - was different from the transgressions of the Sacklers. Not only have too many human beings died. Myriad others can't shake the addiction, costing society plenty while they do serial rehabs. Also, the epidemic has created orphans through states such as Ohio. 

Communities will have a long memory of their opioid-related suffering.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Perils of Time Travel

In The Wall Street Journal, Clare Ansberry features Sorority Sisters (Gamma Phi Beta) from Iowa State College's Class of 1956.

Through newsy but intimate letters they have continued sharing their lives. That closeness may be enviable in this era when loneliness is at epidemic rates. 

But, lots has changed since 1956. So much continues to change. That includes expectations about what constitutes a "friend."

In May 2014, I had an epiphany, the nightmare kind. As I recount in what became a heavily trafficked article (read here) I reached out to acquaintances and a former roommate from the Class of 1967 at what was then an all-women's Catholic College in an isolated rural area. 

I was unhinged by aging (how could I the kid from the mean streets of Jersey Cit, New Jersey get old?), the need to relocate from the pricey Manhattan Metro area, and the imperative of retrofitting my two boutiques for global telecommuting. I allowed email, phone, and in-person relationships to re-develop from the days when it was a very different time for women. The world has changed. They had changed. I had changed. 

The takeaway, at least for me, has been to move forward, not backward, in the search for the milk of human kindness (as Charles Dickens put, yes, I had been an English major).

And that's exactly what I am doing.

Surprising payoffs. At the end of last August I rented the dream apartment in this unusual residential complex in Toledo, Ohio. A lover of design, I would stand outside my next door neighbor's window, peeking through the blinds at her unique lamp. 

Yesterday, she gave it to me.

I begged her not to.

But she insisted.

I hammered that her son would probably want that lamp as a memory of her. She laughed. "He complains that I have given him more than enough memories for his small living quarters."

In exchange, I begged her to take a floor lamp I don't use which is a good fit for how her apartment is decorated and a shovel I don't need for snow removal. She liked that.

She and I can talk. That's a gift I never expected after the Disaster of May 2014. Time travel isn't necessary to find what we have determined in 2019 fills the criteria for "a friend."

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Jones Day - Is There a Bullseye on Its Back?

Law firm Jones Day may function as a black box.

But its association with the now-distressed Trump Administration has made it high profile.

During the 2016 presidential election, its partner Don McGahn represented the Make America Great campaign. Later he became top lawyer in the White House, bringing with him other former Jones Day partners. Currently, McGahn is back as a partner at Jones Day.

That unique positioning and packaging might have made Jones Day a target for lawsuits and rough treatment in the court of public opinion.

Among the ones it is battling is the unusual "Mark C. Savignac and Julia Sheketoff v. Jones Day" lawsuit.

 Here is a copy of that lawsuit.

The plaintiffs, a married couple, contend the law firm's paid parental leave policy discriminates against males. Both had been U.S. Supreme Court clerks and are representing themselves. Skeketoff had quit Jones Day and Savignac had been fired. 

Last Friday, Jones Day filed a motion to dismiss, as is covered by Law.com . And here is a copy of the motion.

Jones Day argues that the complaint's four grounds are w/o merit. Two of the points probably will get the most attention in the courts of law and the court of public opinion.

The plaintiff asserted that, in addition to the stated paid parental leave policy for birth parents, females can apply for eight more weeks of paid disability leave and males cannot. Jones Day says that the situation of the females who did give birth and the males who didn't is different. Should the males have had a heart attack in the delivery room they too could apply for additional paid leave time in alignment with the firm's short term disability policy.

Another point Jones Day makes is that it terminated Savignac not in retaliation. He had sent an email to the firm demanding 18 weeks paid leave. If he did not receive it he indicated that he would sue and make this internal matter public in the court of public opinion. Jones Day classified that as a type of extortion.  

On another front, Jones Day is the defendant in the class action gender discrimination lawsuit "Tolton et al. v. Jones Day." Here is a copy of that amended complaint. The plaintiff class is represented by law firm specializing in employment matters Sanford Heisler Sharp. 

If the Trump Administration collapses, the issue is this: Will Jones Day become more of a target, both in courts of law and courts of public opinion? To paraphrase the line in Shakespeare's "Henry IV Part 2, "Uneasy lies the head of those in the politics-related power." Yet, access to federal leadership is a major branding issue for law firms. According to Joe Patrice at Abovethelaw.com, Jones Day touted those ties to the Trump Administration as a kind of marketing tool.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

9/29/2019 - Whistleblower in Federal Protection, America's Institutions Paralyzed

Sunday probably will never again be embedded in the media mindset as a day of slow news.

Today, the Drudge Report, although conservative, brought back the flashing blue light for this development. And long-in-the-tooth "60 Minutes" glued America's eyeballs with its breaking news.

What that was all about is this: The Whistleblower, fearing for his or her life, currently is under federal protection. Here is the article the Drudge Report headline links to. Click it open and the video feed from "60 Minutes" begins playing. 

As the article and video feed kicks off time travel, we are reminded that this unraveling came into play last Tuesday. Power Democrat Nancy Pelosi announced there would begin an impeachment inquiry.

Those of a certain age lived through that. Institutions, ranging from government to universities whose faculty and students couldn't leave their TV screens, became paralyzed. It's predicted that, once again, that will happen. 

The inability to function could overtake those in the loop of Election 2020. 

The issue Man the Economic Animal frets about: Will this downsize GDP growth? And, what will the stock market open at Monday morning? 

Those near retirement are encountering new kinds of uncertainty.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Will #MeToo Give "Law & Order SVU" 22nd Season?

The 21st season of iconic "Law & Order SVU" is not off to a promising start.

The first episode was the second  ripped from the headlines play-out of the Harvey Weinstein allegations of sexual misconduct.

The plot for that one focused on an actual film producer.

The earlier one on an airline pilot.

In addition, the characterization of Olivia Benson was filled with excessive close-ups of empathy.

The ratings provide evidence that "Law & Order SVU" is off its game.

Overall, reports TV Series Finale, viewership for 9/26/2019 was down 24.61%. In the critical 18-45 demographic it had plunged 36.36%.

Ratings are important to those in the network TV loop. After all, that's how commercial space is sold.

The question is: Can this long-running series make it to a 22nd season?

On the one hand, the show is a sentimental favorite because the star Mariska Hargitay is involved in real life in being an advocate for rape victims. That was going on before #MeToo.

Also, although the #MeToo movement might have peaked and the issues can be overshadowed by the impeachment narrative, it still can influence decisions about TV programming.

On the other hand, viewers have other law enforcement teams to embrace by tuning in weekly. They range from "FBI" to "Chicago P.D." There can be a max on how much TV can be consumed. 

Also there is competition for attention from news analysis of impeachment, video games, and attending free seminars on how to protect the retirement nest egg in a downturn.

History demonstrates that when programming is off its game, the writers are forced to resort to bizarre plotting. We bore witness to that in the final days of "Desperate Housewives." 

Can "Law & Order SVU" put together a new game? That's always possible. Most of business owners do that more and more often. The actors on "Law & Order SVU" can push back against the lousy scripting and what the camera is panning and for how many seconds.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Impeachment Narrative, Blocking All Other Stories - Mother Teresa Who?

"SNL," along with Alec Baldwin, backbackback.

As the often critical Daily Mail salutes, the 45th season of up-and-down in the ratings and in the American heart "SNL" opened with a homerun.

The scripting and acting focused on the impeachment process resulting from the whistle blower complaint. The two main characters portrayed last night had been Donald Trump and Rudy Giulliani. Brilliantly, Baldwin, depicting Trump, captured the King Lear quality of self-pity. The U.S. president, under attack, perceived himself "harassed." That is, he saw himself as more sinned against than sinning.

In addition, late night talk shows also are working with great fresh material. The shift has been from naughty Trump-bashing to constitutional and world-affairs issues. 

American entertainment could be entering a new Golden Age of Comedy. Baby Boomers recall the genius of the creators and actors of old-line television ranging from "I Love Lucy" to "Mary Tyler Moore."  

That's one tribe. The other is the gravitas tribe. Members include politicos themselves such as Nancy Pelosi and those in the popular media like Matt Drudge.

Pelosi is center-stage. Every word, every facial gesture, and every bit of body language - all are open to comprehensive analysis and commentary. Humor has no place.

Already, Drudge is being closely observed for the amount of his conservative tabloid focused, surprisingly, on the impeachment issue. The last time he did that with The Intern it was to lash out at the liberals. Now Drudge has taken on the role of a type of Greek Chorus warning America what it is really into.

The raw reality of this kind of experience of impeachment is that it is siphoning off attention from everything from the candidates in Election 2020 to the corporation whose public relations in-house staff and outside agency are frantic because their news is being ignored. 

Impeachment is the story. When Princess Diana died, many weren't aware that Mother Teresa had also died six days afterward. Mother who? That brought home the way of the media world: There is only space for the story. And the ambitious media will stick with the story which attracts the most eyeballs, likes, shares, retweets, and shares. Diana's premature death remains a big story, one hovering over the new generations of royals. 

The challenge in fast-moving chaotic times is to understand what tribe you belong to. Most of legal media shouldn't be indulging in early-internet snark or more recent rant. And those on the comedy reservation have the unique shot at sustained fame and fortune. Use it or lose it.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

Understanding Clinical Depression as a "Chronic Disease"

In The New York Times Jill Harper M.D. classifies clinical depression as a chronic disease.

She provides the analogy of cancer.

Yes, like cancer, it could go into remission. Some remain depression-free.

And, yes, like cancer, it also could go out of remission.

Her husband's depression, which had triggered a serious suicide attempt, went into remission for two decades. Then it went out of remission. He took his own life. 

This perspective of depression as a chronic condition can be helpful to all hard-driving professionals. Entering that darkness seems to have become just another rite of passage. "Oh, I had a severe depression in ...."

Professionals may or may not receive treatment. More often they self-medicate through substance abuse and other self-defeating tactics.  

If they do receive treatment and later they find themselves slipping back into the darkness they might blame themselves. The cure should have held on, it is assumed. They must have done something wrong. The self-blame can worsen the mood disorder. 

It should be liberating to embrace that relapses back into depression can be part of the disease pattern. Instead of castigating themselves or being in denial, professionals can give themselves permission to seek out help - yet again. 

Full Disclosure: Beginning at age 11, I have struggled with clinical depression. The longest remission I've had kicked in during spring 2014. My hunch is that it's the result of relocating from the careerist New York Metro area, daily meditation, minimalism in lifestyle, and lots of aerobic activity. This week I'm donating my car to charity so that I will have less and walk more.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

E-Bikes - Eco + Wellness + Minimalism

Check the help-wanted on Craigslist

You will notice recruiting for jobs and projects related to promoting e-bikes, that is, the electric bicycle.

Those marketing initiatives range from special events for e-bike demos to planning the strategy for a social media campaign by a retailer.

Yesterday near a Lake Erie beach people gawked at the road as they heard the putt-putt from the e-bike motor.

Given that even one accident can double insurance rates (for those who didn't opt for the accident-forgiveness feature), some car owners in that pickle are considering this new transportation trend.

In many states the e-bike is legally classified as a bicycle. Therefore, it doesn't require traditional vehicle insurance and registration with the department of motor vehicles. Finally, those requiring a way to get from A to B can bypass both the auto insurance folks and those at DMV.

Essentially, the e-bike is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor. That can substitute for peddling. But peddling is still possible. For those who don't want to charge their battery so often, more peddling and less motor are recommended.

Obviously, all that is eco. And since it doesn't require a total peddling effort, it has a shot at catching on. Yes, eventually this could be the preferred way of commuting. Downtowns might not allow any other way. Millennials who love community layouts with neighborhoods for walking could push for that

Incidentally, there are foldable models that can be put in the car. Parking lots, much like the ones for car-sharing, could spring up close to urban areas. E-bike the rest of the way in. 

The health aspect is also obvious. Get out of that car and don't even board that bus or train. Make it your business to not rely entirely on the motor. Do some heavy-duty peddling. Check how many calories are consumed via an app. 

And there is the minimalistic cost. Yes, there are models which provide the sticker shock of $11,000.

But there are also myriad ones to choose from on Amazon such as the SwayCycle EB - 5 for $499.99. On retailers' websites, what are featured are e-bikes in the $1,500 to $3,000 range.

The how-much depends on what the e-bike will be used for on a regular basis. It's imperative to do your homework about your needs and how each kind of e-bike is equipped for those. Do that even before taking a spin at the bike shop. You have to be in touch with the fundamentals of e-biking.

In addition to the purchase price, though, there are other expenses. They include:

•  Charging the battery
•  Replacing the battery
•  Tuneups, about every six months
•  Patching tires
•  Heavy-duty lock
•  Helmet
• Special attire for cold weather
• Other accessories
• Property insurance (probably an add-on to renters' or homeowners').

You bet, there is risk of accidents. However, if the numbers of e-bikes on the roadways scale there will develop a consciousness among car drivers that e-bikes are a reality for road-sharing.  

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

Law Firm Specializing in Employment Issues - Sanford Heisler Sharp - Investigating Suicide at Facebook

On Friday, Facebook confirmed that the death of its employee at its Menlo Park, California headquarters a week earlier had been a suicide.

That announcement came after a protest had been conducted outside that headquarters. Here are more details from CNBC.

Meanwhile, the boutique law firm specializing in employment issues - Sanford Heisler Sharp - is conducting an investigation of the suicide.

It requests those with information to share it with the law firm. They should contact the law firm with that or with any questions or comments: Qiaojing Ella Zheng at qzheng@sanfordheisler.com or David Sanford at dsanford@sanfordheisler.com (415-795-2020).

Also, in respect for the family, SHS asks that the name of the decedent not be used in public statements. Here is SHS' positing on its website.

SHS' signature work has been in seeking justice for those employees who perceive themselves victims of discrimination of any type. Usually such alleged bias is a symptom of a toxic organizational culture. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Mergers Mean Redunancies - New York Media Employees Should Be Scared (so should those at Vox)

Before, during, and after mergers, employees at both entities are jittery about their job security. 

Mergers create redundancies.

Corporation X which mergers with Corporation Y only needs one investor relations department.

So, the decision-makers will likely cherry-pick the employees from the investor relations function at both companies who are a "keep." The rest will be cut. Yes, workers at both partners are vulnerable to losing their jobs.

So, employees, ranging from those in editorial to those in the business side, at New York Media should be worried. Vox Media has taken it over.

As New York Post reports, management at both New York Media and Vox Media assure employees that there will be no layoffs. All that means, though, is that there will be no immediate layoffs. Soon enough, initiatives for cost efficiencies will be announced. The ax will fall. That's the way the world of mergers works.

And cost efficiencies could also impact job security at Vox. After all, as NYU professor Scott Galloway, an expert on the internet, has observed: Globally, media isn't a growth business.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.