Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

In Grade School, We Put Gum in Their Hair

In a court in Oklahoma, the prosecution is arguing that Johnson & Johnson created a public nuisance.

That is what state attorney general Mike Hunter contends about its marketing practices for opioid type pharmaceuticals. Here is more on that.

Previously, public nuisance lawsuits have targeted industries ranging from tobacco to lead paint. Regarding the latter, Sherwin-Williams, represented by Jones Day, lost a big one on that in a bench trial in California. 

Now, the rage against extreme self-promotion on social networks and social media such as blogs should culminate in a public nuisance against the corporations owning those platforms.

Take LinkedIn, whose parent company is Microsoft. 

Everywhere on LinkedIn Updates are blurbs from X and Y how "excited" they are to be presenting a talk at conference so or so, participating in a panel at such and such a think tank, or having Harvard Business Review publish their article. In addition, LinkedIn Updates will flash a notice of that.

So what?

Who cares.

But, meanwhile, all that is annoying.

Yes, there is the option on social networks to unfollow or block. But, in the first place, should that kind of self-promotion even be allowed by law to exist?

In grade school, anyone that obnoxious would wind up with gum in their hair. 

What trips society up on filing a public nuisance lawsuit against excessive self-promoters is the 1st amendment. So maybe the notion of a lawsuit is off the table.

But there is the option of boycotting them and their organizations where they work. Let's not purchase search engine optimization services from that Everywhere Poster who is making a lot of noise but not creating any fresh value in business or any other institution in America. 

Let's take back the internet for information, insight, connection, and entertainment.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Daily Caller 1, AOC 0

Last week alt-right media outlet contacted AOC via Twitter. It was to dispute a comment she had made about the Green New Deal. 

In response, AOC blocked the Daily Caller from her Twitter account. 

That has brought on the long nights of the legal knives.

As BusinessInsider reports, legal experts on the 1st Amendment classify her action as unconstitutional.

In this time when social networks have become standard communications platforms, the courts have been making decisions how public officials must treat them.

Essentially, social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram constitute "virtual towns." Public servants, ranging from AOL to Donald Trump, have to treat them as public forums. No one can be excluded.

AOC's action could undermine her credibility. She should have known better. That she didn't or chose to ignore the law/protocol will be held against her. 

From the moment of the blocking on she could be perceived as sound and fury signifying not much, if anything as all. 

Yes, this is a serious matter.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Politicos Replace Lawyers as Media Celebrities - Will Applications to Law School Plummet, Again?

In his televised talk from the Department of Justice, Robert Mueller made much clear.

As the legal and political analysts quickly reported on his statement, there was no ambiguity.

The news items were that he was shutting down the office of the special counsel and he himself was returning to private life. As many know, he is 74 years old.

Also, if he had to appear before Congress he would not discuss anything beyond the scope of the report he issued. 

The legal and regulatory systems he was operating under did not allow for criminal charges to be filed against a sitting present. The actions of Donald Trump during Election 2016 were not assessed to be innocent. Rather there was not sufficient evidence to label them anything else.

The matter of Russian interference which investigated, he evaluated, to be a serious one and the American people should continue to pursue it.

In essence, based on Mueller's statement, the spotlight about any possible illegal behavior on the part of the current president shifts from the Department of Justice to the Congress.

Given that, U.S. House leader Nancy Pelosi might have to change her anti-impeachment position. It had been based on the assumption that Trump was a wounded candidate running for reelection. That's what should be used against him by the Democrats. Impeachment, which could fail in the U.S. Senate, could be a mere distraction.

Now the attention in the media will focus on Congress, not the legal system per se. 

The celebrities will no longer be lawyers but political experts.

Could applications to law school begin to plummet?

Instead, the best and brightest could seek out degrees and internships in political science. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Billionaires Before Congress, The Media, The End of Facebook (as we had known it)

How the narrative has changed.

The Facebook story had been one of global connection. Sort of the text/photo playout of the kids who wanted to give the world a Coke.

That was then.

Now, as Nick Bolton hammers in Vanity Fair, the narrative has shifted to diatribes about fake news, digital addiction, and data privacy breaches. 

The current question is: What or who can bring down Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg?

For a while it was assumed that Congress would move in on him. His poor public speaking skills would signal to Congress, when he testified, that he was vulnerable. So, go after him. But, no, Zuckerberg reskilled in that competence niche. Call off the dogs.

Now the focus for ousting Zuckerberg and dismantling his empire has shifted to those who helped build the social network. They range from Chris Hughes to Nick Krieger. Facebook made them very wealthy. They have the resources, analogous to a rich plaintiff, to keep at it until the adversary gives up. 

Bolton recommends that they roll on Facebook and reveal all to Congress in a public way. Of course, there will be plenty of media.

It could happen, and quickly, companies will be afraid to advertise on Facebook.

Wholesome citizens will pull their pages down.

Parents will forbid their children from posting on Instagram, which Facebook owns.

In capitalism, you direct the Invisible Hand to aim for your adversary's source of revenue. Punch at it hard and keep punching.

Harvard Business School has an elective - Reimagining Capitalism.

An enterprising HBS professor with a conscience can launch another elective - Reimagining the Social Network. Guest lecturers could be Hughes, et al.

Cartoonists could depict Zuckerberg being tarred and feathered, then fleeing town.

And, never again, if we search the internet for apartments in Mobile, Alabama will, pronto, ads for them pop up on the social network. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Displaced Editorial Types - Don't Turn Your Nose Up at Executive Ghostwriting as Your Next

So far this year, 2,700 people have lost their jobs in media.

The cuts range from 250 at Vice Media to 100 at CNN. Here BusinessInsider details the carnage.

There will be many more positions eliminated. As New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway documents, globally media is a zero-sum growth business.

Given the influence and power of media, it's difficult for those knocked out of that box to find another box - at least one they're comfortable in.

For example, there could be major resistance in considering executive ghostwriting as The Next.

That's unfortunate.

In-house or as a freelance ghostwriter who has brandname clients, ghostwriting can be intellectually stimulating. It pays well. And it can be a heady experience to jet around with the movers and shakers in a variety of sectors.

But, those with a background in hands-on media usually balk if they have to take on the voice and point of view of someone else.

After all, their previous jobs were done through their own identity.

Their own names appeared on their work. There are fewer experiences more satisfying than seeing one's byline on a piece being talked about. 

And, sure there is an editor. But essentially media types can chase their own stories.

Another reason former media types could turn their noses up at ghostwriting is this: the ethics.

In some ways, is having someone's name being posted on their writing as lowlifeish as being the brain who takes the test for the rich kid? That's the way some view ghostwriting.

Well, for those open to another kind of career path, here are 5 tips on how to break into ghostwriting:

Pay attention to how leaders position and package themselves. If you are able to simulate that, you will be golden. The biggest compliment a client can give a ghostwriter is: That sounds just like me.

In your pitch letters, indicate that ability as your edge. Provide an example, even if it's made up. Yes, say explicitly that you created it to demonstrate your mirroring skills.

For instance, create a fake 800-word blog post by a known entity such as Nancy Pelosi or Jeff Bezos.

Volunteer. During campaigns, politicos are always turning out opinion-editorials, blog posts, reports, podcasts, and more. Redo your resume to indicate you can take on other voices and stances on issues.

Swing by the campaign headquarters in your area. If necessary, start out answering the phone. 

In itself, political experience is very marketable. Some employers scan a resume looking for just that.

Answer help-wanted ads for ghostwriters which pay peanuts. The demand for quality will be low. Again, redo your resume.

You will gain experience and be building your portfolio. You are your portfolio.

Study up on what memoirs are about. Pitch that service for a low cost. One market for that is the aging segment. Frequently their family asks them to capture their memories in a book. The simple version of that is an e-book you can knock off on Word or PowerPoint. 

Eventually you can raise your fees. This is the era of the memoir.

Network with ghostwriters. They like to talk about what they do and how they move on to better work. Listen. You'll learn plenty. They may subcontract out assignments to you.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

New Magazine Titles Like "Happy Paws" Can Bring Profits to "a declining industry at its darkest hour"

Once glam, most of the old-line print magazine industry is on life support.

The leadership at major magazine publisher Meredith has been making ruthless decisions about pulling the plug on dying titles like Time.

Simultaneously it is launching new titles with promise such as "Happy Paws."

Pet parents dote on their four-footed children. And the content isn't tied into the news cycle, so it isn't competing with so much of the digital native media outlets. 

In The Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Trachtenberg describes the overall business as "a declining industry at its darkest hour."

Since 2014, across the industry ad pages have been down 38%.

Newsstand sales are way down.

And, online, many with a print legacy just haven't found their footing. From the get-go, digital natives like BusinessInsider got exactly right the topics, tone, organization of content, and pacing the demographics which mattered - youth - wanted. 

Meredith is banking on turning itself around through non-newsy. In addition to pets, it is putting out there lifestyle coverage such as food and celebrities. It will also provide live events. And, of course, there is licensing. 

But digital natives are struggling too.

Gawker went bankrupt by pushing the envelope on outrageous too far. Hulk Hogan was taking none of that and venture capitalist Peter Thiel funded the iconic "Hogan v. Gawker."

Meanwhile, not too long ago, 1,000 were laid off at cool digital native titles such as BuzzFeed, AOL, Yahoo, and HuffPost. Here are the details.

The financial problems in the magazine industry industry, along with the collapse of the newspaper business, have created a glut of editorial talent.

Just about every large metro area, which used to be the setting for big names in publishing, has evolved into the scene of necessary career transition.

Some have found refuge in public relations - if they can make the shift to a marketing mindset. Not all can. 

Others have made clean breaks and retrained in fields ranging from web design to physical therapy.

Those having the worse ordeal are the aging. In the book "Disrupted," former Newsweek journalist Dan Lyons recounts how, at 50-something, he received that tap on the shoulder. He was out.

His disabled wife and young twins needed health insurance. He grabbed a nutty job at a startup. The book ends with the end of that job and his next gig at Gawker. We all know what happened at Gawker. 

In just about every line of work, the aging are in a pickle. Here is a poignant video about the ongoing struggle of an older professional in Manhattan. And here, free to click on, is my e-book on ways around age bias to bring in income Download Outwitting ageism.

Of course there are pockets of sustained profitability in publishing.

At the top of the list is the conservative Drudge Report. It has scaled from the time it broke the story of The Intern, that is the Clinton-Lewinsky caper.

Along the way the Drudge Report has made all the smart moves such as toning down the rabid alt-right tone. It also ditched its signature flashing blue light to signal very important news.

With the Dow plunging today, there are renewed fears of the recession coming sooner than later. Part of that angst is that it will be severe. The ability to find, hold, and move on to better work will be in play - especially in what used to be old-line print media. Having work has already become the new status symbol for older professionals.

Career coaching for those over-50.  Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Michael Avenatti - Vanity Fair Chronicles Typical Tale of Why/How Lawyers Go Rogue

"During the interview, [Michael] Avenatti cried on four separate occasions, including when he talked about the call he made to his mother after he was arrested." - From Vanity Fair article "I Flew Too Close To The Sun," by Emily Jane Fox, May 21, 2019. Here is that article.

Always, Michael Avenatti has been his own media strategist. His attorney advised him against giving an extensive interview to Vanity Fair journalist Emily Jane Fox. But he did it any way.

What results from that interview is a narrative so common among lawyers who fall from grace. Avenatti started out as a talented lawyer who did have success and who knew how to promote it in the media to generate more success.

An example was the $454 million verdict he won against Kimberly-Clark. The matter was defective surgical gowns which could expose medical personnel to contaminated blood. The universe was smiling on him. It was the time of the Ebola epidemic. 

But success mutated into the platform on which he created a lifestyle he couldn't afford. Some of that resulted from the usual culprit: multiple divorces.

He needed more and more money. That's the way it goes with lawyers.

One way to go after that was his alleged shakedown of Nike about the allegation that it paid high school basketball players. That led to the arrest he alluded to in the interview. There was another arrest for allegedly stealing from individuals and institutions. 

There was also the rage. Anyone who has worked for lawyers knows the short fuse many have. Avenatti's temper triggered the other arrest for a supposed domestic incident. 

Yet another typical part of the story is the compulsion to operate on the edge. Obviously, the grim lesson is: The odds are the lawyers will topple over it.

If Avenatti's objective in giving the interview was to attract empathy, he probably succeeded. Stuffed into the long narrative is the reference to some trauma at age 12. Perhaps that rewired his brain and he was the programmed for self-destruction. 

The takeaway for lawyers is how easy it is to transform strengths into tragic flaws.

Somewhere along the journey someone who had loved and cared about Avenatti could have helped him save himself from himself. He could have simply stopped. But he didn't. He crossed those lines beyond which there was no return.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Influencer Marketing - Big (and getting bigger), Volatile, Smirks about F.T.C. Guidelines

Anna Wintour, watch out.

On Instagram, there are kid influencers in the fashion space who have greater reach and influence than establishment media players such as the Vogue crowd.

I first found out about their youth and power from a communications colleague who's an adjunct professor at Manhattan universities.

Some of his undergraduate students are well-compensated influencers on all kinds of social networks.

The irony, though, is that they remain part of the Anxious Generation, who fall into despair if they are not receiving all "A" grades.

In Vanity Fair, Hannah Freedman captures the essentials of influencer marketing.

It's big and getting bigger all the time.

The volatility is extreme, with the following vanishing immediately during a controversy.

And both the influencers and those paying for the influence frequently ignore F.T.C. guidelines. In many ways, the space remains the wild wild west.

Much of the influence marketing is happening in fashion and beauty. After all, even third-wave feminists might admit: The Beautiful People have an edge. Those who can't get a hang about being as attractive as possible can even be sidelined. The Look is everything.

There is less activity in other sectors.

Since 2005, when I was an blogging early adopter, I have been analyzing trends in the legal industry here. Public relations firms whose clients are in litigation and vendors to law firms pay me to post sponsored content. 

However, my presence online primarily serves as a tool for developing new business. Of course, those who want to survive and scale have to be there.

That's time consuming. It's ego deflating to observe who's receiving all the likes, shares, and comments. And it's necessary to pick up on changing digital stylistics and reimagine how we post. But that's the way it is. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Innovation Game & The Painful Next: From Ted Turner to David Lat

They build something that disrupts the media industry. 

The innovation works.

The experience is totally heady, with great influence. After all, it's said that media - not government, business or even technology - is the most powerful force in civilization. 

Then they sell that media outlet or simply move on to try out another role. What could play out next could be labeled The Media Innovator's Dilemma. 

For creator of 24/7 cable television news - Ted Turner - there was no next after he sold CNN.  He became just another businessperson whose former outsized presence went poof. Publicly, he indicated he regretted the sale. From then on, Turner seemed in mourning. And for a while, CNN's ratings plummeted. 

In the niche - legal media - the innovator had been creator of Abovehthelaw (ATL) David Lat. That began in 2006.

Officially he has left that role and become what is really a salesperson's job at headhunting firm Lateral Link. Its playing field is the legal sector.

Of course, that also constitutes a shift from being the boss to being an employee.

So far, Lat seems not to be able to totally let go of the legacy. He posts on ATL. It's in connection with his current headhunting  role, leveraging the aura of the innovation in hopes of developing new business. But, still, a clean break might have signaled amazing confidence in what is next.

As an employee, Lat won't be in charge. Instead he had to get the hang of fitting in to someone else's organizational culture. That's challenging.

In more rigid times in business, corporate employers hesitated hiring former entrepreneurs. They were wary that the transition might be impossible. That was the time of the Organizational Man (and Woman).

Since then, of course, careers paths have become less linear. More founders are parachuting into organizational functions. 

At best Lat could become a thought leader in the world of career strategies in the legal industry.

That's different than being a presence in media.

In his current role, his success depends on body count: How many placements he can make. Yeah, it's business, not mission of changing how news and commentary are positioned and packaged. The organization measures success in terms of that business metric. Either you make the sale or you don't make the sale. The game is binary. 

Lat could succeed at being a headhunter. He could adjust to employee status. He could also make more money than he had in media. But gone with his choice to give up ATL is the unique influence he had.

Media is the loudest voice in just about every context. That "loudest voice" is how journalist Gabriel Sherman summed up Fox News founder Roger Ailes. Here that book can be ordered from Amazon. According to some reports, after being ousted from Fox, Ailes was conferring with deep pockets such as Peter Thiel, who funded "Hogan v. Gawker," to fund launching a competitor to Fox. No, Ailes didn't plan to get a job in someone else's media outlet. 

Also, there is the issue if ATL, like CNN, will shift into a downward trajectory after the founder leaves. Part of the innovator's genius is a good head for the business of media. Are those business smarts embedded in ATL? The ATL DNA was Lat's genetic engineering. 

My hunch is that Lat could have moderate success in the headhunting space. But it's the media innovator's dilemma not to be able to make peace with the decline in influence.

Meanwhile, it would be shrewd reputation management for Lat to let go of ATL, in rebranding himself as a leader in executive search. Turner seemed incapable of that kind of reimagining his professional identity.

As for ATL, the niche of legal media seems ripe for another innovation. It could or could not come from the folks at ATL. A severe downturn can create demand for a fresh kind of analysis and presentation of issues. 

Full Disclosure: Since the late 1980s, I have been an entrepreneur. There I found extreme success versus organizational life. Recently I had a negative experience with Lateral Link. 

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Salon Never Got the Hang of Business

Cool, it turned out, wasn't enough.

As Wrap reports, the Salon Media Group has agreed to be sold for peanuts - $5 million. Launched in 1999, the digital media outlet was an influencer. It attracted talented content-providers. And it was an honor to have it link to your blogs.

However, it couldn't pull off the business end. In fact, in 2017, Politico outed that it had been unprofitable. How it kept the lights on was through the regular cash infusions from deep pockets John Warnock and Bill Hambrecht. 

In contrast, Nick Denton at Gawker and David Lat at Abovethelaw knew how to generate revenue. 

The identity of the buyer is secret, at this time. If the deal doesn't go through, Salon indicates it will have to file for bankruptcy. 

One wonders if Conde Nast, the publishing empire which dates back to print days, will also have to put the whole enchilada up for sale. Its ethos had been total cool. But, like Salon Media Group, during the past few years it has been getting the business side of being an opinion-shaper very wrong.

Exactly the right tone and content for all your communications. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.