Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Early August 2019 - The World's Extreme Need for a Scapegoat

Last weekend much changed in the dynamics of Election 2020.

As the world knows and is being continually reminded by the international media, there were 2 massacres. One was in El Paso, Texas and the other in Dayton, Ohio. 

The Greenwich Times, based on the Gold Coast of Connecticut, reports the raw individualist U.S. president Donald Trump has been calling around, asking for advice on gun control. A particular issue has been the Manchin-Toomey bill. That would require extensive background checks before a gun purchase.

That puts a sitting president running for reelection in a pickle. On the one hand, polls show that about 9 out 10 Americans support strict gun control. On the other hand, the powerful NRA and many of Trump's deep-pocketed closest allies don't.

Political observers predict the Manchin-Toomey bill won't pass. However, Trump has the option of gun reform through executive order.

Obviously, he has lost his sure footing in leading and navigating current politics. If there are additional massacres he could become increasingly rattled - and vulnerable.

Another variable affecting his supreme confidence is the economy. No one knows what will play out. 

Already there is a term out there: The Trump Crash. That refers right now to the plunges the Dow has been taking. However, it could be extended to a global downturn. Conflicts over trade could, as the expression goes, bring the whole thing down. Trumpism could be the scapegoat.

This phase of the Trump Administration could be summed up as The Great Unraveling. 

From ancient civilization, societies needed scapegoats.

Around the world, they might have found exactly the right one for the times: Donald Trump. That will include all the Trumpettes, present and former, linked by biology and by alliances.

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ABC's David Muir - America's Comforter-in-Chief

Over and over again, ABC's David Muir has stepped into the soul of the two massacres.

In person, he comforted the survivors.

On television, he reached us in our trauma and seemed to reassure us that there would be a tomorrow. 

Of course, he has help with the role of America's Comforter-in-Chief. Those behind the scenes at ABC are doing an awesome job of putting together the broadcasts over the last few days. 

Tonight, ABC honored, with names and photos, those who died in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. That was, of course, so touching. But, also, in terms of broadcast, it was brilliant staging.

Thank you, David, and your team for being there for us during such a painful time in American history.

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Tricky First-Person Narrator - "Beautiful Bad" By Annie Ward

Now and then, a murder episode from true-life "Dateline" will actually be provocative.

Mostly we are used to the last 10 minutes when law enforcement pins the murder on the spouse (usually the husband) and a jury convicts. One departure from that had been the episode about the wife in Canada who got off in a bench trial. She had shot her husband dead while both were hunting. She went on to live her life quietly, enjoying the husband's life insurance. 

Well, to spice programming up, "Dateline" might borrow from fiction.

Ideal could be March 2019 novel "Beautiful Bad" by Annie Ward. The story line focuses on one-time scholar/global travel writer Maddie, the best friend Jo she meets in the Balkans, the man she also meets overseas "body guard" Ian whom she marries, and the child Charlie they produce.

SPOILER ALERT

The narrative, a common technique currently, is told from several points of view.

In this particular book, a device used is the tricky first-person story-teller. For many pages Maddie deceives the reader, just as she deceives her psychotherapist and so many others. A neurologist might explain that aberrant behavior as a result of traumatic brain injury she suffered in a water accident as a child. That can change a personality. And, a defense lawyer, if Maddie were to be tried for murder, might leverage that as a mitigating factor.

Well, murder Ian Maddie does, with the help of Jo. They stage it as necessary to save Jo's life when a supposedly psychotic Ian is in the process of strangling that best friend. Like many on "Dateline," Maddie opts not to get a divorce. 

Initially the two get off the hook. Soon enough Maddie is doing what she always wanted to do - travel with Charlie. It's then that the local law enforcement in Kansas, led by detective Diane, begin to question the two women's stories. Meanwhile, to protect herself, Maddie murders Jo brutally while swimming. The chapter describes the screams and the blood. 

But, of course, crime probably does not pay. Maddie assumes she had done all she has done to create a wonderful full life for Charlie.

However, her escalating drinking could cause her to neglect Charlie. He could die in an accident, be kidnapped, or simply wander away on his own and not be able to find his way back.

Also, she probably doesn't know how to totally conceal her identity overseas. Ian would have known how to do that. So the long arm of the law might catch up to her. Charlie would be turned over to her parents or Ian's brother John.

The story, even for readers who know the ending, provides an amazing experience. A takeaway might be: Trust no one.

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Showtime's "Loudest Voice in the Room" Episode 6 - Roger Starts Making Mistakes

It's a cliché: Power players believe their own public relations. And, of course, that sets in motion the collapse of their career. 

In Episode 6 of Showtime's "The Loudest Voice in the Room," the camera pans on Roger Ailes making mistakes. As we tune into the beginning of what will be The Great Unraveling we question whether Ailes consulted his personal public relations counselor Bob Dilenschneider. 

For example, did Ailes ask Dilenschneider about the optics and possible ramifications of firing Gretchen Carlson? As the world knows, that decision provided a tipping point in the push-back against his alleged sexual misconduct. 

In addition, why didn't the appropriately paranoid Ailes (after all, broadcast media's a land of Machiavellianism and sharp elbows) factor in that the discontents at Fox, such as Carlson, might be taping him?

Even in mediocre television crime series the bad guys demand electronic devices not be brought into the room. There are also inspections for wires. Ailes wasn't covering all bases.

Another dumb move was taking on the big boss Rupert Murdoch. Episode 6 indicates that Ailes was bullish on having Donald Trump elected U.S. president, Murdoch not so much so. Such a conflict likely distracted and drained Ailes. The oldest rule in business and politics is: Choose your battles.

What "The Loudest Voice in the Room" is uncovering is that Ailes wasn't the "genius" he had been positioned and packaged by public relations to be. Actually, he was not very smart in making the enemies he did and not anticipating their counter moves. 

The example of this fall from power could motivate other empire builders to be lower profile, more cautious, and focus on raising their Emotional IQ. 

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Woody Allen Belongs on "The View," Not in Court

Like too many professionals who have suffered a career setback, Woody Allen went to court. 

He filed the lawsuit "Gravier Productions v. Amazon." In it he alleged that Amazon illegally cancelled their agreement on four movies. He requests $68 million.

That hasn't panned out as he expected. His marketability had decreased in the U.S. since he made negative remarks about the #MeToo Movement and the Farrow family resurrected contentions about child molestation. In Europe, his career is holding up.

As Law.com reports, U.S. District judge Denise Cote of the Southern District in the Southern District of New York threw out most of the complaint. Here is that ruling. 

Essentially, the judge found the Allen must demonstrate legally that Amazon wrongly cancelled agreements for specific movies. This, of course, narrows the scope of the lawsuit and makes it more difficult to prove. 

Allen is represented by a legal team at Quinn Emanuel. 

This legal setback throws more shade on Allen. And that can harden public opinion against him in the U.S. His problem essentially stems from an error of judgment he made decades ago. 

For a man who supposedly understands human nature, he created a "scorned-woman" situation with his former long-term romantic partner Mia Farrow. He took up with her adopted daughter. That decision seems fraught with self-destructiveness. After all, with his fame and wealth, Allen could have developed a loving sexual relationship with so many other women. More importantly, he could have terminated his relationship with Farrow in a way that for her would have been less humiliating. 

In a sense those in the U.S. are punishing Allen, indirectly, for a crime of the heart that there was no need of committing. Funny, also this throws shade on psychotherapy. Didn't this issue of potential self-destructiveness come up in those myriad talk sessions which are part of Allen's signature?

Allen's career in the U.S. might be saved by his humble admission of what motivated him decades ago to do what he did in his personal life. That could take the form of a formal public relations campaign. Yes, he must appear on "The View."

Takeaway: Filing a lawsuit can be an expensive and non-productive strategy to turn around a career.

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Showtime's "The Loudest Voice in the Room" Episode 5 - Beginning of the End

The end doesn't just happen. 

In most situations, there is plenty leading up to a career crash, the arrest, loss of brand equity, and/or a suicide.

The 5th episode of Showtime's "The Loudest Voice in the Room" puts out there clear signs that Roger Ailes' power was going to be in play. The year is 2012. In July 2016, Ailes resigned from the conservative news empire he had created.

One question that should be bouncing around the public relations community is this: Did Ailes' personal public relations representative Bob Dilenschneider pick up on these developments, flag Ailes, and was he heard? Isn't part of the mission of public relations to save myopic human beings from themselves?

In the 5th episode there is the start of The Great Unraveling. 

•  Joe Lindsley, who had received Ailes' power bear hug, begins to wonder about the work he is doing.
•  Journalist Gabriel Sherman knows he has the story of a lifetime and is digging hard for the facts and interviews. What he comes up with is the basis for the Showtime 8-episode series.
•  Alleged long-suffering employee Gretchen Carlson has the ah-ha moments that she can push back, even against a power like Ailes. 

If there had been the analogue of a Greek Chorus at Fox, the members would have chanted: Beware, Roger. The gods are becoming angry. 

Reflection: Given Ailes' amazing fall, should every power player install a Greek Chorus in the organization? The terms and conditions of the members' contract would be that, no matter what, they cannot be terminated. Let 'em tell it as they see it. 

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The Nation Didn't Watch the Same Robert Mueller Testimony - At Least, Not According to Partisan Media

Today's testimony by Robert Mueller was a phenomenon out of the classic Japanese film "Rashomon." That movie's meme was the extreme subjectivity of perception. 

The conservative media, ranging from the Drudge Report to the New York Post, assessed Mueller's presentation as that of a doddering old fool. 

The liberal media was positive, of course. 

And the smart producers of "ABC Evening News" let the video do the reporting. There was no position taken. 

After these kinds of radically different evaluations of Mueller's performance one wonders if the nation should split in two. Bring the lawyers in to divide up what states conservatives get and what states liberals do. And that will be that. There will be no more united states of America.

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NY Victims of Revenge Porn 1+, Internet 0

Revenge porn is nothing new. A rerun of "Chicago P.D." chronicled how a supposed knight in shining armor offed the poster of a friend's suggestive photos. The woman had stopped going to school and was suicidal. 

What is new happened today.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that would give the victims the right to a court order to remove the photos from the internet. New York is the first state to enact that remedy. And it is a gigantic push-back step against industries associated with the internet. 

In addition, as the New York Post details, there are these provisions:

Classification of crime as Class A Misdemeanor

Jail Time

Possible Fine.

 

This law defines "revenge porn" as unauthorized or unwanted "dissemination or publication of an intimate image" that would cause emotional, financial or physical harm."

Of course, as with all law, there can be ambiguity.

Two romantic partners can jointly decide to share the physical beauty of one of them with a circle of friends. There are postings on the internet. Then the relationship sours. One accuses the other of revenge porn.  Can that be proved? And can this law serve for supposed victim to get a court order to remove the photos from the internet?

Over and over, the television series "Dateline" hammers how fragile love relationships are. Wisdom dictates no-posting of intimate photos.

In itself, this one law could cement Cuomo's legacy as a progressive leader. 

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Showtime's "The Loudest Voice in the Room," Episode 4 - Vampire Moves

Vampire.

That might be the best way to describe Roger Ailes. And that comes through in the 4th episode of the Showtime series "The Loudest Voice in the Room."

Essentially The Ailes Move seems to have been to take human beings and suck out their sense of self.

Those range from his mistress Laurie Luhn to editor in chief of his Hudson Valley newspaper Joe Lindsley.

One wonders if his long-time personal public relations representative Bob Dilenschneider was a possible enabler in this or, like so many in the Ailes loop, a victim. 

The sucking activity might have been in part just a compulsive need to control and in part what was required to create a conservative media empire.

Of course, Ailes wasn't unique in adopting this kind of process. Subtract the sex addiction, and Steve Jobs might also fit the vampire description. 

What vampires are so good at is sizing up people. They know exactly what will motivate those human beings to turn themselves over to the predator. 

That ability, though, could result in their downfall. In the end Ailes became overconfident. He probably didn't pick up that subordinate Gretchen Carlson had any sense of self left after years associated with Ailes.

Since this Showtime series has exposed myriad power tactics one wonders if some of them won't work well any more. For example, in the job interview, if the head guy or woman seems like a vampire, applicants will know to run the other way.

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A Workplace Divided, Careers in Play - "Torre, et al. v. Charter Communications"

On June 19, 2019, five middle-aged female employees filed a gender/age bias lawsuit "Roma Torre, et al. v. Charter Communications." Here is a copy of that complaint. 

Their ages range from 40 to 61.

All five are still working at the cable channel NY1.  And, that's the rub. Here are more details from the New York Post.

Essentially, the troops at NY1 have broken into factions.

Some support the plaintiffs. They give high-fives.

Others perceive them in negative terms, labeling them as everything from jealous to looking for a fat settlement. 

And there are those who just feel fear. They don't like this kind of tension at a job they want to make it their business to hold onto. Broadcast represents glamour. 

Overall, the organizational culture at NY1 had been shifting from one not welcoming "sharp elbows" to highly competitive. Also a star system has allegedly evolved. The plaintiffs view as unfair that Pat Kiernan keeps receiving perks others don't. In addition, his supposed temper tantrums have been tolerated by the powers that be. 

Of course, the side-taking extends beyond the organization. That could damage NY1. Advertisers, viewers, and talent can flee. That can happen quickly. It could take lots longer to do reputation restoration. 

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs face being blackballed in their industry.

In Silicon Valley, after Ellen Pao filed her gender bias lawsuit against former employer Kkeiner Perkins, her employment prospects dried up. The job she did land was at Reddit and she couldn't hold onto it. The jury acquitted her employer.

That losing lawsuit and Pao's professional life since should be an object lesson about the risks of suing one's former or current employer.

Vanity Fair reports on women who were on the front lines of #MeToo who claim to have become victims of retaliation. Their employment prospects had also dried up. In addition, many who sued didn't wind up with lucrative settlements as had former Fox employee Gretchen Carlson. 

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