Now I know why I never quite made it to mega million CEO status. It wasn’t because my eyes glaze over when I see numbers. Or because I don’t own the requisite tailored black suit. Or even because I am heedlessly aggressive rather than the more P.C. “assertive” -- as well as being totally lacking in basic political smarts.
All that and more could have been overcome as I rocketed into the fast lane. But now I know I was missing a vital link that could have spun my dross into solid gold.
What was my fatal flaw? Are you ready? I never had an executive coach! I never even knew they existed until I heard one speak recently at a networking session. And I certainly never knew that executive coaches are a top manager’s secret weapon. The “dirty little secret”, as this practitioner put it, of the corporate world. All the really successful corporate officers have one, she said. Really.
An executive coach, it seems, is not a mentor. Everyone (how déclassé!) has one of those. An executive coach is someone who understands the corporate jungle because he or she has survived and prospered in it. An executive coach is an objective advisor who is not connected with your old company or your new company. Someone you pay by the hour or the day or on retainer to be there to interpret your every hiccup. Who rehearses that big job interview with you. Or deconstructs that crucial meeting before it happens. Or even dresses you for success. You can have this totally honest relationship with your executive coach because he won’t go running to anyone else in your company and tell on you because he isn’t part of your company.
Has an executive search firm come calling lately? Well don’t worry. It’s apt to have an executive coach ready to help you get that top job -- and to help you make a smooth transition into the new corporate culture. He or she will even stand behind you for as long as 6 months -- ready to nudge or even shove you in the right direction! But after that, apparently, you’re on your own. With his or her parting words – and I quote - “Always have an exit strategy because how you loose a job is often more important than how you win a job”. Right.
As I said earlier, now I know why I never climbed the success ladder high enough for the Securities and Exchange Commission to slap me with a corporate indictment. On the other hand, maybe the top officers of - say - Enron, World Com or Health South didn’t know about executive coaches either because they certainly could have used an exit strategy. Several of them.
I’ve never had an exit strategy – unless it was to wear padding because the door kept hitting me on the way out. But I at least can still collect unemployment. Kind of tough to make that weekly phone call to insist you’ve been looking for work… when you’re in jail.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Ode to Ed Bradley
Ed, I apologize. I didn’t go to your memorial service today. I thought about it. A lot. Half of me wanted to go to pay you tribute. The other half – the sad, shy, lost half – said no. And truthfully I have attended too many memorial services and funerals these past years. For colleagues, friends, and most of all – family. Like yours, most memorial services (including the one for my father) are supposed to be ‘celebrations of life”. But the reality is – even as we laugh at the funny, sweet stories -- they are being told only because their subject is no longer in the room. In any room.
It has always seemed strange to me to laugh at someone’s funeral. And don’t let anyone tell you differently; a memorial service is still a funeral. Just look at yours today – which through the good offices of CBS News (the switched camera feed) and C-SPAN I was able to watch as I tried to work here at home. It was hard enough to listen to your friends and family say goodbye to you. In words so intimate and so full of grief I sometimes felt outsiders like me and many of those sitting in Riverside Church shouldn’t be hearing them.
But it was some of the music that really did me in. Wynton Marsalis marching up the aisle – New Orleans style – playing a plaintive blues. And at the end – “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” (or just “The Saints” as I grew up hearing it called) -- courtesy of a real New Orleans jazz band walking through the aisles. After the minister explained the tradition, the church was a sea of waving white handkerchiefs as your mourners waved your spirit up to heaven.
It was a three hanky memorial, Ed. But unlike those Saturday afternoon B-movies I grew up with – yours was an A+ life. Our paths crossed so briefly. Two dates when we were both young – and then again in the hallways when we had both made it to the pinnacle of our dreams – CBS News. You – always the consummate gentleman – insisted you remembered those dates. But I’m sure you didn’t. I was just another in a long string of girls – until you finally found the woman who became your wife.
But you were not just another guy. I remember you asking when you called after mutual friends fixed us up. “You know,” you said, “I’m black.” “So?” I said. I had grown up in a big city – an underaged kid hanging out at the slightly open stage door of a storied jazz club – worshiping the great musicians who occasionally smiled at me as they finished their sets. I dreamed of playing drums and when Louis Armstrong’s drummer showed me how to play basic time, I don’t think his first thought was “Gee, this girl’s white”.
But on that first date – both of us well dressed in business clothes – I found out what all those years of hanging with jazz musicians didn’t tell me. I found out what it really meant to be black. Even in Manhattan. We were cutting through a theater district parking lot, this handsome, educated, sophisticated man and I, when a middle aged man yelled out “Boy! Get my car!” I wanted to scream and yell and punch him out but Ed only smiled and said “Forget it”. And we walked on. I never forgot the lesson Ed. I never forgot my feeling of being violated. And I never forgot how you just put it aside as you must have put aside many similar slings and arrows – and kept your focus on the prize – your life as you planned to live it.
Probably no one will read this. It’s on my blog but no one knows how to get here. But nothing written down is ever truly lost. It’s from my heart, Ed, not the kind of polished prose I try to put here. But I wanted you to know. As you go on into that other existence, that other world whatever it is, where none of us can follow.
You made a difference, Ed. Not just be being Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes. That too of course. But a difference to that 20-something girl so long ago. A difference I have tried to remember in my life and my career. I think what you taught me is something as simple as respect. And although I haven’t always respected everyone and everything on this earth – I really do try.
It’s not a bad legacy, Ed. To add to the huge legacy you left the rest of the world.
It has always seemed strange to me to laugh at someone’s funeral. And don’t let anyone tell you differently; a memorial service is still a funeral. Just look at yours today – which through the good offices of CBS News (the switched camera feed) and C-SPAN I was able to watch as I tried to work here at home. It was hard enough to listen to your friends and family say goodbye to you. In words so intimate and so full of grief I sometimes felt outsiders like me and many of those sitting in Riverside Church shouldn’t be hearing them.
But it was some of the music that really did me in. Wynton Marsalis marching up the aisle – New Orleans style – playing a plaintive blues. And at the end – “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In” (or just “The Saints” as I grew up hearing it called) -- courtesy of a real New Orleans jazz band walking through the aisles. After the minister explained the tradition, the church was a sea of waving white handkerchiefs as your mourners waved your spirit up to heaven.
It was a three hanky memorial, Ed. But unlike those Saturday afternoon B-movies I grew up with – yours was an A+ life. Our paths crossed so briefly. Two dates when we were both young – and then again in the hallways when we had both made it to the pinnacle of our dreams – CBS News. You – always the consummate gentleman – insisted you remembered those dates. But I’m sure you didn’t. I was just another in a long string of girls – until you finally found the woman who became your wife.
But you were not just another guy. I remember you asking when you called after mutual friends fixed us up. “You know,” you said, “I’m black.” “So?” I said. I had grown up in a big city – an underaged kid hanging out at the slightly open stage door of a storied jazz club – worshiping the great musicians who occasionally smiled at me as they finished their sets. I dreamed of playing drums and when Louis Armstrong’s drummer showed me how to play basic time, I don’t think his first thought was “Gee, this girl’s white”.
But on that first date – both of us well dressed in business clothes – I found out what all those years of hanging with jazz musicians didn’t tell me. I found out what it really meant to be black. Even in Manhattan. We were cutting through a theater district parking lot, this handsome, educated, sophisticated man and I, when a middle aged man yelled out “Boy! Get my car!” I wanted to scream and yell and punch him out but Ed only smiled and said “Forget it”. And we walked on. I never forgot the lesson Ed. I never forgot my feeling of being violated. And I never forgot how you just put it aside as you must have put aside many similar slings and arrows – and kept your focus on the prize – your life as you planned to live it.
Probably no one will read this. It’s on my blog but no one knows how to get here. But nothing written down is ever truly lost. It’s from my heart, Ed, not the kind of polished prose I try to put here. But I wanted you to know. As you go on into that other existence, that other world whatever it is, where none of us can follow.
You made a difference, Ed. Not just be being Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes. That too of course. But a difference to that 20-something girl so long ago. A difference I have tried to remember in my life and my career. I think what you taught me is something as simple as respect. And although I haven’t always respected everyone and everything on this earth – I really do try.
It’s not a bad legacy, Ed. To add to the huge legacy you left the rest of the world.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
We Are NOT Going Quietly Into the Night!
If Ben Bernanke – the Federal Reserve Chairman – says it – then you know the impending retirement of the 78 million baby boomers in theUS is a real economic problem. Like many other economists -- Bernanke worries about Medicare and Social Security – programs he warns will be unsustainable when the boomer wave breaks over them.
But wait. Who says the boomers are actually going to retire? Survey after survey finds the bulk of boomers plans to keep on working -- many full time. The latest study -- from the Pew Research Center -- reports 77 percent of today’s workers will keep at it ---not just because they need the money but because they want the stimulation. And baby boomers are a huge, 40 percent slice of the current workforce.
They’re also a group which has famously spent its way through life. Which means little or no savings –when planners say to retire at 65 you’ll need enough money for at least another 18 years. At the boomer level of living – that’s a long time without a paycheck.
So get used to it Gen X, Y and Z. There won’t be much room at the top – until, perhaps, you hit the big 6-5.
But wait. Who says the boomers are actually going to retire? Survey after survey finds the bulk of boomers plans to keep on working -- many full time. The latest study -- from the Pew Research Center -- reports 77 percent of today’s workers will keep at it ---not just because they need the money but because they want the stimulation. And baby boomers are a huge, 40 percent slice of the current workforce.
They’re also a group which has famously spent its way through life. Which means little or no savings –when planners say to retire at 65 you’ll need enough money for at least another 18 years. At the boomer level of living – that’s a long time without a paycheck.
So get used to it Gen X, Y and Z. There won’t be much room at the top – until, perhaps, you hit the big 6-5.
Is There a Four Letter Word for "Functional"?
“You’re functional, right?” he said. “What?” “Functional”. I just looked at him. This doctor who had written a book about knees, Who was supposed to help mine. Functional! Sure it functions and so do I. I can walk and do most everyday things. I guess that’s functional to an average couch potato. But I was a marathoner. 28 finished … a few more not quite. I was a hiker – Mt. Washington and some of the other White Mountains. I skied (poorly). And tap danced (sort of). And never turned down an assignment because it was physically taxing.
Functional! A knee in this state is not my idea of functional!
Oh but he must have looked at my birth date. Old. Not worth saving. Perfectly functional for someone her age; what does she expect anyhow? She’s just another knee replacement candidate. Functional indeed.
Well damn-dumb-doctor-with-your-10-minutes-for-nearly-$400-no-insurance-accepted -- “functional” isn’t good enough for me. How dare you throw me away like your trash with a word like “functional”?
I have more energy than you do; I learn more new information each day; I drive a racing car at 50 on the 25 mph curves. I function all right. Like someone half my age. And you want to take all that away from me and lump me in with fat old ladies who are “functional” if they can get themselves a cup of tea without spilling it.
How dare you!
Ok. I’m a journalist. Let’s try to be fair. You didn’t actually say it. You just implied that because I’m not 25 or 35 my knee -- and I – don’t matter. But once before – when I was just 40 and struggling with my first major athletic catastrophe – another doctor did say it. Bluntly. “You’re over 40”, he intoned. “You don’t need that ACL. You’re never going to be an athlete.” Only the fact that I was interviewing him in the studio of a major radio network kept me from decking the man. And I have often wished I could find him again so I could take all my 28 marathon medals – and all the others from various shorter road races – and swing them – all together – hard. Against his thick head.
Functional indeed.
Functional! A knee in this state is not my idea of functional!
Oh but he must have looked at my birth date. Old. Not worth saving. Perfectly functional for someone her age; what does she expect anyhow? She’s just another knee replacement candidate. Functional indeed.
Well damn-dumb-doctor-with-your-10-minutes-for-nearly-$400-no-insurance-accepted -- “functional” isn’t good enough for me. How dare you throw me away like your trash with a word like “functional”?
I have more energy than you do; I learn more new information each day; I drive a racing car at 50 on the 25 mph curves. I function all right. Like someone half my age. And you want to take all that away from me and lump me in with fat old ladies who are “functional” if they can get themselves a cup of tea without spilling it.
How dare you!
Ok. I’m a journalist. Let’s try to be fair. You didn’t actually say it. You just implied that because I’m not 25 or 35 my knee -- and I – don’t matter. But once before – when I was just 40 and struggling with my first major athletic catastrophe – another doctor did say it. Bluntly. “You’re over 40”, he intoned. “You don’t need that ACL. You’re never going to be an athlete.” Only the fact that I was interviewing him in the studio of a major radio network kept me from decking the man. And I have often wished I could find him again so I could take all my 28 marathon medals – and all the others from various shorter road races – and swing them – all together – hard. Against his thick head.
Functional indeed.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Dream On!
The electric car is dead, right? Sony is distributing a documentary this summer that painstakingly details the car's murder at the hands of GM and the like. But apparently the film's director never heard of a little motor car company in California called Tesla Motors whose chief investors include Google guys Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Why Tesla? Well -- Nikola Tesla pioneered modern electrical engineering. And his namesake car company has juunveiledled its sole product -- a 100 percent electric sports car.
The Tesla roadster demo car is bright red. With Lotus- designed styling that rivals the legendary Corvette and a zero to 60 profile to match -- four seconds. Its makers claim it gets the equivalent of a hundred 35 miles a gallon with its lithium-ion batteries -- the same kind used in most laptop computers.
A few drawbacks. You will have to charge the roadster every two hundred 50 miles. And if you order one -- figure on paying at least 90 thousand bucks for it.
Why Tesla? Well -- Nikola Tesla pioneered modern electrical engineering. And his namesake car company has juunveiledled its sole product -- a 100 percent electric sports car.
The Tesla roadster demo car is bright red. With Lotus- designed styling that rivals the legendary Corvette and a zero to 60 profile to match -- four seconds. Its makers claim it gets the equivalent of a hundred 35 miles a gallon with its lithium-ion batteries -- the same kind used in most laptop computers.
A few drawbacks. You will have to charge the roadster every two hundred 50 miles. And if you order one -- figure on paying at least 90 thousand bucks for it.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
When Worlds Collide: Freedom vs. Religion
This week a bunch of European newspapers published a set of Danish cartoons satirizing Islam’s Prophet Mohammad as a terrorist. The cartoons had been floating around since September when a tiny Danish newspaper gave them a platform. But their wider dissemination across much of the Western world outraged ultra-religious Muslims who have rioted and protested and demanded apologies. And now our State Department has barged into the controversy – essentially saying freedom of religion trumps freedom of speech.
As a broadcast journalist, I find this a difficult issue. I feel very, very strongly about press freedom and freedom of speech. I also feel very, very strongly that we long ago crossed over into PC-land in the US -- which doesn't help foster understanding among differing cultures. But I am not sure what the purpose of publishing the cartoons was -- simply to lampoon? Or to insult? Or were the editors just basically heedless of the tempest that might be triggered? There are such problems surrounding the growing Muslim population in Europe that without living there -- I hesitate to pass judgment.
Major dailies here have NOT printed the cartoons, preferring to talk around them.
ABC in its evening news story showed them – but not in great detail. NBC and CBS told staffers it was network policy NOT to show the cartoons.
This issue I don’t find difficult. Once something becomes a story -- it needs to be fully vetted. And pictures are what TV does. I'm for letting it all hang out, as it were, for a true and honest discussion of issues. Covering up the truth – be that in words or pictures – is never the way to settle differences. But from a network/publisher standpoint I would imagine this was more about fear of boycotts or worse rather than a true editorial judgment.
As for the State Department jumping in -- well we all know the Bush Administration doesn't exactly love and respect a free press. Plus the Administration is desperate to dispel Muslim hatred for the US. Since we can't just pull out of Iraq and say it was all a mistake, sorry for the death and destruction and for unleashing the genie from the bottle --- we are trying the propaganda method (remember the US payments to the Iraqi news organizations to publish favorable stories written by the US military).
These are not easy issues. There are many nuances that need to be debated – calmly and rationally. Like so many big issues today -- there are more shades of gray than black and white.
As a broadcast journalist, I find this a difficult issue. I feel very, very strongly about press freedom and freedom of speech. I also feel very, very strongly that we long ago crossed over into PC-land in the US -- which doesn't help foster understanding among differing cultures. But I am not sure what the purpose of publishing the cartoons was -- simply to lampoon? Or to insult? Or were the editors just basically heedless of the tempest that might be triggered? There are such problems surrounding the growing Muslim population in Europe that without living there -- I hesitate to pass judgment.
Major dailies here have NOT printed the cartoons, preferring to talk around them.
ABC in its evening news story showed them – but not in great detail. NBC and CBS told staffers it was network policy NOT to show the cartoons.
This issue I don’t find difficult. Once something becomes a story -- it needs to be fully vetted. And pictures are what TV does. I'm for letting it all hang out, as it were, for a true and honest discussion of issues. Covering up the truth – be that in words or pictures – is never the way to settle differences. But from a network/publisher standpoint I would imagine this was more about fear of boycotts or worse rather than a true editorial judgment.
As for the State Department jumping in -- well we all know the Bush Administration doesn't exactly love and respect a free press. Plus the Administration is desperate to dispel Muslim hatred for the US. Since we can't just pull out of Iraq and say it was all a mistake, sorry for the death and destruction and for unleashing the genie from the bottle --- we are trying the propaganda method (remember the US payments to the Iraqi news organizations to publish favorable stories written by the US military).
These are not easy issues. There are many nuances that need to be debated – calmly and rationally. Like so many big issues today -- there are more shades of gray than black and white.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Alito, Democracy, Freedom, Privacy, America
So it’s now Associate Justice Samuel Alito. What will become of my America now?
What will become of the checks and balances the founding fathers (mothers were considered chattel in the “good old days”) so carefully constructed in the Constitution? That very same Constitution Alito and his fellow strict constructionists profess to revere? The current White House occupant has stretched the concept of the Imperial Presidency to its zenith; President Bush obviously thinks can do anything he wants to do – just as long as he can tie it – however tenuously – to national security, the war on terror, al-Qaeda. And a newly right-tilting Supreme Court is unlikely to tighten the leash on even this runaway Presidency especially if Alito – who has upheld executive branch power in his lower court rulings – becomes the deciding vote.
And what of privacy in a world where the White House thinks it can eavesdrop on any American’s phone conversation without court permission – just on some low level operative’s suspicion there may be an insipient terrorist supporter on the other end. Next will be e-mail; the Bush Administration has already asked the FCC to force internet providers to build the equivalent of wiretapping code into their software. The Justice Department has already demanded search companies turn over millions of websites scanned by users – a demand only Google is resisting. This time our names are stripped off the searches; next time they won’t be.
And oh yes --- there’s that other privacy issue. A woman’s right to control her own body. Otherwise known as Roe v. Wade. Will we be forced back to the future --- and have only dangerous back street abortions again or desperate, botched wire hanger attempts in our bloody bathrooms?
Is this the America I signed up for? Stop the world; I want to get off.
What will become of the checks and balances the founding fathers (mothers were considered chattel in the “good old days”) so carefully constructed in the Constitution? That very same Constitution Alito and his fellow strict constructionists profess to revere? The current White House occupant has stretched the concept of the Imperial Presidency to its zenith; President Bush obviously thinks can do anything he wants to do – just as long as he can tie it – however tenuously – to national security, the war on terror, al-Qaeda. And a newly right-tilting Supreme Court is unlikely to tighten the leash on even this runaway Presidency especially if Alito – who has upheld executive branch power in his lower court rulings – becomes the deciding vote.
And what of privacy in a world where the White House thinks it can eavesdrop on any American’s phone conversation without court permission – just on some low level operative’s suspicion there may be an insipient terrorist supporter on the other end. Next will be e-mail; the Bush Administration has already asked the FCC to force internet providers to build the equivalent of wiretapping code into their software. The Justice Department has already demanded search companies turn over millions of websites scanned by users – a demand only Google is resisting. This time our names are stripped off the searches; next time they won’t be.
And oh yes --- there’s that other privacy issue. A woman’s right to control her own body. Otherwise known as Roe v. Wade. Will we be forced back to the future --- and have only dangerous back street abortions again or desperate, botched wire hanger attempts in our bloody bathrooms?
Is this the America I signed up for? Stop the world; I want to get off.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
You Can't Google This
In a way Google has become a synonym for everything the internet can offer. How many times a day do you say “I’ll just Google it” when you need to know something, anything? I’ll bet Gen Y-ers don’t even know that “to Google” isn’t really a legitimate verb.
So what’s going on with Google? First – the California search company resists a Justice Department subpoena for tons of web search data. And then it complies with China’s censors and deploys a stripped-down search engine for Chinese web surfers that won’t pull up sites devoted to human rights, or freedom of speech, or even sex.
Google of course isn’t the only company kowtowing to China. The continuing accommodation of ALL companies to China's communist government is extremely worrisome to free speech advocates. Companies are so desperate for China's business -- because of the market's size -- it seems they are willing to do almost anything to get it.
It is particularly ironic that Google was the only search company in the US to resist DOJ's subpoena for search results (with names stripped out) -- an admirable stance at a time when the Bush administration wants to get its hands on more and more personal information. And it seems rather inconsistent -- until you look at Google’s stock price. It went down on resistance in the US last week -- and up yesterday morning on the prospect of more Chinese business.
Since the short term focus of the big investors and hedge funds drives almost all business decisions these days --- you can see where all this is heading. Right to a world where the really important things in life like human rights and free speech will be blithely jettisoned -- when and if they get in the way of making more money! Just my not-so-humble opinion.
So what’s going on with Google? First – the California search company resists a Justice Department subpoena for tons of web search data. And then it complies with China’s censors and deploys a stripped-down search engine for Chinese web surfers that won’t pull up sites devoted to human rights, or freedom of speech, or even sex.
Google of course isn’t the only company kowtowing to China. The continuing accommodation of ALL companies to China's communist government is extremely worrisome to free speech advocates. Companies are so desperate for China's business -- because of the market's size -- it seems they are willing to do almost anything to get it.
It is particularly ironic that Google was the only search company in the US to resist DOJ's subpoena for search results (with names stripped out) -- an admirable stance at a time when the Bush administration wants to get its hands on more and more personal information. And it seems rather inconsistent -- until you look at Google’s stock price. It went down on resistance in the US last week -- and up yesterday morning on the prospect of more Chinese business.
Since the short term focus of the big investors and hedge funds drives almost all business decisions these days --- you can see where all this is heading. Right to a world where the really important things in life like human rights and free speech will be blithely jettisoned -- when and if they get in the way of making more money! Just my not-so-humble opinion.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Lament for Aaron Brown
Sometimes I feel like I’m in the middle of a Greek tragedy. Oh I haven’t killed my husband or my mother – nothing like that. I mean it more in a figurative sense --- as I watch my past and my present – but probably not my future – self destruct.
I’m talking about the traditional news media – specifically radio and TV news. The professional world I have loved all these years as a reporter and anchor and producer. So OK - what else is new? There are columns and blogs and watercooler discussions that start off this way all the time – have been for years now. But this time I’m not talking in broad generalities. This lament was triggered by a very personal sense of loss -- after the CNN bell tolled for Aaron Brown. I have watched his program at 10PM Eastern for years -- and totally appreciated his adult way of dissecting the big news of the day (and sometimes the little stories as well) -- and putting some non-ideological spin on matters that needed that experienced raised eyebrow.
I wonder if the numbers CNN raves about after Anderson Cooper was added to the broadcast were for Cooper -- or just because the last few months have had so many big stories -- tragedy after tragedy, the White House follies, the Supreme Court nominations. Or maybe some of both.
CNN - like so many other news organizations -is fixated on somehow changing the way news is disseminated -- in a desperate attempt to lure younger viewers. The plain truth is this group of 20 somethings is NEVER going to watch TV as its parents do. And if anyone really remembers what it was like to be young -- he or she will also recall a total disinterest in hard news -- except for earthshaking events. News awareness comes when you get responsibilities -- when your life might be impacted by news events or politics. And that's with or without the internet and the wirelessly connected Gen Y-ers.
Aaron Brown ran a grown-up newscast. With a dollop of fun and sarcasm thrown in for relief. Yes - he's a bit quirky. But for goodness sake -- what is Anderson Cooper? His reports from the hurricane-damaged sites were wonderful and involved and emotional -- all the things a good reporter in those situations should be. But when you transfer that kind of stumbling conversational approach to the anchor desk -- especially for a supposed newscast of record at the end of the day -- it goes beyond quirky.
Perhaps there is room for both kinds of approaches in news; after all what news should NOT be is all the same -- that cookie cutter approach we see in so many consultant-driven local newscasts. But to tell Aaron Brown there is no place for him at CNN anymore -- that really tells his audience how little "news" matters there -- and how much it's become all about something else -- even beyond the bottom line which drives all news organizations now. What exactly that "something" is -- I don't know. But it sure isn't about doing the best newscast you can do.
I’m talking about the traditional news media – specifically radio and TV news. The professional world I have loved all these years as a reporter and anchor and producer. So OK - what else is new? There are columns and blogs and watercooler discussions that start off this way all the time – have been for years now. But this time I’m not talking in broad generalities. This lament was triggered by a very personal sense of loss -- after the CNN bell tolled for Aaron Brown. I have watched his program at 10PM Eastern for years -- and totally appreciated his adult way of dissecting the big news of the day (and sometimes the little stories as well) -- and putting some non-ideological spin on matters that needed that experienced raised eyebrow.
I wonder if the numbers CNN raves about after Anderson Cooper was added to the broadcast were for Cooper -- or just because the last few months have had so many big stories -- tragedy after tragedy, the White House follies, the Supreme Court nominations. Or maybe some of both.
CNN - like so many other news organizations -is fixated on somehow changing the way news is disseminated -- in a desperate attempt to lure younger viewers. The plain truth is this group of 20 somethings is NEVER going to watch TV as its parents do. And if anyone really remembers what it was like to be young -- he or she will also recall a total disinterest in hard news -- except for earthshaking events. News awareness comes when you get responsibilities -- when your life might be impacted by news events or politics. And that's with or without the internet and the wirelessly connected Gen Y-ers.
Aaron Brown ran a grown-up newscast. With a dollop of fun and sarcasm thrown in for relief. Yes - he's a bit quirky. But for goodness sake -- what is Anderson Cooper? His reports from the hurricane-damaged sites were wonderful and involved and emotional -- all the things a good reporter in those situations should be. But when you transfer that kind of stumbling conversational approach to the anchor desk -- especially for a supposed newscast of record at the end of the day -- it goes beyond quirky.
Perhaps there is room for both kinds of approaches in news; after all what news should NOT be is all the same -- that cookie cutter approach we see in so many consultant-driven local newscasts. But to tell Aaron Brown there is no place for him at CNN anymore -- that really tells his audience how little "news" matters there -- and how much it's become all about something else -- even beyond the bottom line which drives all news organizations now. What exactly that "something" is -- I don't know. But it sure isn't about doing the best newscast you can do.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
A Dollar And A Dream
Hey – you never know! All you need is a dollar and a dream! You gotta be in it to win it! I guess you know what I’m writing about ---those huge, juicy lottery jackpots with Broadway marquee numbers that seem to suck you right in – as well as your dollar or five or ten.
OK. I know gambling is addictive. And probably foolish. What are the odds for winning the latest $340 million Powerball jackpot? One in 146,107,962? As the TV anchors are fond of saying – you’re more likely to be hit by a tornado. Or see three albino deer!
But actually winning isn’t why most of us buy those big-payoff lottery tickets. It’s the dream. It’s leaving your work-a-day life behind – even for just a few moments – and slipping into some other dimension. Ask the people in line for tickets about their dreams ---- and they’re usually modest. A new car for Mom. A better house in a better neighborhood. A cruise. Money for a favorite charity. Maybe quitting a boring job. Seldom does anyone talk about buying the Yankees and – finally – putting George Steinbrenner out to pasture. Or even buying that tropical island and the ocean-going yacht to get there.
Most of us don’t really know how to dream that big. We wouldn’t even be comfortable in that gothic castle in Scotland – shouting “Heathcliff!” as we slog through the heather on the hill. We just want a step up from our current lives. A little sparkle to sprinkle on dull normality. And $340 mil could certainly buy enough sparkle to last a little while…..
But big or little --- everyone has some kind of a dream. And hey – you never know.
OK. I know gambling is addictive. And probably foolish. What are the odds for winning the latest $340 million Powerball jackpot? One in 146,107,962? As the TV anchors are fond of saying – you’re more likely to be hit by a tornado. Or see three albino deer!
But actually winning isn’t why most of us buy those big-payoff lottery tickets. It’s the dream. It’s leaving your work-a-day life behind – even for just a few moments – and slipping into some other dimension. Ask the people in line for tickets about their dreams ---- and they’re usually modest. A new car for Mom. A better house in a better neighborhood. A cruise. Money for a favorite charity. Maybe quitting a boring job. Seldom does anyone talk about buying the Yankees and – finally – putting George Steinbrenner out to pasture. Or even buying that tropical island and the ocean-going yacht to get there.
Most of us don’t really know how to dream that big. We wouldn’t even be comfortable in that gothic castle in Scotland – shouting “Heathcliff!” as we slog through the heather on the hill. We just want a step up from our current lives. A little sparkle to sprinkle on dull normality. And $340 mil could certainly buy enough sparkle to last a little while…..
But big or little --- everyone has some kind of a dream. And hey – you never know.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
What Do Women Want?
I recently got an e-mail from a high school friend whom I thought did it all right. Still married to the same guy, four grown kids, a successful small business, active in her community. She was our Senior Prom Queen too. What could be better?
So imagine my surprise when she wrote she sometimes feels like an alien among the women in her world -- the ladies who lunch. When she both lunches and manages.
Which just goes to show no one’s life is as good – or as bad – as we imagine.
My friend said it’s not only the women in her world who don’t understand her – but the men as well. Men who are more comfortable with the stereotypical and predictable.
So where does that leave me? The one who has always been different? Oh sure – I too was once a teenager-lemming- wanna-be. But I never quite fit in – and eventually I grew up and learned to be comfortable just being “me”.
I probably could have been a lot more successful if I had been more like other women -- with an “I’m no threat to anyone” attitude. What is that old saying – you catch more flies with honey? Ah well. I was more into red hot chili peppers. So I and others like me fought hard for the rights of all women to be equal to men socially and professionally. And for awhile it seemed to be working for all of us. There were even men comfortable enough with themselves to be comfortable with us. I am still married to one of them.
But unfortunately today's educated younger women don’t seem to care at all about their rights – except for the one that lets them chuck it all and stay home with their kids while their husbands work 16 hour days. Deja vue all over again. 50’s redux.
A recent New York Times article was eye-opening. It quoted the best and the brightest Yalies talking about their goals: working for a few years, having kids and then staying home. Probably permanently.
Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood
Someone ought to warn them that doors tend to close if someone doesn't prop them open. Someone ought to warn them that husbands sometimes lose their jobs and marriages sometimes shatter into divorce, abuse, illness or death. Leaving the wife and mom to make her way as best she can in the real world she so cavalierly left behind.
Strangely – it was my mother who told me all these things. My pampered mother – who somehow found a way to survive in a man’s world and was determined her daughter would be able to do it better.
So imagine my surprise when she wrote she sometimes feels like an alien among the women in her world -- the ladies who lunch. When she both lunches and manages.
Which just goes to show no one’s life is as good – or as bad – as we imagine.
My friend said it’s not only the women in her world who don’t understand her – but the men as well. Men who are more comfortable with the stereotypical and predictable.
So where does that leave me? The one who has always been different? Oh sure – I too was once a teenager-lemming- wanna-be. But I never quite fit in – and eventually I grew up and learned to be comfortable just being “me”.
I probably could have been a lot more successful if I had been more like other women -- with an “I’m no threat to anyone” attitude. What is that old saying – you catch more flies with honey? Ah well. I was more into red hot chili peppers. So I and others like me fought hard for the rights of all women to be equal to men socially and professionally. And for awhile it seemed to be working for all of us. There were even men comfortable enough with themselves to be comfortable with us. I am still married to one of them.
But unfortunately today's educated younger women don’t seem to care at all about their rights – except for the one that lets them chuck it all and stay home with their kids while their husbands work 16 hour days. Deja vue all over again. 50’s redux.
A recent New York Times article was eye-opening. It quoted the best and the brightest Yalies talking about their goals: working for a few years, having kids and then staying home. Probably permanently.
Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood
Someone ought to warn them that doors tend to close if someone doesn't prop them open. Someone ought to warn them that husbands sometimes lose their jobs and marriages sometimes shatter into divorce, abuse, illness or death. Leaving the wife and mom to make her way as best she can in the real world she so cavalierly left behind.
Strangely – it was my mother who told me all these things. My pampered mother – who somehow found a way to survive in a man’s world and was determined her daughter would be able to do it better.
Friday, September 30, 2005
A Katrina Lesson
Last weekend my suburban New Jersey town organized a Katrina fund raiser. I read about it in my local newspaper or I wouldn't even have known -- since only people with schoolkids ever seem to know anything that goes on in my town.
Over the years I've seldom seen my town really come together. In fact it isn't really a town in the traditional sense, having been lopped off a neighboring town in the '20's and named for the wealthy owner of what became a gated luxury housing development. Instead of a "Main Street" there's a shopping mall or three. If it weren't for the 4th of July fireworks and the Fire Department pancake breakfasts --- you would be hard-pressed to find any sense of shared community.
But last Saturday was all about shared community, about coming together to share our community with others. The woman who organized the day-long event could have been a professional event planner. Everything worked. Right down to the "Katrina dollars" used to buy food and other offerings -- so that real money would be handled by only a few trained volunteers. And I'm told the town made a lot of that real money -- to funnel to the hurricane victims.
There were probably fund raisers like this all over the country. It's the American way of responding to disasters -- a warmth and generosity that unites red and blue states and can still make me proud to be an American -- even when so much else has gone so very wrong.
I grew up in a big city. When my husband and I moved to this place of trees and rocks and black bears we were chasing the small town dream. And finally - last Saturday - we found that dream -- and the town we had hoped to live in all along.
It's too bad it took a horrendous natural and government-made tragedy to bring out the best in our town. But once we get the hang of it -- perhaps we can do it again.
Perhaps we can remember what money should buy -- when so many have lost so much.
Instead of fighting over stupid stuff like whether we need artificial turf for the high school football field.
Over the years I've seldom seen my town really come together. In fact it isn't really a town in the traditional sense, having been lopped off a neighboring town in the '20's and named for the wealthy owner of what became a gated luxury housing development. Instead of a "Main Street" there's a shopping mall or three. If it weren't for the 4th of July fireworks and the Fire Department pancake breakfasts --- you would be hard-pressed to find any sense of shared community.
But last Saturday was all about shared community, about coming together to share our community with others. The woman who organized the day-long event could have been a professional event planner. Everything worked. Right down to the "Katrina dollars" used to buy food and other offerings -- so that real money would be handled by only a few trained volunteers. And I'm told the town made a lot of that real money -- to funnel to the hurricane victims.
There were probably fund raisers like this all over the country. It's the American way of responding to disasters -- a warmth and generosity that unites red and blue states and can still make me proud to be an American -- even when so much else has gone so very wrong.
I grew up in a big city. When my husband and I moved to this place of trees and rocks and black bears we were chasing the small town dream. And finally - last Saturday - we found that dream -- and the town we had hoped to live in all along.
It's too bad it took a horrendous natural and government-made tragedy to bring out the best in our town. But once we get the hang of it -- perhaps we can do it again.
Perhaps we can remember what money should buy -- when so many have lost so much.
Instead of fighting over stupid stuff like whether we need artificial turf for the high school football field.
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