Wayne’s Weekly Hacks: Mainstream Is The Message

 GOT SKILLS?

Some of the near-future changes will come from Climate Emergency, some from tech change, some from intense urbanization and migration, some from heightened consumer interest. The point is: change will come in and from every direction. The issue is: will we have the resilience skill sets to turn adversity into challenge? That’s the Big Picture on why this newsletter is devoted to skills across the food sector.

GET OUT THE MESSAGE

I just had a great run in the media with a news feature in a major daily, not one but two thought pieces on Quora that got a spiralling reaction, and a nice newspaper report on a speech I gave in BC. So I want to editorialize on the need for popular media skills, and do some strategic thinking about how the good food sector can get more mass media coverage.

I wouldn’t crow about my getting a lot of attention if mass media interest in food policy hadn’t evaporated since Mark Bittman retired from cookbooks and food op-eds in the New York Times and Michael Pollan stopped doing bestsellers, documentaries, and New York Times Magazine features about food. 

Possibly the downturn in mass media coverage of food issues since this duo departed is due to the relative power of other pressing issues — such as the Climate Emergency, #MeToo, Trump and Brexit. Possibly it’s due to an absolute decline of public interest in the politics and policy of food. A look at the bestselling food books of 2019 suggests that. Only one big seller features food policy. Food didn’t even get listed in Twitter’s top trends of the year.

Equally possible, maybe we got spoiled by the exposure  from two talented writers, thought it was natural instead of a godsend, and didn’t work at building up or spreading the skills to keep the momentum going.

Since skills are one of the only factors we can do something about on our own initiative, I want to focus on that.

I think people in the good food sector didn’t skill themselves because they suffered delusions from the bubble effect of two powerful forces in the information and communications realms – social media and academia.

As someone very active in and positive about social media, I can testify to the ease of being smitten by delusions of grandeur. I got very excited when two of my posts on Quora — one on aging well and one on US food stamps policy — netted 20,000 readers and 450 upvotes. I got an email notice as every uptick came in and each one caused an uptick in my sense of accomplishment. The upvotes aren’t over yet, but they’ve slowed enough to let some sober second thoughts in.  I’ve been a Top Writer on Quora since 2018, this is my first mini-breakthrough, and not one of 20,000 readers asked about keeping in touch.

I don’t doubt that social media have massive influence, but one of their impacts is reducing our desire and need for dialogue, conversation and communication skills to speak to broad audiences of people who don’t share a lot of our assumptions. 

One writer helped me clarify my thinking on this by dividing the range of views on a controversy such as climate change into five segments – active allies, passive allies, neutrals, passive opponents, active opponents. Active allies waste their time trying to persuade active opponents, she said. Time, and certainly social media snippets of  time and evidence, is best spent in dialogue with the people in and close to your segment. That’s why social media is great for niche marketing. But meaningful food policy needs a solid majority, not a niche!! That’s why we need mass media skills.

I would make a version of the same argument when it comes to academic writing, which I have also done quite a bit of and am very positive about. But it’s a far cry from doing an academic article that will be read by a few scores of people and being a public intellectual able to contribute to public opinion. 

 As a result of too much bubbling, good food advocates have missed the opportunity of addressing the collapse of today’s food system. Just a few indicators: one in five children suffers from weight issues,  near majorities of children in affluent areas suffer from food insecurity issues; American longevity has been undermined by what are called “deaths of despair.”

On the more positive side, about half of the popular food trends of the last decade have been significantly influenced by alternative food circles. 

Our communication methods are totally out of kilter with our opportunities. We need to skill up our media work!

The Mainstream Gauntlet

Here’s a rundown on the extra work involved in getting an article into the mainstream press, rather than a personal blog or the small and targeted publication of an advocacy organization. 

First, you need to be ready to accept that the article will be a team effort. My article went through four edits as well as challenges from a proof reader assigned to confirm facts in the story. The editors and proof readers may not get a byline, but they have more authority than the writer because they are  entrusted to uphold the standards of their institution. 

It’s easier to cope with this process when you accept that this collective effort, however painful and obnoxious, will improve what goes out under your name. 

Adria Vasil, a young but veteran journalist and environmental author, was my guide for this journey. She is digital editor for Corporate Knights, which provides greenish business stories to the Star. 

Adria’s task was to get me to write a news feature – not an opinion piece, column or profile.

An op-ed is an argumentative and forceful piece that speaks the writer’s truth on a controversial topic. If you are a recognized expert on a topic that is hot, you can get such a piece accepted. Your article will be run in a relatively low-profile space inside the paper, usually opposite the editorial page.   

A profile is about an interesting (quirky) local person or organization. The profile can be positive, but it can’t be a promo piece or polemic. Profiles are relatively timeless and can be used as fillers if the publication is short of copy from staff.

A news feature, often done by freelancers,  has its own set of strict rules. It is designed to interpret a complicated news trend or controversy – in my case, what is the real deal behind the claim to offer sustainable beef. It does not showcase the writer’s opinions. It showcases the facts and opinions  that an informed reader needs to know to understand a complicated issue.

Expectations of news features are firmly set. The lead must be of interest to a typical reader. In the case of my story, few people wake up wondering if sustainable beef is a real thing that needs to be decided on. But a lot of people will be interested to know their favorite fast food outlet now stocks sustainable beef. So that is the lead, and it provides the controversy—is the claim real or bull?

Early on, a news feature requires a “nut graph,” which lays out why the topic is important and what controversies swirl around it. 

A news feature writer must have original and vivid quotes that give a say to people involved in both sides of the story. Readers should be able to weigh the evidence and come to their own conclusions.

The writer is not a presence in the story, other than as a reporter. If a writer comes on as having a point of view – I came close to the line when I said it was to be welcomed that fast food restaurants are trying to do the right thing on sustainability – the article gets classed as an op-ed. It will not be on the front page of the business section like mine was.

Of course, the news feature must be “popular” – interesting and easy-to-follow for a typical reader. I couldn’t assume, for example, that readers already knew what sustainability meant in relation to food or what the environmental controversies around beef were.    

A news feature by a freelancer should reflect a depth of background knowledge that is beyond the reach of a typical journalist employed by the newspaper. Otherwise, the newspaper would assign the story to a staff writer, and avoid the additional costs of a freelancer. The indications of such knowledge in my article are the references to several books and reports dealing with livestock issues.

Them’s the rules! They’re the passwords to getting into mass media following the norms of popular journalism.  

“Long, long ago, my great mentor in graduate school, the late Darb, he said if you’re writing for a popular audience, you do not start by saying, ‘Consider a small, open economy..’ You say, ‘In Belgium.”
― Paul Krugman

 Upcycle Your Big Hit

What’s the pay-off for all the work to gain coverage in the mainstream media? 

Not money!! The fee for a freelance article is quite low. Other than the satisfaction of speaking truth to power or the kick of seeing your name in print, any Return on Investment still needs to be earned.   

The longterm value of articles run in major media outlets comes from “reputational capital.”  Your time doing the article buys you an asset, reputation, which you can use to create opportunities that otherwise would cost you a lot of money to achieve. If you invest the asset methodically and skillfully, you and your cause will save thousands of dollars per article.

Here are 8 ways to reuse, recycle and upcycle your investment of skill and time. 

First, some of the name recognition of the news outlet will rub off on you, since it is likely that the news  outlet is held in higher public esteem than you are. So be sure to crow about your accomplishment in individual emails to close friends and family. “I’m excited to have my article on sustainable beef accepted in the Star; thought you’d like to see it,” goes alongside a link to the article.

You’ll be surprised how many people who are close to you will be surprised that you had the stature to get an article into a major news outlet. Talk about news! You’re such a normal part of their lives, and have been since you were in diapers, that most of your friends and family don’t know you’re a thought leader and influencer! 

When they congratulate you, ask them casually for a favour. “If you’re talking to any of our old friends, please mention that I also give talks about food and sustainability.” Explain the “six degrees of separation” to them, and ask them to toot your horn for you.  Just like they never knew you were a somebody, you’ll find out that you never knew they were somebodies too!

Second, you now have an excuse to post your article for your more distant friends and colleagues connected to you on social media. This is your coming out party as a thought leader and influencer. People may already know about your interest and concern about sustainability. But they may not have  slotted you as a “player.” Your publication in a recognized news outlet is the equivalent to a third-part accreditation as someone who counts. 

You will be surprised by the number of people who hadn’t recognized that in you before. When someone congratulates you, ask them for a favour. “If any of your friends are interested in this, please tell them that I’m happy to give talks about food and the environment.”

The third benefit comes from the little black book you start carrying, now that you’re in the public eye. You write down the names of people who congratulated you. That’s the beginning of your list of contacts to be notified when you launch your newsletter. You’re ready to go with a newsletter when you have 500 names in your black book.  

Fourth, take advantage of your name recognition (not so much name recognition as recognition of your ability to exert influence) with gatekeepers who can open some gates for you.  If you didn’t already know such people exist and can make a difference for you and your views, count that as the fourth benefit. You now know how the game is played.

Be sure to think strategically about gatekeepers when  tracking people who call to congratulate you. Just as your friends have normalized you, you have normalized your friends and connections, and haven’t been mindful of doors they can open.  

The fact is that we all have many networks. Friends and family are valued as personal connections, but that doesn’t prevent you from asking them to introduce you to someone you need to know to accomplish an organizational goal. Networks also include colleagues and collaborators, who have professional connections you can tap into.  Name recognition gives you access to a broader network – people who are interested in your ideas, many of whom can open doors to a broader network of collaborators. 

The avenue where you will meet people from such a network  is now a click away — in Linked in and Twitter. The fifth benefit of your article is that it gives you a calling card to introduce yourself to this group. Ask to connect with someone, and append the link to your article to your request. When that works, count it as your fifth benefit of your news feature.

Twitter and Linked in also provide a way to give an afterlife to your article. Two months or so from now, a controversy will erupt about meat and sustainability, and you can recycle your article. “I see Greenpeace is campaigning on the link between meat and sustainability. I think my article of two months ago has something to add to that discussion.” Count that enduring relevance as your sixth benefit.

If feedback from that second round of posts encourages you, update and rewrite your earlier article and submit it to another media outlet with a timely lead. This new article has better interviews because the reputation from your first article gets you an interview with more senior people than the PR department you got your first quotes from. That’s the seventh benefit. 

Go back and review your bio on social media and elsewhere. Add a new line to it. “My articles on food, global warming and sustainability have been carried by major news outlets, including….” That’s the eighth benefit. 

I’ll leave it to a later newsletter to talk about doubling those 8 benefits to 16.     
 

“They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I’m coming now, I’m coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin”
― Leonard Cohen

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