Opting out of the horse race
Opting in to being passionate, informed, and optimistic.
Yes, I took a little holiday hiatus for the past six weeks. I wasn’t really on hiatus…see below our main story to hear about my new project that is now fully out in the world.
But first…my PSA for the day:
I can’t remember what set me off last week, but I got super cranky reading media headlines, at publications both august and less so, that seemed to miss the point. On purpose. Sometimes people ask, “Have we learned nothing since 2015-16?!” and the answer is clearly no. No, we have not.
But I mean we, the question-asking public have not learned. Learned that the media model is broken. That what drives some editorial decisions are business considerations. Sometimes it’s as basic as not learning that it’s not the reporters or writers that typically a) write their own headlines or b) decide where their stories get positioned on the written or digital page.
So when every terrible story about Tr*mp is positioned as, “This is terrible, but here’s why it won’t hurt him” and every neutral or positive story about not just Biden himself, but Democrats in general, or even the country as a whole is positioned as, “Here’s some good news, here’s why it’s bad for Biden” there’s an actual reason…a need to ignore the electoral realities of the past 7-8 years and uphold the horse race narrative. The narrative that keeps people at odds, and definitely keeps them angry, outraged, and doomscrolling.
But we can stop the world the media is making for us and get off. I haven’t watched TV news in years. it doesn’t mean I’m ill-informed. I’ve even stopped reading most opinion-editorial writing, even when it would fit with my world view.
I care about political positions, policy proposals, and personal behavior. But I follow historians more than I follow pundits. And what I always always do before taking some headline or op-ed talking point on as my own? I click through. If they’re talking about survey results, I click through.If they’re talking about a speech, I click through. If they’re talking about polls or election results, I click through, and I try to understand the context and even, when I’m feeling saucy, the nuance.
Here’s a really stark example. The recent New Hampshire Republican Primary results…the second of only two Republican primaries to happen at the time, Tr*mp won, yes, but Nikki Haley’s share of the vote rose into the 40s. The message I saw in headlines from outlets across the spectrum was that this cemented Tr*mp’s position as the nominee, and it was all over. I don’t actually doubt he will be the nominee, but what I didn’t see most major outlets doing is putting Haley’s rise from the Iowa caucuses in context of other years when there were similar competitors. Isn’t it, actually, quite a statement that Tr*mp couldn’t lock down more of the vote against one contender, as a former President? Doesn’t it demonstrate his vulnerability, even within just his own party (a party that has 28% of registered voters)?
Meanwhile a headline that I saw today (from NPR) as I was writing this article was “Joe Biden just won the South Carolina primary. Does it matter?” He won with 96% of the vote against two contenders, in case you’re curious.
I laughed as I saw the headline flash by because it so perfectly made my point.
So that’s part one of my PSA above…get off the media narrative merry-go-round. Stop letting their analysis, not of what’s happening but only of how what’s happening reflects on the horse race of the election, make you feel doomed or delighted.
Part two of my PSA is equally important…and it’s to double down on knowing what you want, what you support, and focusing squarely on knowing why (and sharing why when it’s appropriate). I hear so many people on my part of the spectrum whine endlessly about how the Democrats suck at messaging. Do they? Because everyone who complains about this to me know exactly what the Democrats stand for that they stand for and wish everyone knew. Everyone who complains must believe they’re the only people smart enough to intuit what their side stands for, despite them obviously not having any trouble understanding it themselves. So unless you’re some party spokesperson who’s on the hook to tow a party line, you can message however you want to. Go ahead and use your own messaging…it will have more impact with the people you can impact anyway.
This circles back to the horse race narrative though. If you are led to believe that half the country feels one way, and the other half feels exactly the opposite way, then it may feel critically important to figure out how to persuade people who believe exactly the opposite of you to believe what you do, and that some magic messaging will make that possible.
What if it’s something else entirely. What if the 42% of 28% of voters who are Republican (i.e. the ones who consider themselves MAGA) aren’t people who’s minds you try to change with more facts, stories about “their own interests” and better messaging?
What if you focus on people who you know are generally on the same page as you, but feel discouraged by the horse race narrative, who’ve been fooled to think everyone is just the same, who aren’t convinced their one vote matters, and so on? What if you get a few more people like that to register to vote in the first place? What if you encourage more of your like-minded friends to vote every time in every election, even as they feel more empowered when they protest or the activate on social media?
I’m just one person with one analysis and perspective and recommendation, but I see so many people whose mental health is not in a great place driven by political dread and anxiety. Jumping off the media merry-go-round and focusing on what you really believe in with people who could really benefit from (and are interested in) your evangelism sounds like a much more reasonable recipe for improving that mindset than spending another night yelling at the TV or doomscrolling in the dark.
Who’s with me?????
What else is going on?
Opt into Optionality
I teated to a new project of mine before I went on hiatus, and now the teasing is over. Optionality is a new membership community of practice for experienced professionals who want to build a better NOW of work. It’s a passion project I’ve launched with one of my former BlogHer co-founders, Jory Des Jardins, and just like with BlogHer our passion was born out of about something we wanted to se in the world. We are focusing on what we know we do best: Content, community, convening, conversation, and curated connection for our members. We’ve gone ahead and opened up the private launch, which basically just means we announced it on LinkedIn. The early adopter special 50% off discount is still available for the Premium membership, and there’s a free Public membership if you’re not ready to make the Premium leap. You can learn more about Optionality, its origin story, and the membership benefits on the site. And you can, of course, let me know if you have any questions. We’ve already been rolling out great content, both text and audio, been hosting useful conversations on Slack, and announced our first event, a webinar on everything you could want to know about leading a fractional leader lifestyle.
The Op-Ed Page podcast
I published Episode 101 of The Op-Ed Page podcast, and it continues down the path of trying to advocate for better conversations online, even about hard topics. I am seeing thinking, caring people I know letting comments stand on their posts that I just don’t think they should or in fact would have in the past. Section 230 may protect the big tech platforms from legal liability for what people say on their platforms, but it doesn’t make them immune to our judgment. And the same goes for you and for me. You have all these little spaces on the Internet that belong to you…your blog, but also your Facebook wall or your Instagram feed. You get to make the rules, and you get to decide that hate speech won’t stand in your Internet space. That’s my contention, anyway. Let me know if you feel differently.
TikToks this month
I’m still experimenting with TikTok, still mostly doing book reviews, with a movie review tossed in for good measure. Yes, I listened to Michelle Willams’s stellar reading of Britney Spears’s surprisingly moving memoir. I also was reminded that Stephen King is a fantastic writer…so much so I’ve since borrowed two more of his works from the Libby app, based on the recommendation of one of my TikTok commenters. I’m also thinking lately about what kind of TikTok material Optionality should create, if any. Is there a #CareerTok, #WorkTok, I think there’s an #HRTok for sure.
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Out in the world
I’ve done a couple of other people’s podcast episodes lately, please take a listen:
A 20 Minutes with Bronwyn episode about owning your expertise
An episode of The Jen Marples Show, featuring a conversation about #BuffyLifeLessons and how two things can be true.
An episode of Perspectives with Katie Kempner about building community and aligning your work with your values.
That’s it for today. Until next time, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on any or all of the above. This is basically my blog now! And as always, I appreciate a share of this newsletter or my podcast.
If I can help you break through the things that keep you stuck (or if you are intrigued by the idea of securing my fractional leadership for your initiative), set up your first introductory 30-minute consult for free by booking it in my Calendly. And you can always check out my new LinkedIn Learning Course, Telling Stories That Stick, a 57-minute course on crafting your stories for different audiences (media, investors, prospects, hiring managers) and ensuring those stories stick…and convey exactly what you hope to convey.
Elisa, as always you are a beacon in a storm. Thank you. This resonated with me so much. I tend to feel guilty about opting out"because I conflate that with being ill-informed.....but I always seem to know what's going on! I solely listen to NPR or UK outlets now, but gather other info from like-minded friends on social, quick critical glance of the headlines, and even - gasp - having conversations with people who share new insights and info that we can critically discuss. I feel like the media is TRYING to make us stay away from the polls, with all its click bait and fear-mongering. We have to be smarter than this.
Also, I have a friend in journalism and higher ed who constantly tried to beat the drum that the lack of strong local news is decreasing civic engagement. That when we are only get information at the national level, we feel helpless to take action locally or that it even matters. Curious as to your thoughts? I kind of despise the cheesiness of local news, but it does do its part to offer ways to get involved and support after they present news stories.
Well said. I posted this to my Facebook page. Doom, gloom and allowing ourselves to be manipulated for corporate storytelling profits is not a productive use of our time.