In `School Administrator’ Magazine: Influencing Public Perception With Proactive Videos

Over a year after it was originally drafted as an essay about twice as long–less indeed is more–the American Association of School Administrators has published my insights in the Frontline section of its January 2024 edition. Headlined Influencing Public Perception With Proactive Videos, my observations flow largely from a 20-plus-year career in journalism, including my […]

The Inside Edge on Substack

Since late March 2023, I have shifted my writing to Substack. Visit me there, where you can find my wide-ranging essays, including: *Essays about my often-homeless (and always-remarkable) brother *How I parlayed a trip to Italy into quitting coffee *The time I interviewed a most curmudgeonly Mickey Rooney. *And the wacky way I met Congressman Adam […]

The Antidote to TL; DR: NL; ETR (Not Long, Easy to Read)

Beyond a doubt, of the 80-odd stories to which I contributed for Time magazine in the early 2000s, the one that was most widely read was a July 2003 blurb about Retrosheet, the fantastic repository of Major League Baseball game-by-game accounts. And it’s not because I wrote so beautifully, though I deployed a serviceable collection […]

LeBron James: The Superstar-as-Consummate-Team-Player

Let me join the chorus of those issuing congratulations to LeBron James on becoming the NBA’s all-time top scorer this evening during the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. With 38 points in the Lakers’ 133-130 loss to OKC, he now has a staggering 38,390 career points. Having reported for Time on […]

Show & Tell to Add Value to Your LinkedIn Connections

Social media and networking platforms like LinkedIn are opportunities to demonstrate and deliver—not merely tout—your value. Case in point: though I am hardly a master photographer or photo editor, I have learned a thing or two creating and disseminating thousands of photos for various clients. That experience prompted me recently to offer counsel to a […]

Soccer Stories Show `Smart Brevity’ Influence

I have subscribed to Axios, the news website, since shortly after its 2016 inception. And after reading Smart Brevity, the new book by the organization’s creators, I am striving to subscribe more to its core point, captured in the book’s subtitle: “The Power of Saying More With Less.” As I have told writer friends: “Great […]

4 proactive steps for when you’re unfairly cast as a ‘Goliath’

My essay on how to deal with media coverage that unfairly paints you or your client as a big, bad Goliath was published today at Ragan Communications’ PR Daily. Here’s the link and I have also posted it below: Who doesn’t love an underdog story? “Rocky” and “Rudy” are examples of movies that exploit this natural […]

A Diehard Red Sox Fan Roots for an Aaron Judge Triple Crown 

As posted today at the Patch New York City and Boston pages, I explain why this Red Sox fan is cheering on Yankee slugger Aaron Judge in his bid to win the Triple Crown. The short version: as noted in my sub-headline, If the classy, humble slugger accomplishes the rare feat, it would give us […]

Cubs Tattoo Helps Flesh Out Story on Political Newcomer

Eye-catching photos are a writer’s best friend, drawing the reader into the story while fleshing out an element or two contained in the piece. Case in point: my November 2004 story on Larry Dominick when he was an early-bird candidate for town president of Cicero, Illinois, on Chicago’s western border. My most frequent photographic partner […]

Daily Herald Posts My Essay In Praise of Vin Scully

RIP, Vin Scully. Six years ago, when the legendary broadcaster retired after an unparalleled 67-year run as the Los Angeles Dodgers radio voice, I wrote an essay paying tribute to his extraordinary career. At the time, I zoomed in on Scully’s remarkable restraint, and succinct eloquence, during Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run for the Los […]