It’s hard to believe I first started this newsletter over seven years ago. At the time, I didn’t know Substack existed, as it had only launched a year earlier. I was using MailChimp, which is a much better platform for businesses than writing. I had the opportunity to meet Hamish Mackenzie and decided to make the leap. Several years later, I had over 1,200 subscribers and started offering paid subscriptions.
And then I had to shut it all down.
My previous employer (more on that here in a moment) put the kibosh on doing anything outside of its realm. So it had to go dark, as did any freelance writing, being on podcasts (without permission from media relations, which said “No” both times I inquired, so after that, I didn’t bother), or doing anything else. And I get it. Some outlets are much more open to employees creating content elsewhere, and some are going to keep it locked down. It was very frustrating, but understandable.
Still, life moves on, and it’s time for the next adventure. I have left Fox, and beginning today, I start my role as Communications and Strategic Initiatives Director with Mair Strategies. I am sure most of you know who Liz Mair is. If not, you can read about her background here and follow her on Twitter/X (whatever you want to call it).
This is new to me, but exciting. This is not the first time in my career that I have been on one side of a mutual business relationship and moving to the other. So it will be different from an editor role, but I am looking forward to the challenge. I appreciate that Liz gave me the opportunity.
It’s been quite few years this year. You tired, too? If you recall, the constant chaos of the Trump administration was something Steve Bannon telegraphed years ago. He basically said, “The press can’t keep up with everything” so the administration would throw stuff out daily, knowing something that would typically set off alarms would go quietly uncovered. Naturally, Trump doesn’t like quiet, so it’s loud but some stuff does fly under the radar.
For those not old enough to remember, the “Friday night news dump” is what happened when someone in government whether it was at the federal or state level, would quietly release bad news late on a Friday afternoon. Before the advent of the internet and social media, such news wouldn’t rate much coverage over the weekend because of how the news cycle worked.
Trump has managed to flip that on its head. He relishes the idea of being the news — good or bad. So just when you thought things were slowing down for the weekend, he’d send out a Truth Social post or the White House would release a statement about something…anything…what would be sure to consume the news cycle for the weekend and turn newsrooms into a frenzy when everyone thought it was time to head out for a drink or to head home and relax. It’s utterly exhausting.
And there are more than three years left.
So Creed has made one hell of a return to the scene, selling out shows and featuring crowds of new fans and older Gen X fans alike. The reason I bring in Creed at this point is the title of one of their songs fits so well with this administration:
It’s good to be back. I made tiny bit of money off this newsletter before I had to close it down, but I never did it for money. For me, it was fun. I just enjoy doing it, getting feedback (even negative), and just throwing unfiltered thoughts out into the ether. I’ll be writing elsewhere as well. I have a feature in the latest issue of the Washington Examiner Magazine which you can read here. I think WEX has gone to a pretty strict subscription model, so you might it difficult to access.
Couple of housekeeping notes:
A. My primary platform for sharing this content is on Twitter/X. Of course, Elon decided Substack was some kind of threat and buries Substack links, so I will likely be getting a custom domain for this newsletter to make it easier to share. You won’t have to do anything but once that change is made, any shares to social media would be appreciated. You can follow me here.
B. I am going to try to gear up the FB page. I had to get back on FB after my wife got tired of me messing up her Marketplace algorithm by searching for tools, cars, etc. You can find that page here.
C. There is probably something else but I can’t remember. I’ve 55! I forget stuff. You should see me hunting around for my reading glasses. I have one pair that I really like and I “misplace” them several times a week. What that actually means is I put them down and then like an idiot, forget where I put them. Apple needs to make a micro-Airtag so I can use “find my” to locate them.
See you next week!
I’m going to unsubscribe if you don’t let me at least do a quick copy edit!
I'm so glad you're back! I look forward to your email.