Media screwed up big time on smear of Senator Menendez

In an age when an unproven accusation can spread like wildfire on the Internet, too many media outlets are guilty of repeating shoddy information that damages reputations. That’s what happened to New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez. 

It started when The Daily Caller, a conservative website, publicized a story shortly before election day citing confidential sources that the Democrat had sex parties with underage hookers after flying to the Dominican Republic on the private jet of a wealthy doctor. Never mind that the women and the man in the accusatory video weren’t identified and they offer no proof beyond their words (which later turned out worthless).

Then similar accusations were echoed by government watchdog the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, citing emails from a supposed “whistle blower” Peter Williams. Never mind that they didn’t meet Williams, or verify that he’d be in position to know such things about the senator. 

The story got picked up by mainstream media – nearly all national outlets and many local newspapers. Did these outlets talk to the supposed prostitutes? Did they verify the story from their own sources? No.

None of them explicitly said Menendez was guilty, but being accused of adultery, pedophilia and political corruption are damning labels. This had to hurt Menendez not just professionally, but in his personal life.

Now it turns out the story is BS. Police in the Dominican Republic say the supposed prostitutes in the video were paid to lie about the senator. They actually have never met him. Now the tone of the stories has shifted to “Who Framed Senator Bob Menendez” and “Official Seeks Mystery Man Linked to ‘Smear’of Senator Bob Menendez.”

Hello? Where was that self-righteousness at these same media outlets when they allowed themselves to be the mouthpieces of that smear campaign? 

Anyone can accuse people of horrible things, but that doesn’t mean the media has to repeat those allegations and drag people through the mud. That is especially true when the person making the accusation hides behind a wall of secrecy. The credibility of the source, and whether they’ll survive public scrutiny, must always be considered. 

 I’ve been told many shocking things about individuals and companies that I haven’t released in my paper. Why? Either because I couldn’t verify it, there was enough doubt in my mind that I didn’t feel reasonably certain it was true, the source had too much of an ax to grind for me to base my trust on them alone, or I felt that the accusation, while interesting, was too personal and not fit for a business audience. 

I know that my paper picks up stories from other outlets. I’m not comfortable quoting a story based on confidential sources that aren’t my own. That’s what the mainstream media did wrong with Senator Menendez’s case. They based their reporting on confidential sources The Daily Caller and CREW had, and even they apparently haven’t confirmed the identity of those sources. 

Who is that guy in the video with the hookers? We don’t know. But he looks trustworthy. Let’s take his word that this senator slept with them. 

And then they trusted emails to CREW, not directly to their media outlets, by a guy who may not even be using his real name. I get plenty of tips from anonymous emailers and, while I might follow up to verify them by other means, I’d never use them as a source in a story. Yet, these mainstream media outlets did that with second hand emails. That was terrible judgment.

Part of the problem is media peer pressure. One paper might be sitting on a story they aren’t sure of, then a competitor reports it with shoddy sourcing. All of a sudden, the first paper has to match them. And from there it spreads, true or not. Few have the courage to sit there with their arms crossed and refuse to publish a story they don’t believe in.

 

Of course, Senator Menendez has no real recourse for this smear campaign. If he could find the guy in the video who paid the girls to lie – and whoever set him up to it – he’d probably have a claim, but the media that irresponsibly picked up the shoddy story won’t pay for it. The libel laws allow you to saw pretty much anything about the public figure and, as long as you didn’t know it’s a total lie when you said it, they can can't do much about it. 

However, there is another price that the media pays, and we all pay it equally. It’s a loss of credibility.

Time to get physical: Mute’s coming out in print

For over a year I’ve told anyone who would listen that ebooks are the future and so I’m fine with my novel Mute being available only on Kindle. Well, sometimes you’ve got to go back to your roots to go forward.

I’m pleased to announce that Silver Leaf Books is putting Mute into print. That’s right, you’ll actually be able to hold my novel in your hands and flip through the pages – if you enjoy that sort of thing better than a tablet or laptop. I still read books both ways and I’m glad that readers will have the opportunity to enjoy my story however they are most comfortable.

The targeted release date for the print edition is in May. It will be print on demand (POD), so when you order it online a copy will be printed and mailed to you. Book stores will be able to order it through Ingram. I’m hoping to place it in Florida book stores, and do as many signings as I can. Given that I didn’t want to mark all over people’s tablets, there’s really been nothing for me to sign so far. I’d love to hold a live reading. Given the solid turnout at my event at the University of Miami Alumni Center last week, I believe I can draw (as they say in pro wrestling).

Thanks to everyone who’s supported me in this journey, especially my family for enduring my obsession with writing. I look forward to introducing you to another of my darling stories later this year – Famous After Death. A draft of the first six chapters are on Authonomy now.

Univesity of Miami hosting my speaking event on journalism and writing

I'm pleased to announce that the University of Miami Alumni Association is hosting my discussion on journalism and writing next month.

As some of you know, I'm a B.S. in Communications from UM, class of 2002. Of man, is that 11 years ago already? I was on campus a few months ago for Homecoming Week and it felt like fond old times. Of course there were a few things that were new to me, including this.

By going back to campus on Feb. 11 at the Newman Alumni Center in Coral Gables, I'm going to share my experiences in journalism and writing novels with UM students, alumni and anyone in the community who wants to attend the free event. How do I dig up award-winning stories? How do I scoop the competition? How do I write over 20 stories a week, and then go home to work on a novel without passing out from exhaustion? (The answer doesn’t depends on controlled substances, I assure you.)

I'll also talk about what inspires my novels and how I make the few precious hours I find to write so productive. Social media promotion, and working with the traditional media to get reviews and radio appearances, will be another point of emphasis.

If you would like to join me at UM for this event, please RSVP here.

Lessons from successful authors on Striking Terror panel at Book Fair

I had a pleasure of introducing three successful apocalyptic horror authors at the Miami International Book Fair’s “Striking Terror” panel. Hugh Howey, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes all had some great advice that I’d like to share. First, some background on the authors.

Howey started as a self-published author and then Wool caught fire and started selling thousands of copies. Now Random House is releasing the novel in the U.K. and Ridley Scott bought the movie rights. He also wrote the Molly Fyde Saga.

Due and Barnes are a husband and wife team, having co-authored Devil’s Wake. Individually, Due won an American Book Award for Essence. Her other novels include Blood Colony, The Living Blood and The Good House. Barnes has publishes 28 novels and has been nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards. He also wrote for Outliers, Twilight Zone and Baywatch. And don’t mess with him, because he’s an accomplished martial artist.

Here are some pearls of wisdom from these authors.

Howey – When I asked him what made sales of Wool really take off, he said it was word of mouth from readers. The novel he ignored in terms of marketing is what did really well. He said the best marketing is the keep writing and releasing stories.

On writing for young adults, keep in mind that they are more mature than you think. Don’t talk down to them. They want to read about mature topics, and aren’t afraid of gore. He made an alternative version of Wool without the handful of four-letter words so young adults can read it.

On the popularity of apocalyptic novels, he said people are afraid of dying alone so they want to see the whole world go with them.

He writes a rough outline of his novels before he starts, and that often includes the final scene so he knows where he is going.

He’s producing a show for BBC now.

Due – She likes to write novels that come from her deepest desires. Her mother showed her creature features and that got her interested in the genre.

She doesn’t like weak characters who fall and get eaten.

On the popularity of apocalyptic novels, kids today are sheltered to the real world, although they are savvy to what’s going on because of the Internet. So when they are forced to confront the world and leave that shelter, it will feel like a zombie attack.

On collaborating with her husband, she admits that they’ve had arguments about their books, but they agreed early on to separate their writing from their married life.

She’s working on a screenplay for My Soul to Keep. 

Barnes – He’s got four books coming out in the span of 16 months. The next is Domino Falls (sequel to Devil’s Wake) in February. These novels are his first venture into straight horror, where the dominant emotion is a sense of unease.  

In the classic movie Psycho, there’s the murder in the shower and then nothing really happens the rest of the movie. But the murder was so graphic that the viewer doesn’t want to see it again, and that creates the tension. A similar technique can create tension in horror novels.

On the difference between adults and young adults, an adult is someone who takes responsibility for their actions and no longer relies or blames others for them.

In Devil’s Wake, the group of youngsters have banded together to survive a world full of zombies. That forces them to take responsibility and be honest with each other about their issues.

“You can’t afford not to be honest with each other when one wrong step and you can get bitten by a zombie,” Barnes said.

Good writing comes in a state of unconscious competence. Like a martial artist, you perform the technique without thinking about it. When writing, this closes the distance between you and the page. Writer’s block is the confusion between the writing self and the editing self. Separate your writing – not worrying about grammar and spelling in the first draft – from your editing.

If you practice anything for 10,000 hours, you can be an expert.

Marlins thumb their nose at Miami and embarrass baseball

Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria  hoodwinked Miami-Dade County politicians into financing his stadium and then he faked out baseball fans with the mirage of fielding a legitimate major league team.

The Marlins’ fire sale trade to Toronto essentially rids of the team of all the players making more than chicken scratch (by pro athlete standards). After being thrifty on salaries for years, Loria boosted payroll to $100 million this spring when the Marlins opened their new stadium. The team was a bust. Attendance was the lowest for any new MLB stadium of the past two decades. 

So Loria has reverted to his cheapskate ways. This trade would leave the team with a 2013 payroll of about $19 million. Most of that is owed to pitcher Ricky Nolasco in the final year of his contract, so you can bet the man with the most wins in Marlins history is next on the trade block.

Loria must have figured that if you’re going to be in last place, you might as well finish last with a resounding thud. And be terrible while spending the bare minimum to field a team. Anybody willing to play for coupons?

It’s not like Loria needs fans in the stands. Thanks to revenue sharing across MLB teams, the Marlins have a set stream of dollars flowing in. The stadium can be a ghost town and he still makes millions as long as he doesn’t overspend.

But what about putting out a competitive product for the taxpayers who funded your stadium? What about drawing thousands of fans to Little Havana and revitalizing the neighborhood with all the reinvestment that would follow?

Empty promises. I can’t think of a team that’s done less to deserve the support of its community.