Money Monday: Investing Cash Now From Kids Whole Life Insurance Dividends

It’s Money Monday again here at Tin Shingle!

Today’s tip is a simple one, and focuses on the cash dividends from your kid’s Whole Life Insurance policies. Before giving the tip, let’s back it up to Whole Life Insurance in general, and having it for kids. There are many schools of thought, and not everyone will agree on if Life Insurance is a good way to go.

So here is where my position is rooted, and what I’m doing once signed up:

Whole Life Insurance For Kids

Years ago, at my kid’s day care, some life insurance representatives were there, offering candy and coverage. First impulse is to run away, very fast. But I talked to one who I felt comfortable with, and she said that the reason they suggest getting whole life insurance for kids is because they are usually healthy now, versus later when life happens, and they may have been in an accident or developed a health condition.

I went for it (not that everyone agrees with me), and my kids are covered for the lowest amount right now. I went for Whole Life because for me personally, I like investing the money if I’m paying life insurance. I’d like it to stay there. Verses Term Life Insurance, which you have for 20 or 30 years, and then it expires, and you start over. Like car insurance.

The thing is, 20 or 30 years from now, you may have different health conditions that impact the rate you pay. The other thing is, age alone is a factor. Every year that you age, the rate can get more expensive. So, once you start Whole Life, you pay that monthly (or quarterly or yearly) rate for that amount of coverage, and it doesn’t change. Versus Term, which is one rate for the 20 or 30 years, and then a much higher rate when you start over again.

Now with COVID, an actual pandemic happened, which increases health risks, so I am glad I started them in with Whole Life now. Their rate is locked in for the low amount of coverage I purchased for them, and if they want to add coverage years later, they can, without health tests.

Cash Dividends From Whole Life Insurance For Kids

With Whole Life Insurance comes cash dividends. Yay! Free money. This does not come with Term Life Insurance. Each year, the policy will accrue a certain amount of dividends. If you do nothing, the cash gets reinvested into the Whole Life Policy, and gives you more coverage in the policy.

Or, you can request to have the cash deposited into your child’s bank account. This goal is what prompted us to set up bank accounts for the kids in the first place. So that’s a good first step! Then with another request, you can have the insurance company direct deposit into their bank account. Benefits of depositing the money into the bank account versus the whole life insurance policy are:

• Kids have the cash to reinvest into their own businesses.

• Kids have the cash to pay the bill of this Whole Life Insurance policy! I pay the bill now, but soon, they will be paying. As little kids, they currently do jobs around the house to earn money, since they cannot legally be employed yet.

• Kids have the cash to spend on what they want (not recommended).

• If you lapse on the policy (meaning, you can’t pay the bill anymore and cancel it), then you at least got some cash. Strongly not recommended to think this way. Keep the policy. Earn enough and more to pay your bills.

Now, what your kids do with that cash once it is in the bank account is a different story. Once they have access to their bank account, that money can spill through their hot little hands quite quickly (am I right? you know the feeling with your own money?).

Help them set up spending allocations so that the dividend money grows in other ways.

TRIVIA: Boys accrue more of a % in dividends than girls! Just because they are a boy. Reason is, my agent tells me, is that boys tend to die earlier. Shaking My Head. Should be equal!

Life Insurance and COVID-19

Health is a price factor in buying life insurance, and is part of the theory to buying early. You’re more likely still healthy when you’re young. During this time in the pandemic of the coronavirus, how are people who test positive faring in the life insurance world? Is testing positive for COVID-19 impacting their rate?

Says Ed Petruska, a life insurance agent with the local agency Antalek and Moore in Beacon, NY: “The Life Insurance Companies will accept new applications from individuals that have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been tested negative for at least 30 days.” Ed continued by indicating that a person’s recovery is a factor: “If someone had a severe case of COVID-19 that resulted in long term damage as evidenced in their medical records, they could be declined and or rated (charged an increased premium). Being rated is not unique to COVID-19. I have several clients rated for such things as Diabetes or Bipolar Depression.”

Ed also alerted that there are travel implications to be aware of as well, especially around international travel.

Media Pitching Tip

If this is your area of expertise in any way - use your niche knowledge in this area to pitch the media with insight like this. Need help on how to pitch the media? That’s what Tin Shingle is here for! Either book a Private Session with us, or activate a Community Media Kit Membership and use our Community Forum to ask questions, and submit a draft of your pitch to our Pitch Whisperer Forum.

Simple Ideas For How To Be An Antiracist - A Starter List

At first, I wanted to title this article: “Pro-Tips For How To Be An Antiracist.” But I am not a professional at being antiracist. It’s a new term for me. But one that I have accepted into my life and I have open ears to.

Next, I did include the words “How To Be An”…which I’m keeping simply for the SEO (search engine optimization) value, but really, “being an antiracist” still to me sounds like 2 different behaviors - it’s like: “How do I step into this role?” without living the role. Antiracism is a way of life. It’s a super aware consciousness of your brain as you encounter any people. Most notably Black people, since they have been systemically and systematically oppressed in this country and the world - stolen for free labor and pleasure. Like how hunters go on safari, or collectors collect things. Years of doing that, and then the years that follow making that illegal, still leave baggage that cannot be erased with a Civil War or new laws. It’s all in the behaviors.

To break this racist mindset - which is all around us in so many books, movies, comedic skits on TV, beliefs, etc. - one must be mindful and challenge what their loved ones around them think too.

Therefore, here is my starter-list of being antiracist:

Smile at Anyone:
While attending open-mic sessions held by Beacon4Black Lives in Beacon, NY, I heard more than one Black speaker acknowledging that white people were saying hi to them more, and how that felt good. White people may have gotten locked into a mentality of “I don’t want to offend someone, so I will ignore them.” This is a feeling you are going to need to buck.

Smile at Someone Who Stereotypically Scares You:
This is my favorite one. You see someone walking down the street, who might look like someone in a music video that Tipper Gore would have had banned and censored back when I was in 8th grade. Go ahead and give them a smile and a “Hello” from your vocal chords. You will love the sound of the “Hello” you receive in return.

Didn’t Get A Smile Or Answer? Try Again:
If someone walks right past you, and doesn’t smile back, that’s OK. Just keep trying with the next person. You’ll need to start building up some practice, and trust. In New York State, Governor Cuomo mandated that all municipalities reform their police departments. That requires communities to get together to do this work. One woman in Port Jarvis said that she reached out to a local Black church, but that they didn’t respond.

That’s OK. Trust doesn’t happen overnight, or after one phone call or email. You’ll need to keep reaching out. Gently. Letting all of your defensive instincts melt away.

“Not for nothing but…” - Yes, for Anything! Don’t Accept Underhanded Remarks
A neighbor or friend might say they are not racist, and that they support Black people, or Arab people, or Native people, and they might say: “Not for nothing but, I was on the airplane, and this group of (XYZ race of people) were so loud and drunk. So, ya know…”

Yeah, I do know. My family is loud and happy also when they are on an airplane together, and they drink a lot of wine. So what’s the difference? This is what you need to say to this person, instead of smiling and nodding.

The days of smiling and nodding are over.

Owning It If You Were Racist
You did racist behavior in the past, and you still will in the future. If it’s your business or your person you both of you - own it. Accept it in your mind that you thought a certain way, or shouted a certain thing, or called the police over a certain behavior. If you’re a business, and you tried to do something anti-racist, and a former customer or employee came forward to say: “Hey! You have been racist!” or “Hey! You are doing performance antiracism!” - learn from it. Hear them, and work with it. Don’t stop. Just don’t deny.

Rent Your Rental Property To Black People - Or Sell Your Home To A Black Family
This seems like an obvious one, but if you own rental property, yet tend to not rent it to Black people, you may want to take a step back at yourself and reconsider. If you own an apartment building, and you are not required to make a percentage of apartments “affordable units,” consider doing it anyway.

Not that all Black people are low-income. That’s a stereotype too! In fact, you could rent 2 of your units out: one to a Black family who needs the affordable lower price, and one to a Black family who is living in the medium or high.

As for selling your home - you’re the one who ultimately accepts the offer. I don’t know about real estate laws, but I do know about selling a home, getting offers, and then making a decision. If you price your house right - meaning - you price it so that other people in your community can buy it, rather than attracting city-people who are fleeing the city for the country - then you’ll attract regular people just like you who need or want what you have. If one of your offers is from a Black family, consider taking it! Rather than accepting the offer from a local builder who is going to do a great rehab, and then mark the home up again, for the even higher income.

Not that there’s anything wrong with house flipping. It’s fun. It’s creative. It’s entrepreneurial. But these are choices you need to be aware of. Maybe a Black family is approaching you, who has their own plans of flipping the home for themselves for a few years, or to resell. Go for it!

Believing People
You’ve heard a lot of stories. You’re going to continue hearing stories. Before 2020, you may not have believed them. You may have thought someone was having a victimized mindset. Start believing them now. Do your homework, of course, to double check something. But once you start digging, you may find silence on the other end, or a run-around answer. This tells you that you need to believe someone, and keep digging.

I’ve spoken with a mayor who prides himself in not being racist. That he has so many Black friends. And yet, right after that, he will tell a story that kills the believability of a story a Black person told him. He will tell the the same story, but from an experience of a white person, in order to negate the Black person’s experience, and declare there is no racism. Start listening. If you share a story of someone’s experience that seems racist, and the person you are telling the story to fills you with excuses of why that happened that had nothing to do with racism, give that person’s response a second thought, and know that you may be dealing with racism, which is hard to define legally and on paper.

But apply this to other races, like Arab or Native. Try not to sell to yourself as if you’re looking in the mirror. That’s how silent segregation happens.

Words Matter

Hello Tin Shinglers!

The media is on fire with breaking news, and you need to know how to pitch it. This note is a mention on the pulse of the people since the election. We won't mention COVID, because that news is everywhere, and hopefully you are enjoying a safe holiday with your immediate sphere and not mixing households. Right!?

At the time of this writing (this article has been in Drafts for a bit), most people were referring to the early election results cautiously, as: "the news." Friends didn't know where friends stood, so the election became "the news" after the media was the first to declare it once presidential absentee ballots were counted. Still on the local level, assumed outcomes are being upended by absentee ballots.

This week, "the news" has been made official. Finally. First by Twitter and Facebook on Monday (here's how it will work), when they declared that they would transfer the POTUS and FLOTUS accounts to Joe and Jill Biden. Now that the new president and vice president are officially coming, that doesn't mean that this transitional year - this year of a renewed racial revolution - is over. It has only just begun. There are a few things you need to keep in mind:

What I've Learned - As A Local Reporter

The past few months, I have been deep into producing local news for my blog, A Little Beacon Blog (21,500 views/month, over 7,000 Instagram followers). As one of the first local news outlets to report on COVID - back before there were testing sites and everyone was newly freaking out and New Yorkers were literally dying by the hundreds every day - local news was slow to respond. Everyone was in shock. A Little Beacon Blog was one of the first to respond because our neighbors needed to know what was going on.

And then the racial revolution opened up. George Floyd was killed in the street in broad daylight by a police officer, and the world erupted in protests. Because of my local reporting, I have different leads and relationships with people in the Black community (not to mention my fabulous long-time hair stylist), so this was also an area I was comfortable diving into (as you might remember).

Readers have been hungry for this information, when I share racially rooted content with you. Every single time I publish it, it's hard, and I know that some kind of reaction will happen. Largely it is very supportive. Like with anyone, when there is a single negative or angry person, it makes an impact on me, and I take it to heart. Not sadness heart, but "what can I learn from this?" heart.

Based on this, here is what I have learned: denial is deep. Words matter, and saying the right words helps fight denial of actual events. Here's what I mean:

"It didn't happen....I was there...I didn't see that...Did you see it from his mouth moving?"

On the Wednesday before the election, I published a story about a truck train coming to my small town of Beacon. There are about 15,000 people living here, just 60 miles north of New York City. Often a darling of a tourism section of the New York Times, people like to  believe Beacon as bucolic, so was pretty shocking with a Trump train rolled through.

For a Trump supporter, it was a beautiful sight. For Black people, it was traumatic. A man on a motorcycle in the line driving past our Post Office, shouted "white power!" and a person got it on video. You could hear the shock of the person recording it, as she followed him with the camera, let him out of view, then did a double-take and refocused on him when she processed what he said.

Trump supporters in A Little Beacon Blog's Instagram denied it. A woman who loved the truck train said she was at the rally, and never heard it. Another woman who was in one of the cars highlighted in the article said that from her car, she never heard anything shouted. There were other examples and testimonies from readers about what they encountered. People wrote into me with their experiences. For the people I knew, I believed them and published their stories. I also published the video of "white power."

The denial from the Trump supporters knocked the wind out of my chest. I really didn't know what to say. One reader said she liked the blog, but found it bias right now. I responded by saying that I didn't like typing that someone yelled "white power," and wasn't sure what the other side of that was.

Her comment got 4 likes. Mine got 88 likes. We don't run a lot of high numbers around here, so that spread was significant. But I was still speechless as that Wednesday wore on. As a person who teaches media, and now a person who creates media content, I had never encountered someone labeling the story #FakeNews, and someone in Facebook accusing the article to be a Russian bot.

The thing is, by denying something in your mind - because it's too upsetting - is contributing to racism. That is why all people must commit to becoming anti-racist, and doing that every day. The whole event at my local blog made me expand and tighten my comment policy, that even included No Grammar Shaming. Because all people - on both sides - were suffering and lashing out.

Words Matter

This is where the theme of this newsletter comes in. Words matter. What you say to your customers matters. What you don't say to your customers matters. I've seen a lot of newsletters that refer to the word in vague terms, and my guidance on that is to use the real words of what is happening: racism exposed. It is here. It is always here. It will always be here by any person at any time, and recognizing it to resist it lies in your hands.
The words you use in your newsletters to describe this year of 2020 matter. Here are simple terms being used in newsletters that I recommend you change:

• "With the world being upside down"

• "This has been a crazy year"

• "Everything is chaotic!"

Each of these terms can and should be changed to what they are: "With this racial revolution amidst a pandemic." Take a minute to reflect on how things are. Are things upside-down? Or are they right side up? Or are you just seeing them for the first time? And we have been living upside-down? And we are trying to turn things right side up? "We" meaning white people who have been part of the creations of many rules and laws that limit and oppress Black people.

Black people and People of Color are generously sharing their trauma with us, so that white people can recognize when something doesn't fit or stings.

Here are the next set of words you can delete from your vocabulary and replace:

• "racial slur" 

• "racial epithet"

Both of these terms are disguises for "racial insult." A slur is when someone is drunk. And yes, "slur" also means an implication to hurt someone, but who really uses this word in that context, unless it's with "racial slur." And do you even know what an epithet is? Or how to pronounce it? And is it "epithet" or "epitaph?" Let's stop being polight.

You get what I mean. It's an insult. A sting. A dart. Forget these numbing words and use the words with feeling behind them. It hurts!

Where To Find Your Words

Digging down rabbit holes is crucial right now. Let yourself explore and discover new voices, and new comfort zones. Here are some people I have been following:
@amandaseals @yellowswagger @alitawfiqmuhammad @millennial_matriarch @__izdihar__ @bfftherapy @iamdaniellepitts @innkcoffeeyoga @becauseofthem @theblackmancan @blavity @iamtabithabrown @the.coloredgirl

And so many more...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and keep saying your words.

xoxo

Wait, What Happened To My Instagram! Where Is My Heart/Comment and Create Buttons?

New Instagram Updates; Reels And Shop Button Added To Home Screen

In the blink of an eye, before the flick of your finger, Instagram moved the most important button for you - the Heart button to see who connected with you via posts! And replaced it with some strange Play button.

First of all, don’t panic. We’ll figure out where everything went, and you’ll get used to the new location. And yes, it’s “sus'“ (new slang from Katie’s kid’s from Amoung Us” that means “suspect) that Instagram replaced the most used real estate position on the screen with their trying-to-be-popular Reels button, which is a direct competitor to super popular TikTok. Even if you want to add a new post of any kind, you must also do it from the top right corner of the screen.

Instagram is hoping that the Reels button will have you be making or watching tons of mini-videos. With the new Shopping button next to it, they are hoping you will also do some shopping while you’re at it. You know. Shop all those Instagram ads.

The DM button is also up top, and changed from the folded paper airplane to a bubble graphic with a sideways lightening bolt.

The Heart/Comment Button Moved Up To The Top Of The Screen

Instagram’s new update features the ‘Shop’ button and ‘Reel’ button right on your creation page page (located on the bottom navigation bar). Looking for your Comments or Likes, or how to post a picture? They’re located on the top right corner now!

The Reels Tab is a way to create short videos, similar to TikTok, which has been especially popular for Gen Z. Implementing the ‘Reels’ button the main creation page allows for a more straightforward way to discover these videos, while the Shop button allows for an easier way to connect with your favorite brands and buy.

The Heart/Comment button is indeed jumping. It is not on the Home screen, but is on your feed when you’re skimming through other people’s posts. Maybe this will change after this publication date.

And if things got bumpy for you, because the Heart/Comment button keeps disappearing, you are not imagining it. The Heart/Comment button is indeed gone from the main Home screen of your own feed when viewing your account as other see it. If you tap on the little House/Home button at the bottom left corner of your screen, the Comment/Heart button will reappear between the + sign (now the Create sign) and the new DM bubble sign.

Sigh. What’s next Instagram?

Careful not to change things up too much for the sake of it…

It’s To Much! Help Me!

Need to get control of your social media? Tin Shingle can help via our Private Services. Schedule a call with Katie or Teslie to help you map out what you’re going to do at Instagram - which tools you want to use, and how. When you’re a member of Tin Shingle, you get a discount on the Private Service.

[PR] TuneUp: What To Pitch The Media This Month: October

It's time for our monthly series where we start a new month and plan ahead for what we are pitching! October is a special month because...it's your time to begin pitching Valentine's Day. Oh yes. If you missed your chance last year, and found Tin Shingle when you were Googling "how to pitch valentine's day gift guides," and discovered that the time is not January, but is October, then this is your time to shine!

In this TuneUp, we went over ideas for national print magazines (6 months ahead), local (2-3 months ahead) and trending news stories right now.

Plus, we shared a special Motivation Minute- slowing down to a slow jam.

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

A News Site Led By Women Of Color: Prism

In an article written by Hanaa' Tameez, Prism, a news site led by women of color, is discussed in regards to marginalized people.

Senior reporter, Tina Vasquez, shared a story last month about a doctor in Georgia, Mahendra Amin, “who allegedly forcibly sterilized immigrant women in the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia.” Vasquez, a seasoned immigration and reproductive rights reporter, used her resources from the south when she first heard about whistleblower Dawn Wooten’s complaint against the doctor.

“Whenever there’s something breaking, it always starts with a Slack message from Tina where she just says, ‘ASHTON,'” said, Prism editor-in-chief, Ashton Lattimore. “Once that story broke, Tina sprang into action. She’s well-connected within the circles of migrant folks, particularly in the South, so she started reaching out to people within the community where this was happening, and to the advocates who were behind the complaint to see what she could learn.”

“This wasn’t “a clear-cut narrative about a whistleblower being a hero,” Vasquez said. “It also came from my understanding, covering immigration for a very long time, that so many of the injustices we hear about in detention centers — especially as they relate to in-custody deaths and people becoming ill — start with the medical department.” A cut-and-dry whistleblower story “didn’t gel with what I knew as a reporter and didn’t gel with what I was hearing from affected women and sources that I trust.”

From Hanaa' Tameez -

Vasquez interviewed residents of Douglas, Georgia, who knew Amin and said he was a “pillar in the community” and started a Facebook page to support him. She also spoke to immigrant women who had encountered both Amin and Wooten, a nurse who used to work at ICDC, and alleged that Wooten was “complicit” in their mistreatment and “made jokes at their expense.” It was important to include these threads in her stories, Vasquez said, even if they complicate what originally might have seemed like a saga with a clear hero and a clear villain.

Lattimore agreed that it was more important to bring these women’s stories to the forefront. “We’re not going to silence their voices just because what they’re saying might be complicated or confusing,” Lattimore said. “This is about them…This is a systemic problem, and these are the women who are bearing the brunt of this systemic, long-term issue.”

The approach of centering the voices of marginalized people in its stories is core to Prism’s mission. “No matter the subject, Prism’s editorial content is rigorous, fact-based, and starts from the ground up by centering the perspectives of impacted people, community leaders, and grassroots organizers,” the site’s Mission page explains. 

Nonprofit entrepreneur Iara Peng founded Prism in 2018. Lattimore, a former attorney and graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, is Prism’s editor-in-chief, a role she stepped into this past summer after serving as managing editor there since November 2019. The team also includes a senior editor, three reporters including Vasquez, an operations manager, an administrative assistant, a digital communications manager, and an intern. Most of the staffers (including all the reporters) are women of color, and they all live in different cities, which allows Prism to keep tabs on stories happening across the U.S.

Prism’s journalism is about a number of different themes: gender, elections, criminal justice, immigration, race, and worker’s rights. But those issues often intersect. “As we built our reporting team and our relationships with freelance folks, we started to see the degree to which all of these issues are interconnected,” Lattimore said. “A lot of our workers’ rights stories are also gender justice stories, and a lot of our immigration stories are also racial justice stories. On the website, it’s helpful for readers who have a particular interest area to know what to click on. But our reporters and editors have a deep understanding that a lot of these things are more than one thing at once.”

As a nonprofit, Prism is funded through donations and the support of foundations like Open Philanthropy and Women’s Foundation of California. Another key funder is the liberal news site Daily Kos, which also republishes all of Prism’s stories. The site’s Code of Ethics lays out how it thinks about the concept of impartiality:

As a non-profit, non-partisan media organization, Prism does not contribute, directly or indirectly, to political campaigns or to political parties or groups seeking to raise money for political campaigns or parties. 

However, we recognize that journalists are as much members of our society and polity as anyone else, and as such can be significantly impacted by policies enacted at the local, state, and federal levels. Our aim is not to set our newsroom staff apart from the political process or their roles and obligations as citizens and community members. Nevertheless, to maintain our readers’ trust and our editorial independence and integrity, we ask that editorial staff refrain from taking an activist role in partisan political activity, including volunteering for campaigns, signing petitions, participating in marches or rallies, displaying lawn signs or making political contributions. This policy applies only to political activity specific to a candidate or party. Issue-oriented political activity is permitted and encouraged, along with participation in civic, charitable, religious, public, social or residential organizations.

Prism also has a republishing partnership with Migrant Roots Media, which translates Prism’s stories into Spanish. The targeted partnerships with national and local organizations allow Prism to build trust with different communities of readers. “If you’re going to shift narratives in this country, you need people to actually read what you’re doing,” Lattimore said. Going forward, the focus will be on building more publishing partnerships with local organizations across the country.

As part of that goal, Prism on Tuesday announced its senior fellowship program, in which writers will work with Prism’s editorial team to shape coverage of key issues and solutions in their communities. The fellows will write for Prism, and at least one story by each fellow will be part of a larger investigative series produced by staff reporters and freelancers. The first class of senior fellows includes Patrisse Cullors, the cofounder of Black Lives Matter; Mary Hooks, the co-director of LGBTQ group Southerners on New Ground; Mónica Ramírez, the founder of Justice for Migrant Women; Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the Working Families Party; LaTosha Brown, the cofounder of the Black Voters Matter Fund; Kevin Killer, a former South Dakota legislator and cofounder of Native Youth Leadership Alliance and Advance Native Political Leadership; and Aimee Allison, founder of She the People and president of Democracy in Color.

Much of Prism’s editorial strategy has centered around leaning into the reporters’ expertises and filling the gaps in reporting left by mainstream news outlets. And while all of the beats focus on heavy issues, Prism’s culture section (“that tab is my happy place,” Lattimore said) works to uplift and amplify the work of creators of color. Prism doesn’t employ a full-time culture reporter, but Lattimore said all of the reporters are empowered to do culture reporting through the lenses that they’re interested in, whether it’s criminal justice or gender justice or something else.

“Our approach to culture reporting is, like everything we do, fundamentally rooted in the justice and resiliency of communities of color,” Lattimore said. “I think it’s important to cover culture in a way that’s not explanatory. It’s just letting people share their work, trying to understand more deeply the significance of it, and what it means in our own lives.”

Tin Shingle has added many of these media contacts to our database! Become a member to have access.

[PR] TuneUp: Best Ways To Get And Leverage Testimonials

I know...I know...you're deep into all of the memes, fact checking, and discoveries made by friends after the first presidential "debate" (was it a debate? or a soggy mashed up episode of Dr. Phil and Judge Judy?). If you are a parent, you also might be deep into Morning Meetings of Remote Learning and helping your child stay on track at home.

That's why this TuneUp is fast! We breezed through one of the best marketing tools you have, but may forget to use: The Testimonial.

Testimonials are one of the best ways to convince a potential client or customer to buy from you. They are often the most forgotten marketing tool you can acquire and use! This TuneUp will dust off your Testimonial Hunting skills (because you have to go out and get them - they won't just drop from the sky! unless you're a seller in Amazon or have a Shopify shop and have a widget).

HOW TO WATCH

Anyone can watch a Tin Shingle TuneUp from their computer, mobile phone or tablet. The process is different for premium members and the public.

MEMBERS OF TIN SHINGLE (FREE)

Stream any TuneUp Webinar anytime with your Tin Shingle membership. No need to purchase it, this TuneUp is ready to play from this page! When you are logged in, you will see a big screen.

NON-MEMBERS ($65)

Once you buy a TuneUp, you own it forever. The video or audio recording will appear on the TuneUp page that you just purchased from, and all you need to do is press play.

Associated Press (AP) Changes Guidelines To Capitalize "B" In Black; "I" In Indiginous

As coverage of racial issues has spiked since the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020, journalists and even regular people in their social media posts or emails are paying attention to when to capitalize words that identify people such as “Black", “Indigenous” and “white.”

On June 19, 2020, the Associated Press announced via blog post from John Daniszewski, the AP’s Vice President of Standards, that its style would be to capitalize the “B” in Black, as well the “I” in Indigenous. Conversations about these terms, and all language, are always being considered, and Daniszewski confirmed: “We continue to discuss other terms, including minorities and people of color, as well as the term ‘Black, Indigenous and people of color.’”

To make the distinction clear, Daniszewski emphasized: “AP’s style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa. The lowercase black is a color, not a person.”

Journalism Professionals And National Association of Black Journalists Have Long Asked For This Change

Former president of National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Sarah Glover, said in a second open letter to the AP published June 11, 2020 (her first was published in August, 2019) that she is aware of others before her who have asked for this change: “I’m not the first to propose this change. I’ve read multiple published opinions on the topic over the past decade in particular. I first asked AP editors to consider the change last August.”

In an interview with PublicIntegrity.org, Glover expanded upon why the change contributes to racism: “George Floyd’s tragic and untimely death by a Minneapolis police officer brought to the surface of the American psyche the horrors of institutionalized racism. The case made to capitalize the “B” in Black is about dismantling assigned identity in language by those in power in the media (often white people) and affirming a particular community and how it defines itself. Use of the capital “B” in news reporting style in some ways mirrors the systemic inequality so many everyday citizens are working to eradicate.

”Ironically, journalists will find themselves covering these protests. Yet the media industry must do more than simply cover the protest, it must reckon with and change itself, too. The media industry must dismantle its own biases. The complex history of race in society shows up in how journalism publications assign meaning with words and coverage. Unpacking this is as relevant as the coverage of the pandemic.”

In the AP’s elaborated announcement on its blog, they explored the capitalization of the “N” in Negro: “Nearly a century ago, sociologist W.E.B. DuBois (wow, please read this) waged a letter-writing campaign to get newspapers to capitalize Negro, saying a lowercase “n” was a sign of disrespect and racism. The New York Times took his advice in 1930, calling it an act of recognition and respect for those who’d spent generations in ‘the lower case.’ Negro fell out of fashion with the Black Power movement of the 1960s, coming to symbolize subservience. African American was often used, but is not always accurate — some Black people don’t trace their lineage to Africa.”

News Outlets Who Already Made The Change

Glover pointed out that prior to the AP’s official change, some news outlets had already made the decision to capitalize the “B” in Black when referring to a person, including NBC Owned Television Stations (Glover is currently an executive with NBC), The Seattle Times in 2019, and The Daily Orange, a student-run newspaper at Syracuse University. Glover pointed out that some Black run media had already been capitalizing the “B” in Black, and the Washington Post identified a few as Essence, Ebony and the Chicago Defender.

Since the AP’s announcement, more news media groups adopted the policy, including the USA Today and its affiliated network of more than 260 local papers, The Los Angeles Times, NBC News, MSNBC, BuzzFeed and the McClatchy newspaper chain. The Washington Post itself was still considering as of the time of that article.

The “w” In White

Meanwhile, the AP has declared that for now, the “w” in white will remain lowercase, even when referring to a type of person, not a color of paint. Says the AP: “AP style will continue to lowercase the term white in racial, ethnic and cultural senses.”

The AP went on to explain their thought process, which they concluded, is ever evolving: “After a review and period of consultation, we found, at this time, less support for capitalizing white. White people generally do not share the same history and culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color. In addition, AP is a global news organization and there is considerable disagreement, ambiguity and confusion about whom the term includes in much of the world.

”We agree that white people’s skin color plays into systemic inequalities and injustices, and we want our journalism to robustly explore those problems. But capitalizing the term white, as is done by white supremacists, risks subtly conveying legitimacy to such beliefs.”

Glover feels that this decision to capitalize the “B” in Black is separate from the treatment of “w” in white. She told Publicintegrity.org: “The case for capitalizing the “B” in Black is a separate discussion from capitalizing the “w” in white. The mistake some news organizations or arbiters of this issue made was connecting the two and suggesting that the decisions for the “B” and “w” were binary, meaning they were directly related to each other. There are two separate discussions to be had.

”The case for the capital “B” is focused on affirming a group of citizens of the world. African descendants living in America often have no defined ethnic lineage to a specific country or countries. Like the many African Americans who may have no known genetic link to a particular country due to the history of slavery, the capital “B” serves as an inclusive identity that notes a shared experience, race and ethnicity. Conversely, a known heritage is a more common reality for many white people, Asians, Hispanics and Latinos. As they may be more likely to know their country of origin, if relevant to a story, the media would likely publish that cultural or ethnic background. It is for those reasons, albeit not limited to, that the case for capitalizing the “B” in Black was made.”

What To Do With This Information

Aside from writing it correctly - and knowing why - in your social media posts, pitches to the media, emails to friends and colleagues, you might also be wondering how to handle yourself or your business in this racial revolution.

If you are unsure about how to talk about racial issues or the treatment of Black people right now, Tin Shingle can be a soundboard for your needs. Tin Shingle is an idea center for business owners, artists, makers and community organizers who are trying to get the word out. Consider membership so that we can begin discussing your needs in our Community Forum.

Media Contact Update: Joi Marie Leaves Essence After Two Years Of Serving Black Women

On September 18, Joi Marie announced in a tweet her departure with Essence after two long years. She has started a new role as Deputy Editor for Insider. Before her time with Essence magazine, she had worked nearly a decade in network news from Good Morning America and ABC News to ABC Radio and NBC News. She is the author of The Engagement Game and has freelanced for her family’s The Afro American Newspaper, the longest-running newspaper owned by a Black family in the country.

Joi Marie has been updated in our Media Contact database! 

Skim Through Tin Shingle's Media Contacts Database

Tin Shingle's Media Contact Database makes your research a little easier. It’s easy! Log into your member account at Tin Shingle, and go to the Media Contact Idea Center. From there, you'd see a box that says "Areas of Interest," and you'd start typing LA or Los Angeles. A list of suggestions would begin coming up. Done! See how to search for media contacts HERE.

Tin Shinglers with the Media Kit Membership get access to any and all Media Contacts. Apply for Tin Shingle membership today to get access!

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Need ideas of why to pitch a specific magazine? Start a conversation in Tin Shingle's Pitch Whisperer. Or tune in every other Wednesday to our members-only group consulting session, Pitch Whisperer TuneUp.

You can also get private, one-on-one help through Private Training.

Tin Shinglers with the Media Kit Membership get access to any and all Media Contacts. Apply for Tin Shingle membership today to get access!

Media Contact Update: Sally Holmes Named Editor-in-Chief of U.S. Marie Claire

Photo Credit: Marie Claire

On September 15, Sally Holmes was named Editor-in-Chief for U.S. Marie Clair. Holmes has been with Marie Claire since 2018, initially as the digital director and then executive director.

“I love that I'm stepping into a role held by amazing women I’ve long admired,” said Holmes. “Marie Claire is an incredible global brand that at its core is all about empowering women, telling impactful stories and connecting with its audience of smart, stylish, ambitious women. At this critical moment in our country, I’m honored to lead a brand that has the power to inspire meaningful change, amplify voices and galvanize readers to vote.”

Sally Holmes has been updated in our Media Contact database!

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Skim Through Tin Shingle's Media Contacts Database

Tin Shingle's Media Contact Database makes your research a little easier. Do you want to be featured in the pages of Wired Magazine? Allure Magazine? Or more of a spiritual magazine?  You can do that with our easy-to-use list that includes ways to search by subject or media outlet. See how to search for media contacts HERE.

It’s easy! Log into your member account at Tin Shingle, and go to the Media Contact Idea Center. From there, you'd see this easy box that says "Areas of Interest," and you'd start typing LA or Los Angeles. A list of suggestions would begin coming up.