"Our Curious Amalgam"

Episode 118: What’s the Role of Journalism in Antitrust?: A Conversation with Leah Nylen
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Runtime:
36:27

Episode post date:
June 7, 2021

Why I enjoyed it:
As a journalist, I loved hearing about Leah Nylen's journey into the profession. Nylen, a seasoned reporter, recounts how the film "All the President's Men" influenced her as a youngster. (It has to do with meeting mysterious sources in parking garages.)

Guest:
Leah Nylen, a reporter with @politico who covers #antitrust. She talks about cultivating sources and writing in  plain English for her audiences. 

Hosts:
John Roberti of Allen & Overy LLP teams with Anora Wang of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

Link to episode: 
https://bit.ly/3puVGdr

Jennifer's tidbit:
Be sure to listen all the way through to hear their lighthearted discussion regarding tattoos.

Hashtags to follow:
@leah_nylen
@JohnRoberti1
@AnoraWang
#dwtAntitrust
@DWTLaw
@abaantitrust 

Brief rundown, in order, of some of the topics they explore:
*Tips for lawyers speaking to journalists including the difference between "off the record" and "on the record." What does speaking "on background" mean?

*What is PACER? https://lnkd.in/dUtbx7h

*Do journalist’s have an agenda, and are journalist’s neutral?

*Who was Ida Tarbell and why is she important to journalism?

*Who is Lina Khan?

*Most important thing Leah has learned from covering antitrust

*Tips for lawyers who want to be quoted by journalists. 

*Redacting tattoos

*Ideas for an anti-trust tattoo :-)
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2020-06-29_objections_to_subpoena_for_protected_newsgathering_material.pdf​

​subpoena-duces-tecum-seattle-times-company-et-al.pdf

I'm hot and cold about writer's retreats. This is pretty funny because I've been a professional writer for more than 25 years, so you'd think that I would jump at the chance to share a comfy couch with fellow scribes and commiserate about the craft.

​But my relationship to the weekend escape known as the retreat is more like a "Sam and Diane" connection (think TV show "Cheers") rather than a hand-in-glove love affair. I'm a writer in passion, talent and career, but I tend to resist the meta — the bird's-eye view of writing.   

This ambivalence is rooted in two precepts common to many writers — fear and procrastination. What if I find out that my writing sucks, that everyone else is better than me? Am I just stalling by getting away from it all, when what I really need is to get my butt in the chair? 

"A writer writes, right? How could attending a veritable break get more words on the page," I thought? 

Last fall, I decided to drop all of this psychological baggage to attend Write Doe Bay, a writer's mecca in Washington state that dubs itself, "an intimate artists' retreat and multi-workshop event..." Now that the dust has settled, I can say this three-day weekend (Oct. 6-8, 2017) gave me  ... 

... a renewed confidence in my writing.

Situated in a warm, cozy retreat house, more than two dozen participants mostly from the PNW settled into comfortable couches and chairs to begin the weekend. After brief introductions, a history of the retreat and a little story about the magic of Doe Bay, we started with "Morning Pages," Julia Cameron's worthwhile daily ritual. The idea is to handwrite three pages first thing each morning. It's stream of consciousness, whatever comes out. Consider it a brain dump, and by using pen and paper rather than software and keyboard, we give ourselves a writer's workout. I loved this and have since picked up Cameron's book "The Artist's Way." (FYI: Cameron was not in attendance. We relied on her writing exercise, which is considered a classic in literary circles.)

I've always shunned these types of ceremonial goals, hitting a word count every day or getting up at the crack of dawn to get pages down before the rest of world stirs. I am a self-described "slow writer" and rarely work on a schedule. But since we started these Morning Pages together, I am happy to say that I have kept up the ritual. I roll out of bed, brush my teeth and grab my journal. I generate my three pages even before drinking coffee, reading emails or getting fixated on the smartphone. The content of the Morning Pages isn't so important; it's the muscle memory, the habit and, most of all, the respect that I give to my writing practice by honoring it every morning.  

A little background about Write Doe Bay: the retreat is held at Doe Bay Resort, located on the southeast tip of Orcas Island, one of hundreds of tiny islands known as the San Juans off the coast of Washington about 100 miles north of Seattle. Here, I was treated to amazing sunrises, sunsets and ocean views.

If you attend, a few friendly reminders: bring your bathing suit (for the polar plunge), warm cabin socks or slippers for the retreat house and a headlamp or flashlight for a nighttime exploratory walk (ask about "the moon"). 

When I returned home to Bellingham, Wash., I found an email in my inbox. A friend* had a bunch of questions for me. As I wrote her a thoughtful reply, I could see that my message was morphing into an informative article on my experience — perhaps something to benefit other curious writers. Following are her questions (in bold) and my answers.
​

• (Friend) "How did this retreat challenge you, Jennifer?" 
  (JK): I have always resisted writing exercises because they seem irrelevant to the kind of writing I do (journalism). How can doing an exercise writing about my most embarrassing moment help me flesh out a well-reported and researched article? I know it's silly, but it's a notion I've held for a long time.
  
  At Write Doe Bay, I pushed those beliefs aside. On the opening day, author Sonora Jha, also a journalist, and professor at Seattle University, had us explore character through a shared reading we dissected. How can non-fiction writers employ character when it's a fiction writing technique, I countered.  Now, Sonora guided us through a writing exercise that made me reconsider. Am I, a journalist who's telling a story, a character myself? What about my sources? Is each a character, in need of development,  just as they would be if they were planted in a novel or short story? Sonora, author of the novel Foreign, is a versatile writer having written a memoir as well. Thanks to the way she had us explore character, I looked at my nonfiction writing with new eyes. 

• "​​How did it end?"
  On the final day, we met at the water's edge for a symbolic closing ceremony. WDB co-founder and organizer Jenn Furber presented each of us with an old-fashioned skeleton key (like you see in a black and white mystery movie). There's a story behind how she acquired the keys and what they symbolize, so you'll have to attend to get the skinny on that. Mine hangs from my desk lamp hovering over my workspace, perhaps serving as my stalwart muse. 
  
  After the key exchange, we held hands and ran into the bay for a polar plunge. I was eager to do this rite of passage because I'm a sucker for cold water. I've done the frigid dip on New Year's Day and while camping in the Oregon mountains. Giddy with excitement, I ran in, dunked my head and ran back out for my towel. Some folks decided to stay on shore and support the dippers. Afterward, we slipped into the hot tubs for one last soak and the weekend was over. 

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​​There is so much more that I haven't mentioned. The workshops were led not only by writers, but also accomplished musicians and artists. We sang, played guitar, sat on the comfy couches chatting, hiked, played hula hoops in the yard, and ate our meals together. Of course, we did many dreaded writing exercises, which I now enjoy. Most of all, we courageously shared our work. 

by Jennifer Karchmer
 
How long have you been dreaming about opening a restaurant? How about quitting your day job and travelling around the world? Maybe you’re still thinking about getting that yoga certification? Or wondering when you’ll get published even though you’ve stuffed 50 pages of your memoir in a drawer because you’re worrying it’s not any good?
 
We all have lifelong dreams. They drive our passions and feed our imaginations. For some, we lock them away (like the manuscript) because we think they are out of reach, too lofty, or “crazy.”
 
It’s easy to get discouraged when you share your vision with friends or family only to get shot down with: “It costs too much. Your head is in the clouds. That will never happen. It’s too expensive. It will take forever.” On and on those negative thoughts permeate your daily life and soon enough, the dream bubble is burst and we truly believe that our dreams are as far away as the sun.

Digging Deep
Theo Mahy is a business coach in New York. Originally from France, Mahy came to the US to help other French entrepreneurs relocate to the States and find new ventures and grow their businesses. He’s since branched out and works with a variety of clients, from college administrators, to restaurant owners, to athletic company CEOs to freelance writers.
 
“It’s like digging deep,” Mahy says. By giving yourself at least one hour each week, you can “let go and work on yourself and create value just around you.” Mahy himself worked regularly with a coach when he was student. It was a great way to set up measurable goals and, most of all, stay accountable. When we know we have to report to someone, we’re more likely to do the work, he says. Those sessions, “help you see yourself as powerful.” And who doesn’t want to powerful?
 
So how do you know it’s the right time?
If you’ve considered working with a coach, then you’re ready. Just having the idea percolate in your mind means it’s important to you and that your dreams are poised to become reality. Somewhere in there is a block but you’re open to sharing your most intimate fears and doubts with an objective third-party.
 
Your BFF and your mom lend a listening ear, but a professional coach will give you the good, the bad and the ugly truth about your mindset.
 
So what is holding you back. Perhaps it’s opening up to a stranger? The dent in your pocketbook? Does the thought of actually achieving your dreams seem scary?
 
Here are some common fears and ways to overcome them:

1. Fear: "I’m nervous about opening up to a stranger."
   Solution: Do your homework and work with someone who shares your vision. A professional will listen non-judgmentally and keep your information confidential too. Search online for keywords that are important to you (i.e., fitness, dreams, lose weight, travel, etc). Send emails, ask about rates, read up on the coach’s philosophy and see if you’re a match.
   
   
2. Fear: "I can’t afford it."
   Solution: You can’t afford not to. It’s a cliché but true. Working with a coach is a long-term investment. What you get out of each session is knowledge and inspiration and practical advice that you will hold onto and use for the rest of your life. Changing your mindset from negative to positive is like money in the bank so start saving today.
   
   
3. Fear: "What if I don’t achieve my goal?" 
   Solution: But what if you do? Moving to Africa, becoming a best-selling novelist, earning your pilot’s license – does the thought of achieving your lifelong dream give you the butterflies or catapult you to a stratosphere that is impossible to imagine? You need to believe it before you can achieve it (someone said that). Your first step is to accept what you really want is within reach.

 
The bottom line: if you’re even thinking about working with a coach to reach your dreams, then the time is now to find the right person who can guide you and help keep you accountable. Why wait any longer to be able to say, “I have fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams.”

Back in the day when I was a reporter for my hometown paper, The Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal, we were advised to carry a stack of coins in our pockets to make a call from a pay phone to get an attorney on the line in case of trouble. This advice was mostly for the reporters covering crime and the courts. As a reporter on the business section, the most danger I could expect was pissing off potential advertisers.
 
Today, however, the advice to reporters covering politics, demonstrations, and even run-of-the-mill public meetings has shifted: program your lawyer’s number on your smartphone’s speed dial, and make sure your bank account is flush so you can make bail if you find yourself in handcuffs.

Threats against the press are so egregious and abundant that the xx has created a tool to track attacks. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker 

​https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/

During a live one-hour webinar organized by The National Press Foundation in July, two reporters and a media attorney suggested several ways we can prepare for the worst when we are threatened or assaulted on the job.
 
Increase in risk
Unfortunately, hazards aren’t reserved for war correspondents trekking through conflict regions and dodging bullets. Apparently, attending public meetings and interviewing political figures come with a level of physical risk, as seen in a few recent incidents of reporters being shoved and knocked around.
 
For example, earlier this year, John Donnelly, a senior defense writer and reporter with Congressional Quarterly Roll Call, was pinned against a wall in a public hallway at the Federal Communications Commission building.