Direct Connection Media

Kamala is taking it to the people

Live drawing from the 2016 Democratic Convention in Philadelphia

Kamala Harris is wicked smart, we know that as a fact. Indeed she’s more: she’s brilliant. That she has yet to do a sit-down interview with the media has nothing to do with intelligence, as her opponents want their followers to believe.

First of all, she has been the nominee for what, three seconds?

But more importantly, she is doing what she should be doing: connecting directly with the American people. Kamala is traveling around the country stirring up all kinds of enthusiasm and connecting with voters.

I have become increasingly wary of the mainstream legacy media. Some, if not many, of the interviews they do are used only to stir the pot to increase viewers. They spin to their benefit, normalizing Trump, fearful that if they are negative about his craziness, they will lose eyeballs. There are so many good journalists who try not to do that, I respect so many of them. I personally know some of them. We need them, but they are individuals within media corporations.

I hate that I may sound like Trump when I express concern about the press (he would put it much more bluntly)— I am trying to walk a fine line here. This tendency of the legacy media may be because these companies are struggling to stay viable. People are getting information from a much wider array of places.

I am an independant. Yes, I publish drawing and writing in legacy media such as The New Yorker (40+ years), NY Times, Washington Post and others. I was employed by CBS News for four years up until the pandemic. But as a freelance journalist, I get my income from many places, and don’t rely on one large company. Substack and Medium are now increasingly important partners in what I create.

Even though I am a seasoned professional who has had a lot of success (which I do not take for granted), it has become difficult to get a drawing or an article published within legacy media. I am too small, too quiet. That’s what I like to think, anyway. Maybe I doubt myself and think my drawings have gone downhill. But I really don’t think so, I think the places where I publish have changed and are continuing to do so.

Change is hard, and I admit to struggling with it. I mourn the days when I would have a cartoon in The New Yorker almost every month, a written piece in the Wapo, then an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times, weekly live-drawing assignments on CBS. I don’t know if those days are entirely gone, but they are fewer. I do what I can and I really, really enjoy the new platforms. This is not a pity party, but rather an acknowledgment that change is happening to a lot of people, myself included. (Somewhat related to this: Katie Couric, who has weathered a LOT of change in her career, wrote a great NY Times editorial about women and the media landscape, this after Norah O’Donnell decided to make a change in her career as anchor of the CBS Evening News.)

I tried my best to get access to the DNC this year; months ago I began knocking on all the media doors I could. I live-drew the 2016 convention when Hillary was the nominee and it was fascinating and inspiring. Unable to get past the gatekeepers, I will now happily live-draw the four days from my studio.

I love talking directly to you all, my audience. This is what Kamala is doing now while she can. She is not muddying the waters of her message right now by giving an interview with legacy media corporations who are trying to survive a changing landscape.

Change is happening in our political world, vis-a-vis the media. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will bring a lot of change in a lot of places, if elected. Just her being a Black woman in this position in this moment of time is big change.

Change is good.

Thanks for being here. I am grateful to able to connect directly with you and appreciate your support.

PS: I am doing an online talk about live-drawing Visual Journalism on Saturday, August 17th on my other platform, Medium. It’s 11am EST, free, and I’ll take questions. A lot of great speakers will fill out the day (called Medium Day, I spoke there last year), you can join one or all of them as you choose. To register, go here. They are celebrating alternative media!