GBO NEWS: Dr. Bill Thomas’s “Second Wind” Tour; NAM’s 500th Elders Article; & More
GENERATIONS BEAT ONLINE NEWS
E-News of the Journalists Network on Generations
March 27, 2014 — Volume 14, Number 4
Editor’s Note: GBO News, e-news of the Journalists Network on Generation publishes alerts for journalists, producers and authors covering generational issues. Send your news of important stories or books (by you and others), fellowships, awards or pertinent kvetches to GBO News Editor Paul Kleyman. If you receive the table of contents as an e-mail, just click through to the full issue at www.gbonews.org.
IN THIS ISSUE: Obama Extends Your Deadline to April 1.
1. THE BOOKMOBILE: Dr. Bill Thomas’ New Book & Tour, Second Wind; ***Melinda Blau & Tracey Hogg’s Family Whispering Strategies for Stronger Families
2. CONFERENCE BEAT: Warren Wolfe on Reinstated American Society on Aging Press Room (With a Password and Chairs.)
3. EYES ON THE PRIZE: Application Deadline for Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Fellowships
4. THE STORY BOARD: New America Media (NAM) Posts 500th Ethnic Elders Article; *** “As Living Standards Fall for Seniors, Some See Signs of ‘Silver Revolution’,” by David Wallis (New York Times); *** “Thinking Of Retiring? Consider Your Health,” by Ina Jaffe (NPR’s “ All Things Considered”); *** “Who Benefits When the Government Pays More?” on Medicare Advantage Cuts, From the National Research Bureau; *** “Key Elements for Developing A Wellness Program for Older Adults,” paper from International Council on Active Aging; ***Huffington Post Post50 Blogger Chuck Nyren on Photographer’s Monkey Business.
5. BOOMER SCHMOOMER: A Word From Our Sponsor – Words!
1. THE BOOKMOBILE
*** A Chapter of Bill Thomas’ New Book, Second Wind, is titled “Enthusiasm,” and that should surprise no reporter on the generations beat who has interviewed the energetic critic of nursing homes and defender of elderhood. Thomas, creator of the Eden Alternative and Green House retoolings of long-term care, sets out next Monday on his 25-city book extravaganza–a rockin’ big-theater road show beyond the miniscule notion of “book tour” could convey.
Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life (his ninth tome–this one with big-time publisher Simon & Schuster) isn’t only about building a better nursing home. Instead, Thomas traces the socio-historical arc of the boomers from the revolutionary revelations of baby guru Benjamin Spock, MD, to the potential for his generation’s emotional growth and, perhaps, societal change.
Enthusiasm? Thomas writes, “Most Americans would call positive aging an oxymoron and place it alongside perennial favorites, such as enormously small, genuine fake, and military intelligence. Our society’s pervasive and unrelenting bias against aging makes it hard to take active retirement and healthy aging seriously. Nor do the words enthusiast and aging seem to belong together. But they do. Although they remain a small group hidden in the shadows, those who embrace aging are creating a subculture that has the temerity to celebrate the normal changes associated with life beyond adulthood. These are the Enthusiasts.” And this editor would submit that the No. 1 Enthusiast, capital E and all, is the 54-year-old Thomas, himself
Acknowledging some of his predecessors, such as the late Gene Cohen, MD, whose book The Mature Mind (Basic Books, 2006) newly documented human developmental stages and creativity in late life, Thomas offers his coinage, eldertopia. Much like Theodore Roszak’s final nonfiction book before his passing, The Making of an Elder Culture (a volume Thomas might well also include in future editions of Second Wind), the geriatrician’s eldertopia “connects us to a life beyond adulthood that contains a rich array of human virtues and experiences.”
Primary among these, for the Harvard-trained Thomas, is the lesson of our years to slow down. He stresses, “Elders are able to pivot away from the intrinsic outcome-oriented measures of value and toward a moment-to-moment appreciation of being with others.”
Stating that “American society suffers from a malignant enlargement of adulthood,” Thomas contends that in eldertopia our society may return adulthood “to its proper boundaries,” borders less prone to environmental exploitation, heart attacks and maybe even war. (After watching Oliver Stone’s incisive Showtime series The Untold History of the United States, a stunning historical reality check, I’m glad to see somebody advocate for a more hopeful state of mind, if not future.)
Thomas’ national tour hits the road in New York City, next Monday, March 31, swinging around the nation until it comes to a stop (so far) in Philadelphia in June. These programs, in partnership with AARP’s Life ReImagined and two other corporate sponsors, will run a half-day, featuring Thomas, plus a cluster of dramatic monologues inspired by characters in Second Wind, and a documentary on his work.
Thomas’ 25-city bus tour starts in New York City, then moves through the Mid-Atlantic area, and on to the Midwest, South and Northeast, finally parking in Philadelphia on June 6. Reporters can contact Simon & Schuster ‘s Sarah Reidy about obtaining press tickets at 212-698-7008; sarah.reidy@simonandschuster.com. She can also help reporters with review copies of and press materials for the book. Full information on the tour in available at http://secondwindtour.org/. For tour information and tickets, GBO News readers can also contact AARP’s Anne Herbster, 202.434.3853; AHerbster@aarp.org; or Jeanne Molinari of sponsor Capital Impact Partners: 703-647-2316. In San Francisco, an important contact for the April 16 program at the Palace of Fine Arts is Emma Dugas of the California Health Care Foundation, edugas@chcf.org.
*** Family Whispering is at the other end of the generational scale, stretching from babies to parents and grandparents. Family Whispering: the Baby Whisperer’s Commonsense Strategies for Communicating and Connecting with the People You Love and Making Your Whole Family Stronger, by Melinda Blau and the late “baby whisperer” herself, Tracy Hogg, is just out from Atria Books/Simon & Schuster.
Blau, the author of 15 books on relationships, collaborated with nurse and baby specialist Fogg on several of the volumes, such as the bestselling Baby Whisperer (2001). They decided a decade ago to apply their techniques for calming and communicating with children and toddlers to the whole family. Sadly, Hogg contacted cancer and died in 2004, so it’s taken Blau years on her own (except in spirit) to realize publication of the book she and her coauthor felt had an intergenerational purpose.
Family Whispering, according to Blau, “explains why ‘family’ is more than the relationship between parent and child. By widening the lens to focus on the family as an entity, we illuminate how the multiple bonds and interactions that unfold within a household of adults and children coalesce to form a larger family dynamic.”
As a journalist, she says, “I know a lot about connection because of my research and, just as important, because of the ‘teachers’ in my personal life: my partner, two children, and three grandsons, and the many friends and acquaintances I’ve met and kept over the years.”
For press inquiries, e-mail Ariele Fredman [ariele.fredman@simonandschuster.com] or call her at Simon & Schuster, 212-698-2379. Or contact Blau at MelinBlau@aol.com.
2. CONFERENCE BEAT
Reinstated ASA Press Room Attracts 28 to San Diego Meeting
By Warren Wolfe
SAN DIEGO–Twenty-eight journalists and media professionals from across the country gathered in San Diego, March 11-15, to cover the American Society on Aging (ASA) annual conference at the Manchester Hyatt Hotel — and this year there was a press room.
After a hiatus since 2008 (when the conference attracted 100 reporters), ASA leaders responded to a request by journalists at the 2013 conference in Chicago and set aside a press room for our use.
Though smaller than ASA press rooms of past years and unstaffed, it was beautiful, with a couple of couches, TV, large work table, kitchenette and a great view of the harbor. My partner and online publisher Sheryl Fairbanks chased down a wifi password from hotel officials, scared up a dozen extra chairs, and hand-lettered “Press Room” signs, so people could find the space. (Hotel staffers — bless their hearts — printed up more formal looking replacements.) The press room was in frequent use during the conference.
For those of us from Minnesota or other part so the frigid, snow-swept northern half of the country, it was a great chance to thaw out our bones, as well as meet and interview some of the nation’s top experts on issues of aging.
On Thursday evening, 16 of us gathered for two hours in the press room to talk about the conference, share sources, discuss issues we’re covering and to express gratitude to ASA for providing a work space for journalists covering the rich source of stories and sources on aging.
A hallmark of how the age beat is changing, journalists from 14 states at the conference represented a broad range of news venues — online, magazine, smaller newspapers, radio, blogs, freelance and books. No longer is coverage dominated by beat reporters on major regional and national newspapers.
Among those at the conference were veterans former Los Angeles Times Washington economics correspondent Bob Rosenblatt, now a blogging freelancer and senior fellow of the National Academy of Social Insurance; Connie Goldman, author, freelancer and veteran of National Public Radio; Gary Barg, editor-in-chief of Today’s Caregiver Magazine; Sally Abrahms, writer and blogger for AARP, Huffington Post and others; Richard Eisenberg, assistant managing editor of PBS’s Next Avenue website on aging; Mark Miller of Reuter’s/Tribune Media; Alison Biggar, contract editor of ASA’s newspaper Aging Today; Stuart Rosenthal, of Beacon Newspapers (covering senior news in the Baltimore-DC area); Matt Perry, freelance writer for California Health Report; Liz Seegert of the Association of Health Care Journalists “Aging” blog; and others.
The next major aging conference that typically attracts age beat journalists will be the 2014 annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), Nov. 5-9 in Washington, D.C. (Media contact: Communications Manager Todd Kluss, tkliuss@geron.org, or 202-587-2839).
Reporters in both general and ethnic media interested in attending this conference should watch this space soon for news of this year’s deadline to apply for the Journalists in Aging Fellows program, GSA’s collaboration with New America Media. The program’s new major supporter will be AARP, with continued additional support from the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Also, ASA meets in 2015 in Chicago March 23-27 (media contact: Member Relations Manager Jutka Mandoki, jmandoki@asaging.org, or 415-974-9630). We believe ASA again will provide a press room — but we’ll ask in order to make sure.
GBO News contributor Warren Wolfe, retired in 2013 from the Star Tribune, Minneapolis, where he spent 43 years, over 20 of them off and on covering issues in aging. He is a co-founder of GBO’s parent entity, the Journalists Network on Generations.
3. EYES ON THE PRIZE
The Deadline to Apply for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism is April 14. The six one-year fellowships with the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program aim “to enhance public understanding of mental health issues and reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses through balanced and accurate reporting,” says their website. They will announce recipients on July 11, 2014, on the Center’s website, www.cartercenter.org. The 2014-2015 fellowship year begins in September 2014.
The award, which the former First Lady began in 1996, includes a $10,000 stipend and two required expense-paid trips to The Carter Center in Atlanta in September, and again in September 2015, to meet with program staff and advisers. Fellows also receive access to an exclusive area within the Mental Health Media Forum to facilitate direct dialogue with current and former fellows on mental health reporting.
Fellows are not required to leave their employment during the fellowship year and are encouraged to undertake timely projects that may educate the public and raise awareness about important mental health issues. Among past projects have been the use of North Carolina state prisons as de facto psychiatric hospitals, and the complex mental health challenges so many returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are facing. If you have a project idea regarding mental and emotional issues for elders, now’s the time to get them down in an application.
If you have questions after looking over the website, contact the Center’s assistant director, Rebecca Palpant Shimkets, at (404) 420-5165; e-mail: info@mentalheatlhjournalism.org.
4. THE STORY BOARD
*** New America Media (NAM) Posted the 500th Article on its Ethnic Elders Newsbeat section this week, since the news service launched the website in late 2008. In the past 5+ years, the site has posted an archive of stories on just about every aspect of aging, such as recent pieces ranging from care for low-income African American seniors to Navajo artists preserving their cultural heritage.
The 500th article is “Riskier Lifestyle Contributes to Shorter Alaskan Longevity,” by Joaqlin Estus, news director of KNBA-FM (“broadcasting Alaskan Native voices”). The article kicks off her series on challenges facing older Alaskans and Alaska Natives, which she developed for radio and print through a MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellowship, NAM’s project with the Gerontological Society of America and in conjunction with GBO’s parent entity, the Journalists Network on Generations. This collaborative journalism program will continue for the coming year with major sponsorship by AARP and additional support from the John A. Hartford Foundation. (Stay tuned to this e-newsletter for this year’s fellowship application deadline.)
A major article package released since our last GBO News is NAM’s 10-part special report, “SAN FRANCISCO’S ELDER GHETTO: Old & Poor in Tech City.” It’s the centerpiece of NAM’s two-year national focus on the struggle of seniors to make financial ends meet. (Full disclosure: This editor co-managed this project, but by far most credit goes to NAM’s Ngoc Nguyen and project partner, veteran journalist Geoff Link, editor of San Francisco’s Central City Extra news.) The project is part of NAM’s “Growing Older, Getting Poorer,” initiative on elders’ income security, being supported through a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies.
The 10 pieces include 3 mainbars, an infographic section, and profiles of seniors from different ethnic communities in San Francisco. Some have appeared in translation in ethnic-audience publications. For example, Aruna Lee’s “Gentrification Keeps Retired Korean Barber in Housing Limbo” profiles Young Taek Lim, 75, who receives so little in Social Security that he has to rent out his bedroom—in his one-bedroom apartment—and sleep on a futon in the living room. Viji Sundaram’s piece
“The Castaway Elders: Living Alone and Poor,” visits former substitute teacher Brenda Washington, 64, in her tiny single-room hotel, the kind where so many inner-city seniors live. And in “Alzheimer’s, Poverty Split Elderly Chinese Couple,”Summer Chiang follows Xue Xian Mi, 74, as she shuttles between her tiny, publicly-funded hotel room to tend to her husband, who has Alzheimer’s, in his room a block away. Incredible stories. I can’t list everyone on this project, but it’s a privilege to work with such a splendid and talented crew.
*** “As Living Standards Fall for Seniors, Some See Signs of ‘Silver Revolution’,” by David Wallis (New York Times, Mar. 15). Excellent update on the state of Senior Power protest and political organizing among elders today. It’s on the increase, says Wallis.
*** “Thinking Of Retiring? Consider Your Health,” by Ina Jaffe (NPR’s “ All Things Considered,” Mar. 25), including print story and audio file (5:26 mins.) Jaffe examines research on whether retirement is good for one’s health or not. She quotes USC gerontologist and former National Institute on Aging Deputy Director Edward Schneider: “There are so many different factors that come into play,” he says. “Are you retiring ’cause you want to? Are you retiring involuntarily? Are you working or volunteering after retirement? These are all critical factors in terms of your mental health, and I think they also affect your physical health.”
*** “Who Benefits When the Government Pays More? Pass-Through in the Medicare Advantage Program” is new research from the National Bureau of Economic Research examining Medicare Advantage (MA) programs, through which the federal government contracts with private insurers to coordinate and finance health care for more than 15 million Medicare recipients. When you read of Republicans belly-aching about how Obamacare is being financed by cuts to Medicare, this is the main cut in question. MA’s are managed care programs that actually have paid health plans about 12 percent more than standard Medicare rates. Many studies over the years have found that they offer some seniors additional benefits, but are far from cost effective. This new report confirms that. The Bureau determined that although offering more money does attract additional plans interested in covering seniors through an MA, “only about one-fifth of the additional reimbursement is passed through to consumers in the form of better coverage.” The Affordable Care Act that will trim MA reimbursement by $156 billion from 2013 to 2022.
*** “Key Elements for Developing A Wellness Program for Older Adults” is a “White Paper” from Colin Milner and staff at the International Council on Active Aging, which puts out the high-quality Active Aging trade magazine for the 50-plus activity industry. (Milner is a former journalist, so the editorial content is a cut above the usual trade pub.) GBO News readers who cover fitness and finance may find this 16-page paper to be a useful review of directions and developments in the elder wellness field. The paper, says Milner, “provides a framework for successful wellness programs, taking into account the culture, mission, goals and resources of an organization. To learn more, or to access the White Paper, please visit this link. Reporters can contact Milner, who is based in Vancouver, B.C., at ColinMilner@icaa.cc.
*** Huffington Post Post50 Blogger Chuck Nyren (self professed “Writer, Gadfly, Troublemaker”) recently posted a piece about Marian Brickner, now 76. Nyren writes that Brickner, at age 55 had gone through “a typical miserable divorce and had to start anew. Marian struggled, finding only meaningless and poorly-paid jobs. Then she said to herself, ‘I am going to become a professional photographer.’” Yeah, right, Chuck.
But he goes on, “She did. Ms. Brickner is now well-respected, published and considered the leading photographer of bonobos — our closest extant relatives. Her works are featured in National Geographic publications, academic textbooks, children’s books and (no surprise) on sites like Pinterest. Along with bonobos, Marian’s photos of animals (especially dogs and cats), birds and insects are popular cyberspace virals.”
So, if you’d like to see Brickner and your closest relative (is there a monkey’s uncle in the GBO house?) click on his blog and then maybe a video and other links in the article.
5. BOOMER SCHMOOMER
And now a word from our sponsor – Words! GBO News was reminded recently of a common reporting mistake in article about boomers. The correct bracketing of the baby boom is: “born from 1946 through 1964.” That’s 19 years, which, for this time period, says the U.S. Census, spawned 76 million born in the U.S. plus 2 million immigrants also born then known to have been brought to this country.
Wrong: The common phrasing, “born between 1946 and 1964,” usually followed by a statement that those births translated to 77 or 78 million. Generational framing is always a bit vague, but in any reading translates into 17 years (Dec. 31, 1946-Jan.1, 1964), or 18 (Jan. 1, 1946-Jan.1, 1964). Either would make a difference of millions in the census counts.
Certainly, the concept of “generations” is fuzzy at the fringes. This editor, for example, was born in June 1945, but I’m culturally very much of the boom group. My older brother is, for lack of a better tag, a “Silent”: sports guy, Army reservist in the ‘60s, career teacher and coach. I was in Howdy’s “Peanut Gallery” after TV arrived in our home in 1950 or so, was swept up in the civil rights and anti-war movements – you get the difference.
But in reporting, anchoring “between 1946 and 1964” to 78 (or so) million, is factually wrong. So, like my not so Silent brother’s golf swing—follow “through” 1964.
If you have technical problems receiving issues of GBO News or if you’d like to be removed from the list, simply auto-reply to this e-mail of GBO News, or phone me at 415-503-4170 ext. 133 (e-mail: pkleyman@newamericamedia.org). GBO News especially thanks Sandy Close of New America Media, and our cyber-guru, Kevin Chan.
The Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), founded in 1993, publishes Generations Beat Online with in-kind support from New America Media (NAM). JNG provides information and networking opportunities for journalists covering generational issues, but not those representing services, products or lobbying agendas. NAM is an online, nonprofit news service reaching 3,000 ethnic media outlets in the United States. GBO News readers are invited to visit the NAM website, and click on the Ethnic Elders section logo on the right side. Opinions expressed in GBO do not represent those of NAM. Copyright 2014, JNG. For more information contact GBO Editor Paul Kleyman.
To subscribe of unsubscribe, or if you have technical problems receiving issues of GBO or if you’d like to be removed from the list, e-mail me at pkleyman@newamericamedia.org or phone me at 415-503-4170 ext. 133.