February 28, 2014

Media Adviser to Hillary Clinton in 1999: “Be Careful to Be Real”

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/15083709@N06/2245576555/in/photolist-4qraFa-4s7bTf-4uDKbQ-4Dx3MR-4Lki1L-4U6Tyk-51xeXX-51Byof-5nQ8Di-613oYp-bEieMB-9yMrvc-fucSTv-fusc6W-fus34L-fucHE4-beZvdn-8gibYf-8gibT9-8geV2T-dA7bF1-de5hpK-8geUYr-8geUWZ-dA1GRp-7JDuot-7JDu5B-7JHpFG-7JDu8T-7JDugK-7JHpJd-7JHphS-7JHpE3-7JDtQZ-7JDu1R-7JHpX7-7JHpVb-7JHpKw-7JHpgs-7JHpvS-7JDtWM-7JDtU2-7JDuip-7JHpnm-7JDuer-7JHpjN-7JHpwG-7JHpwm-7JHpCL-7JDusz-7JDtYg">Angela Radulescu</a>/Flickr

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In 1999, as former First Lady Hillary Clinton was preparing to run for US Senator in New York, she was coached by Mandy Grunwald, a public relations consultant who also served as media adviser for Clinton’s subsequent presidential campaign, before a speech. Back then, Grunwald had some words of wisdom for Clinton, who is now considered front runner for the Democrat’s 2016 presidential nomination: “Be careful to be real.” This is one of eight pieces of advice included in a July 1999 letter released today as part of a trove of documents from the Bill Clinton Administration.

Some of these tips could still be applicable for Clinton in 2016, if she chooses to run: “Don’t assume anyone knows anything about you…New Yorkers generally know about healthcare, your work for children, and then a lot of tabloid junk.” Here are the other tips: 

 

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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