Open Letter to James O'Keefe, Muckraker
Dear James O’Keefe,
Apart from my writing12 about your ordeal at Project Veritas and a brief phone call you don’t know me but I felt compelled to share my unsolicited advice with you. As a serial entrepreneur, I have quite a bit of experience getting fired from startups I have founded and this is the sort of actionable, real-world advice I wish someone would have given me.
STEP ONE:
Create a landing page where supporters and donors can visit to express their support by sharing their email address and their willingness to support your new endeavor (give them options to show various levels and types of support). Hundred of thousands of your supporters are attempting to show their support for you by unfollowing Project Veritas—you need to give them a positive way to show their support for you and your mission.
STEP TWO:
Schedule in-person interviews with Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson to occur over the next two weeks. You should spend 40% of the interview sharing the ugly details about what happened at Project Veritas over the past 30 days. The remaining 60% of the interview should focus on your past work including Pfizer, Planned Parenthood, and Acorn, and your overall belief in the importance of journalism. You should conclude each interview by explaining what is next.
STEP THREE:
Publicly and privately forgive the Project Veritas directors, officers, and employees who betrayed you, your supporters, and your donors. Free yourself from the past. Do not spend any more time talking about Project Veritas. Don’t try to understand what happened. Let it go, for now.
"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."
~Lewis B. Smedes
STEP FOUR:
Hire a manager/agent to begin soliciting ideas/proposals for what the second act of your career will look like. Give them the freedom to cast their net widely—wider than you might be comfortable with—and plan for that process to last until September at which time you should be prepared to announce/launch James O’Keefe 2.0. What will that look like? A new non-profit? A new for-profit? Joining an existing organization? Give your team the freedom to help you explore every possible option. Engaging a manager/agent will allow you to avoid the sort of pitfalls that befell Steven Crowder.3
STEP FIVE:
At some point in 2024 once your new platform is up and running you should assign one or more reporters to investigate what actually happened at Project Veritas. You should NOT cover this story but instead, assign it to journalists you trust. Give them a year to get to the bottom of what actually happened. Was it ego, stupidity, and/or pressure? Letting go of the story and giving them the freedom to pursue the story will help you prove to yourself that it doesn’t control you anymore. It is simply an important cautionary tale that needs to be documented and told.
You didn’t ask for this advice but as a fan and an admirer of your work, I decided to take a chance and share it in this open letter. Whatever you decide I am sure you’ll find success in the future.
Respectfully,
If you want to learn more about James O’Keefe check out his book American Muckraker: Rethinking Journalism for the 21st Century.
FYI: take look at what George Webb wrote. I agree with your advice, however the lawyers & possibly IRS now involved. Jeff Childers has weighed in on this. The brand is important. So is the cash in PV’s bank account.