Tony Brasunas

Many thanks for your thoughts, suggestions, and wisdom! Your votes for the book’s subtitle varied even more widely than those for the cover. Looking through the results, and talking to a range of people—including some of the Alpha and Beta Readers who read the full book—the first thing I realized was that I had to keep the subtitle short.

The second thing I realized was that I needed to combine both a tiny summary of the book and a brief focus on the book’s ultimately positive analysis about where our troubled media landscape is headed.

It was a bit like composing a haiku.

I couldn’t include censorship, propaganda, and disinformation in the subtitle. I couldn’t even have two of those buzzwords. I needed to choose one.

This first half of the subtitle came down to a dilemma between censorship and disinformation. Both concepts are central to the book’s premises and receive deep analysis. Your votes helped me to see that one of these words is more compelling to Americans in 2022 than the other. I believe I landed on the one with the widest interest: Disinformation.

I’d be honored to have your help with one more part of this forthcoming book. First, thank you for voting on the cover of the book. It’s now set, and I think it’s a beauty.

Choosing a subtitle might not be as exciting or as sexy as the cover of the book, but these little words that follow the title might be even more important in determining who finds the book

• Search engines index the subtitle.
  
• Humans looking for a book like mine won’t likely search on the words “red,” “white,” or “blind.”
  
• The subtitle should also be a concise but accurate summary of the contents of the book.
  
• Finally, and maybe most important, the subtitle should be an attractive pitch for the book.

Yes, in the words of RUN DMC, choosing a subtitle is tricky.

Don’t judge the book by it, but I’m revealing the cover today to my new book, Red, White & Blind.

My deep gratitude to all of you who reviewed the potential book covers in my previous post! Special thanks to you if you voted for your favorites and commented as to why you liked the ones you liked. That was very helpful. Thank you!

It came down to a two-horse race. The runner-up was one that many of you liked, the red cover with the dripping paint crossing out the title. And the winner was…

Go Watch the Cover Reveal >

Now that you’ve seen it…

What do you think? Do you like the imagery of the eye behind the blinds? What does it evoke for you? Does it pull you in? Scare you off? Is it memorable?

Please let me know in the comments on the video or here on my blog. It’s very helpful.

Special kudos to Kevin Christaldi in Oregon who pointed out that the pulls on the blinds shouldn’t be red lest they appear to be drops of blood in a thumnail image. Kevin, do they look better now? Or do they look like tears now?

The next poll, coming up, will focus on the subtitle. I’ve spent a lot of time hammering it out, but it’s still subject to change, and I’m curious of your thoughts. How does it strike you: “Unveiling Disinformation & Censorship at the Dawn of the New Enlightenment.”

Tell me in the comments below.

Thank you once again.

Off-topic a bit, but important for some of you here. My substack is new and many of you are either new subscribers or were moved to substack from my legacy email list. Here are a quick set of steps to follow if you’re subscribed to my substack newsletter but the emails are disappearing or going into your Promotions folder on gmail.

I made a quick video on how to move messages from your Promotions folder to your inbox — and ensure they always go there.

The steps followed in the video are

1. Go to your Promotions Folder
2. Find the email from “Tony Brasunas at Red, White & Blind”
3. Drag that email onto your Inbox tab
4. Click YES to have this done for every email from me.

Here’s the video:

• Why couldn’t the media report on the lab leak theory of covid for over a year?
  
• Why was I censored by Huffington Post?
  
• Why is my forthcoming book called Red, White & Blind?

My heart was beating quickly. The host threw questions at me.

It was my first appearance on a podcast in my life. It was also the first public event talking about Red, White & Blind. Take a listen at the link below if you’re interested!

I was nervous for sure, but after 10 minutes or so I settled in. At least I think so. I explained what I mean by the term “the New Enlightenment,” how I compose a Balanced Media Diet, and what I propose as a business model for independent media. I even got into an interesting conversation with Mr. Parker about the term “conspiracy theorist.” 

I think I was able to articulate myself reasonably well, but let me know your thoughts in the comments below. What did I do well? What did I do poorly? It was my first time so I’m viewing it as a learning experience and your thoughts will be very helpful.

Take a listen if you’d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about where I see media, censorship, and disinformation going in this country.

Deprogram with Michael Parker
Today’s Talk News Radio (TNTRadio)
Interview July 26, 2022
Podcast Interview (starts at 04:50) >

(By the way, TNTR is live radio. You’ll hear news updates and commercials during the podcast. Enjoy! Or skip over them.)

This book is nearly complete. Years of research and writing have culminated in Red, White & Blind, a deep and thorough investigation into censorship and misinformation in America, and what to do about it. My hope is that it prompts some great conversations and helps at least a few Americans see the world a little more truthfully.

Like every book, this one now needs a cover.

I’m working with a professional cover designer, and we have several that I believe have great potential. Can you help me by voting below for the one(s) that you find most compelling?

Note: All the covers are works in progress and will improve once we choose the best to focus on. The subtitle is also a work in progress and will likely change.

Size Matters

The ideal cover will look great both on a bookstore shelf and as a small thumbnail image in an Amazon listing. If you were in a bookstore, which cover would draw you in? In your opinion, should the cover evoke the many topics explored — such as social media censorship and a “balanced media diet” — or do you prefer simplicity? Essentially, I want to present a great image to attract the people who would enjoy and benefit from the investigation — as well as to draw in those who might, you know, judge a book by its…

(more…)