Spinning It Positive Pays Off
Posted: 2/1/2011 | By: Deena Higgs Nenad
He barely made it out of high school, has a 12-year prison record for cocaine drug trafficking, and is a regular in central New Jersey’s most crime-ridden housing projects. But don’t mistake J.M. Benjamin for one of the hustlers or gang-bangers he regularly interviews.
Benjamin is really an upstanding publisher, now hustling his positive-story newspaper in 20 states and
gaining publicity faster than he can fathom. His Success News newspaper, full of uplifting stories about inner-city citizens, has caught the media’s attention, and he’s already a celebrity in his own town.
“I can’t go anywhere without someone in the streets saying, ‘That was a powerful article’ or ‘When does the next newspaper come out?’” said Benjamin, who grew up in the Elmwood Gardens projects in Plainfield, N.J., an area long associated with crime and gangs.
The idea for a newspaper sprang from his frustration with the mostly reactive, negative media swirling around his neighborhood. No one ever did proactive, positive stories on everyday successes or on the people who overcame adversity, he said.
“It was murdered this, killed that, shooting at a party … it just became discouraging,” he said. “I know a lot of ex-offenders that have come home (from prison) and got their life back on track, started businesses. There are a lot of people in low-income housing … that never went to prison, that never did drugs.”
Success News sells for $2 an issue. But Benjamin likes to sell it in bundles of 100, giving inner-city kids a chance to make money. They get to keep $1 for every paper they sell and hopefully build business skills.
With a print run of about 3,000 each month, Benjamin wears all the hats — publisher, editor, writer, advertising, and circulation. Other regular contributors include his girlfriend, two of his three teenagers, and an anonymous cop who airs his views about the law. A local professor writes on what it takes to get into college, and actress Cherie Johnson of “Family Matters” and “Punky Brewster” fame, writes celebrity news.
But what makes his Success News such a success is how real it is to the inner-city followers who lap up its happy content and appreciate the candid questions from someone who understands their struggles.
“I look like they look; I come from where they come from,” Benjamin said. “My reputation, my credibility from the streets, makes me certified to ask.”
There’s a regular column called “What’s Really Hood?” that examines what’s going on in the streets. In one column, Benjamin interviews gang members and others who live in the projects. One question asked of a gang member: “If your boy was killed and you knew who did it, would you go to the police or take care of it yourself?” Benjamin asks while the gang member’s son is present, so that when the answer is something like, “I’d kill the blankety-blank,” the gangster is humiliated when his son wonders why his dad doesn’t want justice. Does that gangster retaliate against Benjamin? Heck no, he said. They read every word.
Another section is geared toward incarcerated men and the families they leave behind.
“If These Walls Could Talk” might examine why Dad is moody when the family comes to visit.
“Because right before … the officer made him strip randomly … or talked to him disrespectfully for no reason, and he can’t transition from letting it go (by the time) you come to visit. That’s the kind of things we cover,” said Benjamin, who began writing to channel his own stress while in federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J.
A successful author of eight books, mostly urban literature dealing with racy characters in real-life settings, he aims for inspirational messages that might prevent a life of crime or worse. His latest book, “Memoirs of an Accidental Hustler,” about a young boy growing up in the projects, was released Jan. 17.
That career has helped with newspaper visibility, although his marketing is soft — relying on Facebook, Twitter, and the old-fashioned look-me-in-the-eye type of sales. He has no shortage of contacts as a motivational speaker for his recent nonfiction book, “From Incarceration 2 Incorporation” about his own life turnaround. His book tour and speaking engagements take him from major bookstores to an African American-owned barbershop where he’ll recruit people to help sell his newspaper in their city.
So far, the 16-page newspaper is profitable. A bail bond company has taken out a one-year contract on the back page, and a skin care company in Washington, D.C., has committed to regular ads, but Benjamin vows to not clutter Success News with advertisements. The material is too important; the message too profound.
“When I went off to prison, I realized everything that I thought I loved, everyone who said they loved me, it was all a façade,” Benjamin said. “One would have thought that I would have spent most of my life in prison. Now, people can’t even recall the negativity I contributed to my town. I’m on the opposite side of the fence, trying to make the community safer.”
One success story at a time.
Benjamin is really an upstanding publisher, now hustling his positive-story newspaper in 20 states and
gaining publicity faster than he can fathom. His Success News newspaper, full of uplifting stories about inner-city citizens, has caught the media’s attention, and he’s already a celebrity in his own town.
“I can’t go anywhere without someone in the streets saying, ‘That was a powerful article’ or ‘When does the next newspaper come out?’” said Benjamin, who grew up in the Elmwood Gardens projects in Plainfield, N.J., an area long associated with crime and gangs.
The idea for a newspaper sprang from his frustration with the mostly reactive, negative media swirling around his neighborhood. No one ever did proactive, positive stories on everyday successes or on the people who overcame adversity, he said.
“It was murdered this, killed that, shooting at a party … it just became discouraging,” he said. “I know a lot of ex-offenders that have come home (from prison) and got their life back on track, started businesses. There are a lot of people in low-income housing … that never went to prison, that never did drugs.”
Success News sells for $2 an issue. But Benjamin likes to sell it in bundles of 100, giving inner-city kids a chance to make money. They get to keep $1 for every paper they sell and hopefully build business skills.
With a print run of about 3,000 each month, Benjamin wears all the hats — publisher, editor, writer, advertising, and circulation. Other regular contributors include his girlfriend, two of his three teenagers, and an anonymous cop who airs his views about the law. A local professor writes on what it takes to get into college, and actress Cherie Johnson of “Family Matters” and “Punky Brewster” fame, writes celebrity news.
But what makes his Success News such a success is how real it is to the inner-city followers who lap up its happy content and appreciate the candid questions from someone who understands their struggles.
“I look like they look; I come from where they come from,” Benjamin said. “My reputation, my credibility from the streets, makes me certified to ask.”
There’s a regular column called “What’s Really Hood?” that examines what’s going on in the streets. In one column, Benjamin interviews gang members and others who live in the projects. One question asked of a gang member: “If your boy was killed and you knew who did it, would you go to the police or take care of it yourself?” Benjamin asks while the gang member’s son is present, so that when the answer is something like, “I’d kill the blankety-blank,” the gangster is humiliated when his son wonders why his dad doesn’t want justice. Does that gangster retaliate against Benjamin? Heck no, he said. They read every word.
Another section is geared toward incarcerated men and the families they leave behind.
“If These Walls Could Talk” might examine why Dad is moody when the family comes to visit.
“Because right before … the officer made him strip randomly … or talked to him disrespectfully for no reason, and he can’t transition from letting it go (by the time) you come to visit. That’s the kind of things we cover,” said Benjamin, who began writing to channel his own stress while in federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J.
A successful author of eight books, mostly urban literature dealing with racy characters in real-life settings, he aims for inspirational messages that might prevent a life of crime or worse. His latest book, “Memoirs of an Accidental Hustler,” about a young boy growing up in the projects, was released Jan. 17.
That career has helped with newspaper visibility, although his marketing is soft — relying on Facebook, Twitter, and the old-fashioned look-me-in-the-eye type of sales. He has no shortage of contacts as a motivational speaker for his recent nonfiction book, “From Incarceration 2 Incorporation” about his own life turnaround. His book tour and speaking engagements take him from major bookstores to an African American-owned barbershop where he’ll recruit people to help sell his newspaper in their city.
So far, the 16-page newspaper is profitable. A bail bond company has taken out a one-year contract on the back page, and a skin care company in Washington, D.C., has committed to regular ads, but Benjamin vows to not clutter Success News with advertisements. The material is too important; the message too profound.
“When I went off to prison, I realized everything that I thought I loved, everyone who said they loved me, it was all a façade,” Benjamin said. “One would have thought that I would have spent most of my life in prison. Now, people can’t even recall the negativity I contributed to my town. I’m on the opposite side of the fence, trying to make the community safer.”
One success story at a time.