I’ve had many jobs over the years, but it’s always been the same story: show up, listen well, and try to make it count.

I’m not one to gatekeep, so here’s a tip that genuinely changed how we work.

At Righteous Fights, we’re big believers in remote work. Our team stretches coast to coast — editors in L.A., producers in D.C., crew across the Midwest, and collaborators everywhere in between.

Did a pro-Cuomo PAC darken a photo of Zohran Mamdani to over-emphasize his beard and play into Islamophobic tropes?

That’s the allegation and, whether or not it was intentional, it fits into a long, documented pattern in political media.

We see it in government, media, and even our relationships. Social cohesion is fraying. Facts alone aren’t fixing it. That sense of “we’re all in this together” feels harder to believe.

But even when people lose faith in institutions, they still trust people. And people connect through story.

Knowing the answer might save your project. Or at least save you from hours of wasted time.

I think about storytelling a lot. And there’s one deceptively simple idea I find myself coming back to all the time.

Every great story has two elements working together: Intention and obstacle.

It all begins with an idea.

You’ve got great content. But if your files are scattered, your team’s misaligned, or your naming conventions are anyone’s guess, that content won’t do what it’s meant to do.

Behind every iconic image or moving video is a layer of infrastructure that most people never see. Getting that layer right ensures that the right stories get told, and the right people get to see them.