For someone who can quote the entire theme song from “Car 54 Where Are You”, I am a bit confused about the lack of commercial TV watching in your youth. I guess a lot can be learned from video tape and TV Land. I was – and am – a devoted commercial TV viewer, though I also watched plenty of Public Broadcasting as well. I even got my Bachelors in Broadcasting – sort of a BA in TV.
All that aside, I am intrigued by your corporate governance role, too. One thing I know I could use is a short and simple-ish book on what sorts of clues the regular stockholder should look for when buying stock, voting proxies, and slogging through annual reports. Some of the slick reports we get remind me of bad movies – too much flash, not enough funk. I get suspicious right away when the report reads more like an extended advertisement than it does reveal the plot of a company’s story. I would be especially interested to see your skills as a reviewer at work in the heady realm of corporations. This kind of thing might even help potential employees identify the sort of company that is worth working for – and very personal investment in many ways.
It was a fun article and I think getting a nefarious stock manipulator to hiss at you means you are on the right track. Well done – and well deserved attention.

Interesting article. Isn’t handling two careers a difficult task. Good for you though.

Thank you very much, Dominic! And I enjoy them both, so it doesn’t feel difficult. Each one is a vacation from the other!

Thanks so much, jestrfyl. My parents were very restrictive about what we watched, but they loved “Car 54″ (one of the actors was a distant relative!) and we all watched it together.
And my company, The Corporate Library, does just the kind of analysis you ask for, but it is probably too expensive for a small investor. Most small investors do not pick stocks, anyway (I would not advise them to — why should they try to outsmart the people who do this full time), but invest through mutual funds. We do issue an annual report on mutual funds and it is free.
And I am an advisor to Shareowners.org, which is a great place to learn about how to vote proxies, etc.

I read the article about your movie reviewing and corporate governance skills with interest, but I perked up when it talked about how you met your husband, David Apatoff. “I knew someone named David Apatoff once!” I told my wife, and sure enough one look at his photo on the Arnold and Porter website confirmed it — even after over 40 years. We went to grammar school together in Hyde Park at William H. Ray school. Ask him about Mrs. Stein’s 8th grade class where we read Moby Dick and Animal Farm! We moved away after I finished 8th grade. Interesting that you both went back to the U of C for graduate work; I did too, in 1976-79.
Adam Wasserman
Vienna, VA

Absolutely loved the article. Validated my raising my daughters tv-free but eventually throwing some great movies into the mix. I love seeing strong, smart, and sassy women profiled. Kudos to you!

So that’s how the S. S. Minnow got its name? That’s hilarious. So it wasn’t just that it was a little fish, like the little boat.
I enjoyed reading the article as well.

Thanks so much, Jill! Your daughters are lucky to have you — and I am sure they know it.