Breaking news in 2024 can be anxiety-inducing, confusing, and blindingly fast, but Jessica Yellin cuts through. It all started when the former CNN Chief White House Correspondent and former ABC News White House Correspondent decided there could be a new way to deliver news—one that connects with audiences, forgoes sensationalism, and instills trust in individual journalists.

“When I was on CNN or ABC News, you'd stand in front of the camera, you'd talk into the lens,” she says, “but when the camera and the lights go off, the story ends for that moment.” Now, when Yellin shares breaking news with her News Not Noise community, she’s not only facilitating an ongoing conversation, but distilling down information that empowers folks to engage, share, and take action.

A Peabody, Gracie, and Emmy award-winning journalist, Yellin has grown News Not Noise hugely since her first video in 2018, specifically on Instagram and her newsletter by the same name. And this fall, just weeks before perhaps the most consequential presidential election of our lifetime, her work is more important than ever.

We used to watch the Evening News and Walter Cronkite together as a family and then have dinner and discuss the news. So it was always clear to me that both political and world events were very important and that you had a responsibility to be engaged. I always thought that I was either supposed to do something in the political world or the news.

I remember when there were still just a few female newscasters and anchors. I liked that they were able to be both publicly smart—which a lot of women were not when I was growing up—and do fun things, interview people, and look great. You didn't have to either be chic and cute or smart—you could do both. There was Christiane Amanpour who was globetrotting and European-chic out in the field...Jane Polly, Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Judy Woodruff, Gloria Borger, and Claire Shipman—who is my generation.

When I first wanted to become a TV reporter, I was told I was too old. I was 27 and I was told I'd missed the boat. The more I heard that, it made me realize that I really wanted this. And so I redoubled my efforts. 

When I wanted to start “News Not Noise,” I was told it wasn't possible. I was given every version of a no: “Nobody wants the news anymore…in the future, the news will only come from comedians…it's not possible to break through on your own…. news won't exist on social media.”

Sometimes, I find a no energizing. I used to listen to Oprah Winfrey and she tells a good story about how she was told at her news channel that she should probably change careers because she was not going to see success on TV. Howard Stern also tells a story about how he used to call one of his first bosses “pig virus” because he would also tell him no. I used to listen to those stories over and over and to get inspired. 

What worked for me was putting in a lot of work and then making it clear where I wanted to go with the work. There are two pieces to this: One is being clear about what you want and being able to state it, and then being willing to do other things outside of that to get there. The other piece is that it’s very hard to know what you want, and sometimes it changes. There's something we don't talk a lot about, which is reassessing and figuring out. Even if you've picked one career, is it working? Do you need to shift? How do you take the time and space to solve that?

For a long time, I wanted to be White House correspondent. It wasn't hard to state that that was the opportunity I wanted. But after I'd done the White House for a while, I was like, “What do I want now?” It takes a lot of inner strength to reassess.

I took a big risk [when I left CNN in 2013]. It took time to figure out what the next thing was going to be. There was a period of discomfort because, after you build your career to a certain place, where you have a certain level of accomplishment, you're used to certain doors opening and the ease of certain things. When you go off-ramp and shift gears, things that used to be easy are hard. You also have this experience of creative expansion. My brain became a place where I could think in different ways. You get energy from that.

We change as people over time, and the world is changing extremely quickly in profound ways. Also, just to be clear, the media business is rapidly changing–and so being able to adapt, innovate, change as it's changing is really helpful. If you're going to go into the media now, you have to be able to pivot.

I was so resistant and nervous, I kept putting it off. This woman who was working with me said, “I'm going to come to your house and not leave until you do it.” Finally, I went outside in my backyard and stood by a tree and made a short video and posted it. This very small group of people who had been cheering me on were like, “You go, girl, that was awesome! But maybe tomorrow try to be indoors or in your living room. It kind of looks like you're in the jungle somewhere.” It was so embarrassing. It was up for a week and I took it down. But then I started making videos when the Brett Kavanaugh hearing started, and that's when it took off.

Part of what’s different about this work and this platform is the range and reach of people I'm connected with. So many people DM me and I end up answering. I have found that when they trust you for one thing, they trust you in general. My inbox is full of questions about medical things and major financial purchases. People are like, “I know you're smart and know who to ask, so can you get me information on these things?” The sense of responsibility is huge. And, while I can't answer all that stuff, it just shows me how people are looking for sources they can trust and don't really know where to go now. 

My number one job is to separate the news from the noise. To me, that means curating and giving my listeners what actually matters. I break things down in a way anybody can understand—you don't have to have a lot of political knowledge. And I try to find ways to make it relevant to your life. The value is the curation. The challenge on my end is that I come from an environment in which putting out tons of content is the way to go. When you're at these networks, the more information you're reporting and breaking, the more relevant you are.

I try to always ask the question: “What do we need?” It’s about striking the balance between keeping you apprised of leading news stories so that you're in conversation, but not getting sucked into it. A story can be huge on day one, and it's worth your knowledge, but the media will beat that drum for five days. I have to remind myself that's exactly what I'm not supposed to do. It’s my job to help you understand that yes, everybody's arguing about crime, the border, and NATO, but what are the actual facts? And then it’s also keeping myself neutral from the crazy things people write these days, so that I can invite more neutral responses.

One of the assumptions I made when I [launched “News Not Noise”]—and I did not know if this would prove true—is that increasingly audiences would follow people rather than institutions. That trust would accrue to individual reporters and personalities rather than the large organizations they work for. That has borne out. 

Plus, we're going to need it as AI comes. One thing we're not aware of is how much AI is coming into our lives in the next six months to the next year and how that impacts how we get information. It’s imperative that we build up trusted voices now so that people know who to turn to. 

Throughout my whole upbringing, I wore a lot of black and white. Then when I got to [broadcast] news, it really did not match. Everything in the news is jewel-toned. The stuff that I wore was just so not my usual thing, but I learned to love color as a result. 

Now, I work from home so I wear leggings and a black shirt all the time. I like feeling either extremely comfortable or professional chic. I like a very tailored look, but feminine. 

We're at a very weird pivot point where everything is changing. If you were to start right now, probably six months from now, the tools available and the platforms would change. The use patterns would be different. 

I always say to young people: Pick a thing you're passionate about. If you are a content creator or journalist, then you have so many options. I think it's good to have an experience inside an institution—CNN, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, ABC News—and also to go do a new media play. Whether it's a digital media brand or working for a nonprofit that you love and you are their head of content—where you can be the face and voice of a new brand.