The "Last Mile" of local news is failing because our infrastructure is "Too Bulk to Function." This week's Strategic Practitioner: Agentic Reassembly Iowa’s "Ancestral Search Engine" Haggadah as audience manual Read: www.linkedin.com/posts/ygreen... #LocalNews #Journalism

“El periodismo resistirá si dejamos de pensar como fábricas de contenido”. Entrevista a Yonatan Greenbaum, vicepresidente de Estrategia de Producto en el American Press Institute. Thanks, @yonigre.bsky.social!

The arrest of Don Lemon & Georgia Fort under the FACE Act is a 5-alarm fire for press freedom. Standard newsgathering is being reframed as a criminal conspiracy. I’ve built a newsroom guide with a "Reporting Memo" template to protect your teams. Stay safe: open.substack.com/pub/yonigre/...

You can’t sharpen a knife while you’re cutting. If you never stop working to fix your process, your process will eventually break you. Some thoughts on the strategic necessity of the "pause" for the week ahead: www.backstoryandstrategy.com/p/you-cant-s...

Milton risked his life. Murrow risked his career. We talk trust metrics, but let's remember what journalism makes possible: it’s the mechanism by which free people figure out what's true. The toast is still relevant. www.backstoryandstrategy.com/p/milton-mur... #PressFreedom #Thanksgiving

Everyone’s chasing the next platform. Meanwhile, creators are back on Facebook, and audiences never left YouTube. Maybe the future of trust and connection isn’t somewhere new — it’s somewhere we stopped showing up. open.substack.com/pub/yonigre/... #Media #Trust #BackstoryAndStrategy

Public media can’t fix itself with the same tools that broke it. The infrastructure that built it isn’t the one that will save it. Here’s why we need to rebuild, not restore: yonigre.substack.com/p/the-infras...

Vibe coding flips software creation on its head. No dev team. No big budget. No permission. Just a clear problem and a strong idea. What’s the first thing you’d build if the barrier was gone? 🔗 yonigre.substack.com/p/vibe-codin...

Heading to Chicago for meetings with news leaders ahead of #NPASUMMIT 2025. If you're arriving early for the summit, let's connect for a coffee. I'm keen to talk about the work we're doing at the American Press Institute on influencers, impact, and trust. DM me to connect! #journalism

Been experimenting with making my Substack archive more useful. I built an AI 'Pocket Coach' that lets you have a conversation with all my past posts on strategy, journalism, and nonprofits. It turns a static archive into an interactive tool. Try it out here: yonigre.substack.com/p/stop-searc...

We don’t need more meetings. We need better ones. That’s why I built AgendaFlow: a fast way to turn chaos into clarity. Make meetings feel like progress, not punishment. 🔗 app.backstoryandstrategy.com

Is "if it bleeds, it leads" still a winning strategy for news? We bet against it. We built a newscast around context instead of crime tape and beat the competition. Viewers don't want more spectacle, they want respect. My story: yonigre.substack.com/p/why-if-it-...

Exciting news: On Aug. 4, I’ll join the American Press Institute as VP of Product Strategy. 15 years after speaking there, I return at a critical moment for journalism. Why I’m hopeful despite the challenges: yonigre.substack.com/p/back-to-ap... #journalism #product #strategy

Public media is banking on corporate giving to fill a $1.1B clawback. But a change to federal tax law just rewrote the rules. I break it down here: yonigre.substack.com/p/the-floor-... #nonprofitmedia #journalism #fundraising

Urgency grabs attention. But what happens after the crisis fades? New on Backstory & Strategy: why nonprofit media & mission-driven orgs need to build for endurance, not just adrenaline. yonigre.substack.com/p/when-the-s...

I've spent my career in local news. But this week, I found myself asking: Do I live in a news desert? A personal reflection on shrinking coverage, civic info gaps, and what happens when your own community is left out. 🔗 yonigre.substack.com/p/do-i-live-...

In 2008, someone pitched me a product. I pitched back something else entirely. That moment shaped how I think about business relationships to this day. The full story—and what it taught me about finding partners instead of vendors: 🔗 yonigre.substack.com/p/stop-looki...

🎙️ Launching Backstory & Strategy—a podcast about leadership, trust, and the real decisions behind the scenes. 14 episodes are live. New ones drop most weekdays. Thoughtful, practical, no fluff. Apple: yoni.short.gy/Q1IRKd Spotify: yoni.short.gy/vNJTmD Amazon: yoni.short.gy/piE655 #podcasts

Announcing the Backstory & Strategy Podcast! My Substack is now in audio form. I'm launching with 14 episodes, with new ones dropping most weekdays. The full written archive is also coming to audio soon. Listen here: Apple: yoni.short.gy/Q1IRKd Spotify: yoni.short.gy/vNJTmD #podcast #strategy

My new podcast, Backstory & Strategy, is live. The first episode covers the critical difference between a vendor and a partner—one sends invoices, the other shares your goals. A key lesson from my Philly.com days. Listen here: yoni.short.gy/9Chu6h #Podcast #Leadership #BusinessStrategy

When leaders get stuck, the "wait and see" approach isn't neutral. It's a costly stall that erodes team morale and trust. My new piece covers why this happens and how to get things moving again, whether you're making the call or waiting for it. yonigre.substack.com/p/the-hidden...

Many nonprofits chase recurring revenue without seeing the cash flow trap it can create. I break down the hidden risks of the "sustainer" model and offer a 3-part strategy for building a program that's actually sustainable. #nonprofit #fundraising yonigre.substack.com/p/the-myth-o...

Why don't newsrooms learn from mistakes (and successes) like hospitals do? My post explores using M&M Conferences for blameless post-mortems and Grand Rounds to systematically study what works. A path to a better culture. yonigre.substack.com/p/what... #journalism #newsnerds

Does your nonprofit board create more work than value? It's the most common source of friction in nonprofits: the blurred line between governance & management. I wrote a practical guide on how to fix it, with scripts for your staff and a playbook for leaders. Link in bio to read the full piece.

Perfect for a Saturday evening scroll. This week on Backstory & Strategy, I published a new tool: a practical framework for making purpose-driven decisions 🧭 Plus, deep dives on the future of news & 'culture fit'. Catch up on the week's reads. Link in bio! #Strategy #Leadership #DecisionMaking

Long before we had feeds and timelines, newspapers were the glue that held a new nation together. My latest article looks at how these original social networks delivered independence to the American people. The full post is in my bio. #History #4thofJuly #Journalism #AmericanRevolution

Are you accidentally filtering out your best candidates by misjudging "culture fit"? My new article discusses how to use cultural alignment as a powerful tool for building a successful team. Read the full post in my bio. #Hiring #Recruitment #CultureFit #Leadership

My latest piece is a blueprint for revitalizing local news in Pennsylvania. I'm proposing a Civic Media Fund, a public-private partnership to support our journalists and combat "news deserts." Check out the full post in my bio. #localnews #journalism #Pennsylvania

ICYMI, I built a free toolkit for the tough "mission vs. money" calls. It includes a printable PDF and a fully interactive Google Sheet to help guide your strategic decisions. Get your copy here: yonigre.substack.com/p/a-practica... #Leadership #DecisionMaking

The Chan Zuckerberg school closure is a huge red flag for nonprofits. Relying on a single "whale" donor is a seductive but dangerous strategy. My new piece breaks down the risks and how to build a truly sustainable organization. Link in bio. #Nonprofit #Fundraising #Philanthropy #Leadership

I built a free framework for those tough 'mission vs. money' calls. It’s a complete toolkit with a PDF scorecard and an interactive Google Sheet to guide your analysis. The link is in my bio! #DecisionMaking #Leadership #Strategy

99% of Americans refuse to pay at paywalls. New Pew data: It's not about cost (only 10% cite price). People just think they can get the same news free elsewhere. Is subscription journalism doomed? Link in bio. #journalism #paywalls #media

Google’s “offerwall” pitch to publishers? Feels like Yahoo’s promise to save newspapers 20 years ago. Big tech lifelines sound good — but they rarely solve what only publishers can: long-term sustainability.

Saying no can feel impossible — but it’s often the smartest leadership move. I wrote about how the right no can create space for better yeses. Link in bio.

Said no to a big check this week. Sounds crazy? Here's why it felt right—and what it taught us about staying true to mission while still growing. Also: which AI tools actually help journalists vs. which ones just burn budget. Link in bio.

A post about a fork-in-the-road moment: take the big check and change the mission, or stay independent and stick to the plan? We chose the latter. I wrote up our thought process for anyone else building something they believe in. Link in bio.

Winding down and reading about the real, non-hype applications of AI in newsrooms. It's less "robot reporters" and more about powerful tools for investigation and finding signal in the noise. An interesting look at what's effective today. open.substack.com/pub/yonigre/...

Cutting through the noise on AI in journalism. My take: It's for expanding coverage and working smarter, not replacing people. Read our real-world experiments & key takeaways for leaders. Link in bio. #AIinNews #JournalismTech #MediaLeadership

"Revenue is revenue" — that's what we told ourselves when our media station started reselling digital services. Weeks later: hundreds of thousands in sales ✅ Months later: supporters asking "Is this who you are now?" 😬 Mission drift shows up dressed as smart strategy. Link in bio. #Leadership

$80M endowment. Exceeded all expectations. Award-winning journalism. Still had to pull the plug. Here's what I learned about the brutal economics of mission-driven work—and why "just focus on impact" isn't enough. Link in bio ⬆️ #Nonprofits #MediaSustainability #Leadership

I used to think I knew what readers wanted. Then I realized: I'm a rabbi's son from the Bronx who sold death and disability insurance. What are the odds I can guess what the person in line behind me at Dunkin wants to read? Analytics tell you WHAT. People tell you WHY. Link in bio 👆 #journalism

Presidents used to announce military strikes from the Oval Office. Trump announced bombing Iranian nuclear sites on Truth Social first. I researched whether any president had done this before. The findings reveal how crisis communication is changing. Full analysis: link in bio #Trump #Iran #Politics

Traffic was soaring but we weren't proud of what we were publishing anymore. There's a difference between audience-first and audience-only thinking. One builds trust. The other feeds algorithms. New piece → link in bio #MediaStrategy #ContentStrategy

I used to think publishers going TikTok-first were making a huge mistake. Then I saw the Reuters data. For the first time: social media (54%) beats TV (50%) and news sites (48%) for news. Maybe I was wrong. New piece 👆 #journalism #media #socialmedia #news #platforms

Who owns your audience? If you can't answer that question clearly, you're not alone. Most newsrooms fragment audience work across editorial, marketing, product, and business—breaking the feedback loop that matters most. New piece: Link in bio #media #journalism #audiencestrategy

"What are the odds I can guess what the person in line with me at Dunkin Donuts wants to read?" Three case studies on why expert assumptions fail and audience feedback wins. Link in bio. #journalism #media #contentstrategy #audienceinsights

The best newsrooms don't broadcast TO their audience—they collaborate WITH them. I learned this lesson while building PBS39's news programs. Your community isn't just data points to analyze; they're co-creators who can strengthen your work. New post on how to make it happen 👇 #journalism #community

What if search becomes premium? Taboola launched AI search for publishers. Sounds helpful until you realize we're one step closer to paywalling basic information discovery. I've seen "free" features go premium before. This one's different. Link in bio. #media #journalism

Taboola launched an AI search engine for publishers. Is site search about to become premium? I've worked in newsrooms where reporters Googled their own site because internal search was broken. But paywalling discovery feels different. Link in bio. #media #journalism #AI

"I'm not dead!" started the phone call after I made a massive mistake at my first newspaper job. I accidentally "killed" the wrong person in a front-page obituary. I was convinced my career was over. What happened next changed everything I know about leadership. 🧵