Why I’m Writing Backstory & Strategy
A newsletter about the lessons behind leadership, storytelling, and mission-driven media.
Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing reflections on leadership, media, and career growth over on LinkedIn — stories about big wins, lessons from failure, and the (often nonlinear) path that’s taken me from editorial assistant to COO.
The response was bigger — and more personal — than I expected. And it reminded me how valuable it is to pull back the curtain and talk honestly about the work behind the work.
So, while I’ll still be cross-posting there, I created Backstory & Strategy to give these stories a proper home — one that’s easier to find, subscribe to, and follow over time.
This isn’t my first time writing in public. Years ago, I kept a blog called Editor on the Verge. It captured a different chapter — one full of digital disruption, reinvention, and figuring it all out mid-stride.
In many ways, this newsletter picks up where that blog left off.
What this is
I’ve spent most of my career in the space between storytelling and systems — between the newsroom and the boardroom, between the work we create and the infrastructure that supports it.
I’ve worked in local newspapers, at NBCUniversal, and most recently in public media, where I helped launch LehighValleyNews.com. I’ve led newsrooms, built bilingual content teams, raised seven-figure campaigns, and advocated for the kind of journalism that actually serves communities.
The work hasn’t always been linear.
But it’s been full of lessons worth sharing.
What you’ll find here
In Backstory & Strategy, you’ll find:
🧩 Stories behind newsroom growth and transformation
🧠 Reflections on leadership, culture, trust, and career
📈 Lessons from audience building, team development, and strategy in action
🤝 The human side of building something that matters
I’ll be posting most weekdays, with short reflections, longer essays, and the occasional behind-the-scenes story I’ve never told before.
If you’re building, leading, mentoring, or just trying to navigate what’s next — I hope you’ll subscribe.
👉 Subscribe to receive posts in your inbox and join a conversation about how, not just why, we do the work.
Thanks for being here.
More soon.
— Yoni