Jessica Yellin Gives You News, Not a Panic Attack

The former CNN Chief White House Correspondent talks empowerment through information, her morning routine, and what she'd be doing in another life.

Jessica Yellin Gives You News, Not a Panic Attack

Jessica Yellin is an early riser, starting her days at 6:30 am and spending hours reading through news sites. Even after an award-winning career at news outlets like CNN, she knows just how overwhelming the world can be, and how frustrating it is to internalize news in a meaningful way.

If you’re looking to stop doomscrolling, look no further than Yellin’s Instagram. Here, you’ll find bite-sized information from News Not Noise. Yellin founded the media brand to get you the information you need — without the accompanying panic attack. It’s geared towards women under 50 who are tired of all the “anger and negativity." She separates the news from the hysteria, and breaks it down so it’s simple to understand, using empathy in place of fear-mongering.

“I came to this because I was in the news forever, and it always felt to me like a lot of these panel discussions were like joining a dinner party 10 minutes after it started,” Yellin says. “You're like, ‘what's that word mean? Who's that person?’ And it's just this yelling and fighting, and it turns off people. And I would go to these events, and women especially would say, 'I can't listen to it.’”

There’s a sense of freedom in running her own news stream, but she also has to deal with the pressure of knowing the information is on her to determine and deliver. It can be isolating, but it’s also one of the best parts of her job. For Glamour’s Doing the Work column, Yellin talks about the the exhilarating but terrifying feeling of working for yourself, as well as how she unwinds, her morning routine, and her biggest workplace challenge.

Do you have a morning routine?

My mornings are pretty consistent. Against the advice of every wellness expert, I start by doing a survey of the news. I check Twitter, I check my texts for tips, I check emails for any information directly from people, and then I just start going through the news sources. I decide what to post. I hopefully finish that around 9:00 or 9:30, and that's when I break, and I exercise and meditate. I should try to flip it, but I never succeed, so I've accepted that this is how it is.

Are you a breakfast person?

Coffee, iced tea, hot tea and water.

What was your first childhood dream job?

A fashion designer.

And what was your first actual job?

I made cappuccinos at [LA department store] Fred Segal as a teenager, and I was terrible at it.

Chic, though!

I mean, I could never get the milk-to-coffee ratio right for any customer.

How do you generally deal with rejection at work?

In my career, you’re faced with rejection all the time because you're constantly pitching stories, getting no's and trying to chase sources. I always take rejection to heart. I do not understand the people who say that you've just got to let it slide off your back. But if it's something important, a “no” often fortifies me to find another way.

What's the best piece of career advice you’ve personally received?

Take time to figure out what you want before going after it. And I know that sounds incredibly obvious and simple, but it's really much more complicated than it sounds. My career advice used to be “do what they tell you to do and ask for what you want.” Because in my career it was always true—I said I want to be White House correspondent, and they'd say, "Well, that's cute, but you're in Tampa, so you're going to cover this murder in Tampa." But finally I said it enough, and I did enough good work along the way, that when there was an opening, they thought of me, and I got to the White House.

Now, the extra layer of nuance I would add to that is: don't just ask for what you want, but periodically do some hard internal work to figure out if what you think you want will bring you fulfillment, and how you need to make adjustments in order to find that fulfillment.

That's good advice. Far too often people say, “this is what I want," because they think it's what they should want.

Exactly. It's either what their parents valued, what their colleagues are competing for, or what's celebrated in culture. Are you able to get some distance and step back and say, "Is this making me happy? Is this aligning with my goals and mission?" You might see it's not, and find ways to adjust, so you end up at a place that actually fulfills you.

Do you feel that your gender has ever hindered you from an opportunity or a promotion?

Ha! I grew up in the news business at a time when women's hair counted for as much as anything else we did in the profession. I do think changes have been made and more are coming. There’s more diversity—both in front of the camera and making decisions behind the scenes about what counts as news—and I think that'll be accelerated in the next few years.

Do you think women will ever, in your line of work, truly be free of judgment? Aesthetics are so ingrained in us, and we can be as woke as we want, but it's still a gut instinct to watch a woman on TV and think “she's pretty” or “she looks good."

Right. I mean, I still get it on Instagram. I can't tell how many people comment on my hair. People are like “this was a super helpful story, and—not that this matters—but what's your conditioner, what's your shampoo? What do you use for a dryer?” Some of that's fine, but I think that what you also will see is that people who are developing their own voice on social media as independent creators don't have that cookie cutter look that you have on TV. I do think we're allowing for different standards for what counts as beauty, or what counts as an “appealing” look. That's evolving as you get rid of the gatekeepers, and it's just independent voices connecting with an audience on their own.

Is there a specific moment or a scenario when something just clicked and you realized, hey, I might actually be successful at my job?

I wanted to be White House correspondent. So, when I finally got the call at ABC News that said, "Come to Washington," that's when I got this sort of glimmer of hope that this was actually going to work out. I'd made a lot of risky choices to get there. In my late twenties, when other people were already firmly into their second job in a career and climbing the ladder, or in New York dating and having fun, or getting married and having kids, I uprooted myself and moved to Orlando to start in local news.

What’s your biggest at-work challenge?

Knowing when to call it a day. One of the things I try to promote at News Not Noise is that you can take in the craziness of the world and all the challenges, and still stay at peace, not get triggered, find balance. For me, that's not easy.

What’s your favorite low-stakes treat after a successful day?

Waffle cones. But not the ice cream, just the cone.

What’s your go-to thank you gift?

I like to find out what people's favorite candy is, or I send gorgeous flowers.

If you weren't in your current career, what do you think you'd be doing?

Aspirationally, I'd like to be a Maltipoo living on an estate in Malibu or Bali.