We’re making space to create something new, while acknowledging that sunsetting a product or community causes a mix of emotions.  Email not displaying correctly?
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When thinking about sunsetting a product, I think about the actual sunsets at a Florida beach where locals ritually acknowledge the change. (Image by Tina Dyakon)
Hey -
After six years of spotlighting the successes, frustrations, innovations and evolutions of women in media, The Cohort is ending.
Why stop a good thing?
Because it’s time to devote our resources to creating even better solutions to ever evolving needs.
Poynter launched The Cohort in February 2016 as an extension of Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Women in Media ([link removed]) . The goal was to meet demand for more training, resources and support for rising women leaders ([link removed]) . We sought to create a community and talk candidly about our lives as professionals in a changing media environment.
In every iteration of the newsletter, we did that. Our vulnerable conversations and ideas informed policies ([link removed]) , inspired new products ([link removed]) and challenged old ways of thinking ([link removed]) industry-wide.
I’ll be helping Poynter imagine new ways to serve you and continue this pioneering spirit.
When Poynter started The Cohort, it was during the #GirlBoss and Lean In feminism era, the very beginning of #MeToo, before a President Trump, before a pandemic, before George Floyd, before a sea change about the way we talk about gender. We covered these changes and changed ourselves ([link removed]) .
What creates community now is not necessarily what created community then.
Poynter alum ([link removed]) Elite Truong recently wrote for the News Product Alliance ([link removed]) that it’s ideal to approach sunsetting products from an “organizational mindset of abundance.” I am incredibly grateful that Poynter makes this decision from a position of strength. We intend to continue to invest in connecting this network of leaders in meaningful ways.
But both planned and unplanned finales can make you feel a mix of emotions. Almost everyone I know is grappling with at least one professional ending right now. Our industry is in yet another season of mass layoffs ([link removed]) . Sometimes things end because money is too tight, people leave or leaders change their vision. It can feel unceremonious and rushed ([link removed]) .
Such endings might even make you feel like a failure.
When I am tempted to think I didn’t work hard enough or think creatively enough or stretch myself far enough to stave off an ending, I think about a ritual I sometimes take part in here at a local beach near St. Petersburg, Florida. Every evening, when the sun dips below the horizon, a beachgoer rings a bell and the gathered crowd claps and cheers.
“Wow, that was beautiful,” we murmur to each other before we pack up and go home, knowing the world keeps turning.
The bell at Pass-a-Grille signals the end of the day. (Image by Tina Dyakon)
That’s the perspective, the mindful appreciation, the minute of undivided attention I try to apply to whatever ending I’m experiencing. I appreciate the disappearing beauty. I exhale. And I set my sights on another day.
When you invest time and energy into a product or community, it is personal. I hope that as you experience the end of something this season, you get closure and know it’s not a reflection of something you did or didn’t do. There is just an opportunity for you to do something new.
What’s next for us?
This is the last official Cohort newsletter. I will pop up in your inbox a couple times next year to update you with opportunities to learn, connect and grow. And, you can email me at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=RE%3A%20The%20Cohort) to share ideas about what a sunrise might look like for this community of newsroom leaders.
Meantime, I invite you to deepen your connection with Poynter by subscribing to the Weekly Training Digest ([link removed]) and Open Tabs ([link removed]) . You can check out all our newsletters here ([link removed]) .
Thank you for reading The Cohort, providing feedback and sharing your stories. I admire and respect this group of change-makers, and I look forward to having more time and space to meet you where you are.
Until we meet again, on a new day in a new way.
Mel Grau
Senior product specialist
The Poynter Institute
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

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