Jesse Nankin is editor of start-up publication YP Nation. Click here for more photos.
Dreams of commanding a courtroom as a prosecuting attorney fueled Jesse Nankin’s motivation to apply to law school years ago. But when it came time to sign the university offer letter that promised a career of fat paychecks, Nankin shifted her sails to a completely different career that offered no such monetary promises. In fact, as editor of start-up online publication YP Nation since June 2009, Nankin hasn’t seen a single paycheck.
The new publication that is still getting its bearings in the world of online content has been tasked with the same challenge as online newspapers and magazines: to create and sustain revenue.
Willing to fight that battle with YP Nation president and publisher, Michael Eisenstadt, Nankin, 30, accepted the unpaid editor role in pursuit of providing journalistic value to the public and with eagerness to be part of a new project from the ground up.
“It’s fascinating to watch the [newspaper] industry evolve so quickly, and it’s not in death throes but at times it seems like it is,” Nankin said. “So to see this experimental model take off and seem like it’s going to work gives you hope for the industry.”
The niche publication serves as a community platform with both local and national perspectives through content provided by young professionals for young professionals. Stories about politics, job markets, current events and relevant debates and conversations cover the homepage each day, and Nankin remains at the center of it all.
A team of over 20 virtual editorial contributors e-mails stories to Nankin from their homes that get published on the site each day. As many publications trend towards online publishing, the need for office space isn’t as vital, which leads to virtual organizations such as YP Nation that are driven by contributors across the world working from their homes.
Nankin also works out of her home office in the North End in Boston. She splits her days, spending about 20 hours a week dedicated to YP Nation and 20 hours working in a marketing and communications freelance position for Polaris Health Directions Inc. The latter provides steady income that allows her to pursue journalism until YP Nation successfully establishes independent revenue.
Happy to have Nankin head the editorial side of YP Nation, Eisenstadt credits her journalistic talent and ability to convey the publication’s overarching message.
“One of the major things with YP Nation is we want to be non-partisan and to present all viewpoints,” Eisenstadt said. “And that’s something Jesse is constantly pushing for.”
Contributing writers who communicate with Jesse throughout the week via e-mail, Skype or telephone are also pleased to work with her.
“She will tighten up a piece and make it stronger without changing the writer’s original voice and that is huge,” said Jen Skala, YP Nation contributing writer. “As a writer, you don’t want to feel that the editor is completely changing your voice or story and that’s not the case with Jesse at all.”
Nankin also works with Eisenstadt to find other YP groups around the country to add content to the site or to link to. Eisenstadt says YP Nation is currently connected to ten of the top 20 largest young professional organizations in the country, including over 400,000 members.
“We want to provide a voice for this community where young professionals have never really had a voice before,” Eisenstadt said. “Alone, YPs can only do so much in their own community, so connected nationally, we can provide common perspective and really empower YPs around the country.”
A great advocate for this, Nankin was eager to assist.
She developed her editorial skills at Northeastern University, where she recently completed her master’s degree in journalism. But the string of jobs she held before then was what ultimately led her to pursue journalism as a career. As a paralegal at the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, Nankin discovered her interest in research and interviewing but found no room for creativity. Slightly closer to recognizing journalism as an interest, Nankin landed a short gig at Houghton Mifflin publishing company where she was able to write and edit.
“I felt like this was one step closer to what I wanted to do,” Nankin said. “But I didn’t want to get pigeonholed into educational publishing, so I knew it still wasn’t right.” Trusting her instincts, she began applying to journalism schools while writing for the alumni magazine at the Harvard School of Public Health.
“I wanted that creative freedom that was missing from the legal and educational fields,” Nankin said.
Eisenstadt saw the creative, hard-working nature in Nankin when he interviewed her for the YP Nation editor role.
“Jesse has been able to push the team to accomplish the goals we’ve set out for,” Eisenstadt said. “She shows creativity and drive and commitment and she’s been able to keep everyone on task to reach our journalistic goals.”
While she doesn’t do much writing in her role as editor of YP Nation, Nankin occasionally freelances for the Boston Globe and does some creative writing. Her former Northeastern professors applauded her ability to not only report and get the facts, but also her skill in weaving them into a story.
“She was an excellent interviewer,” said Northeastern journalism professor Link McKie. “She’s very personable and has an easy way about her to get people to talk to her. She also learns quickly, is optimistic, driven to succeed and a great leader.”
Those who knew Nankin at a young age saw even more than the driven, intelligent woman that she has grown into. Darley Newman, who has been friends with Nankin since the age of 12, met her at a summer theater camp in Pennsylvania.
“Jesse is such a passionate and caring person,” Newman said. “The fact that we only spent summers together growing up, and managed to keep in touch, shows she’s such a loyal friend.”
Nankin’s loyalty also spans beyond her friends and career to one particular hobby she’s stuck with since college. Sailing became a big part of her life after her first small-boat lesson. After college and before submitting law school applications, Nankin spent a summer working on the tall ships Cape Rose and Grand Nellie on the Great Lakes.
Nankin describes being on a boat as a powerful experience unlike anything else.
“It’s always been an outlet for me to be physical and to use a different part of my brain and to get away from the computer,” Nankin said.
Though she spends most of her time working at YP Nation and Polaris, Nankin always finds time to balance her life to include sailing. In the future, she hopes to integrate sailing interests with her writing potentially through the YP Nation platform. Now that she has found her career path, Nankin is excited about the ways she can contribute to the community through journalism.
“With journalism I love the fact that it brings you in touch with people who you may not have otherwise met,” Nankin said. “And I especially like finding ways to give back or give a voice to people who don’t have voices.”
