Finding Heart in Hard News (with Yonat Friling - Frühling)

In this deeply moving conversation, Yonat Friling - Frühling—Senior Field Producer at Fox News with 20 years in the field—shares her journey from a tiny desert community in Israel to the Oval Office and war zones around the world. Starting with a child's determination to witness history firsthand after watching the Berlin Wall fall on TV, Yonat built a career that puts her at the center of breaking news. The conversation explores how she fought gender barriers to get into the field, why she called every field crew member to apologize after her first day on location, and what it means to carry the weight of covering tragedies like October 7th. Yonat opens up about breaking the "shields" journalists build around themselves, the importance of vulnerability in a profession that demands toughness, and how she's learning that having your dream job doesn't mean sacrificing your dream life.

Key Topics:

• "I want to be THERE"—watching the Berlin Wall fall at age 9
• Why everyone in the control room should spend a day in the field
• Covering October 7th and losing friends on both sides
• Breaking the shame barrier around journalists' mental health
• The fragility of life: from Morocco's earthquake to Gaza's war
• Finding ways to have both your dream job AND dream life

Notable Quotes:

• "If you assume that you already have the no, you already lost. So have the no and try to work around it."
• "I want to be there...in the front seat of history"—at age 9 watching the Berlin Wall fall
• "The first day I was out in the field...I called all the people I used to work with and apologized."
• "You're not the tiny child from Sde Boker...standing behind the president in the Oval Office"
• "When you try to bury down [your pain], the toll is even greater because you lose so much of yourself."
• "Even the most devastating days of your life can be a stepping stone for moving forward."

 

Yonat's Powerful Questions:

• "Was it a good day?"—Asked daily, finding at least three good things
• "Is there something that I haven't asked that I should have?"—The magic happens after the interview ends

Key Lessons:

• The "no" is just the starting point—work around it
• Everyone thinks about failures; rewire your brain to think about successes
• Mental health is just health—there's no shame in seeking help
• You can build shields to protect yourself, but they also keep people away
• Being afraid in dangerous situations is healthy—everyone should be asked
• Progress for women in journalism: yes, but not enough

Resources Mentioned:

• Yonat on Fox News—20 years as Senior Field Producer
• Yonat’s Linkedin
• Brené Brown's work on vulnerability
• Gravitas - 1:1 accelertaors for biz owners stepping into their founder era
• The Curiosity Lab - Strategy sessions for leaders by Chedva
• You’re Gonna Want to Sit Down for This - bi-weekly email packed with lessons and free tools
• Chedva's newsletter - Weekly musings and questions