In the past, I’ve made predictions about emerging tech or, like last year, predicted the painful shortcomings of our industry leaders. (I’m sorry that one keeps coming true.)

This year, I could predict that Bluesky will successfully emerge as the new social media platform of choice for news/media friends and junkies. (Follow me here.)

Or I could predict, rather reliably, that an AI “news” product will fail miserably and continue to reveal the tech’s inability to match the (grifter) hype. (I fully believe in the tech, just not the vendors who are selling it to uninformed leaders hungry for an easy answer to address their ongoing shortcomings.)

Or that an owner of a news org will choose to appease the president-elect in order to advance their personal financial self-interest. Or, hell, all three at once.

But this year, I predict that you — yes, you — will stand up, speak up, and do the right thing for the communities we aim to serve, including many who either are or will be under attack by the incoming administration.

I predict that you — possibly in a small conference room with just a handful of colleagues, or in a one-on-one meeting with your boss, or on a stage in front of a large audience, or most likely through an email — will realize that this is the moment you can’t stay silent and must finally speak up.

Trans people are human beings. Immigrants are human beings. Palestinians are human beings.

Women’s rights are human rights. A lie is a lie, not an alternative fact. Racism is racism, not “racially tinged.”

Not all stories have two sides. And some that do do not have equal weighted sides. There are going to be so many of these big moments, so be prepared.

Before the start of the new year, I want you to write down and remember: What are your values? What do you stand for now…before it gets any tougher? Are you willing to speak up? Are you willing to quit your job? Are you willing to put your safety on the line for those values?

I don’t pretend to know where each of us will draw the line — but I believe that we each have a line that we will not cross and where we can no longer stay silent.

And while many of us have the luxury of time to contemplate where our line may or may not be, many, many others do not. They have been harassed. They have been attacked. They have been killed. This is not an exercise of “what ifs” — it’s a reality of “what now.”

And I have faith that you — yes, you — will stand up to meet the moment to give a full-throated answer to whatever tough question this new reality will bring you.

The time has come to speak up for what you think is right. Don’t let our communities — especially the vulnerable ones that are current being attacked and dehumanized — down. Don’t let me down. More importantly, don’t let yourself down.