Who do you want delivering the news: the person with a degree in journalism or your favorite content creator?

Reputable news organizations like the Washington Post and Al Jazeera decided most of their audience wants the latter. The chief communications officer at the Post said the company is struggling to grow its audience and “we no longer believe traditional outreach is the way to get us there.” 

Is investing in “newsfluencers” the ideal way for news media to evolve? If so, what goal does this investment achieve, and for whose benefit?

During the 2024 U.S. election, the Democratic Party invited over 200 content creators to cover Kamala Harris’ nomination as the party’s presidential candidate. This was during the period with the second highest number of journalists laid off from established news institutions.

The Pew Research Center credits the U.S. election for the rise of newsfluencers, or “individuals who regularly post about current events and civic issues on social media and have at least 100,000 followers on any of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) or YouTube.” Their definition does not include the academic or professional credentials of the individuals. Seventy-seven percent of newsfluencers have no official ties to a news outlet.

According to Pew Research, Gen Z is the largest group of adults getting information from newsfluencers. A quarter of American millennials are also getting their news from similar sources.

Facebook is where more than half the population of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa go for news reports. Recently, Meta (parent company of Facebook) announced the end of fact-checking regulations on the website, making many traditional journalists worried about Facebook users spreading false information without guardrails.

Traditional news sources like newspapers and television broadcasts are likely using the same strategy as politicians to attract young adults (under 30) as supporters, whether as paid subscribers or consistent viewers that increase their advertising income. However, recruiting newsfluencers can have long-term negative effects for short-term gains.

For instance, are newsfluencers working as full-time employees or independent contractors with newsrooms? 

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) says its core standards remain the same for anyone labeling themselves as journalists. Their code of ethics includes principles taught in journalism schools, including “verify information before releasing it” and “never deliberately distort facts or context.” The SPJ also warns that “neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.”

Newsrooms who care about prestige and reputation should rethink switching over to newsfluencers who lack training in these practices. Newsroom leaders also need to gauge the speed at which they can replicate editorial processes done in-house with independently contracted creators, who may be used to going at their own pace to produce content with less quality checks.

If the goal is to increase impressions and visibility, collaborating with newsfluencers with 100,000 or more followers may make that happen. Newsroom leaders would then have to consider whether that audience will sustainably appreciate unbias, truthful reporting over sensational entertainment passing as news.

Nonprofit news organizations have to carefully consider how introducing influencer and digital marketing strategies aligns with their legal mandate. The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) requires its members to “demonstrate journalistic quality, editorial independence and public transparency” that requires implementing a high standard of news production. Nonprofit news organizations in North America, Europe, Australia, and Latin America also have more legal obligations for and scrutiny over how they earn and spend money. Therefore, working with newsfluencers may come at administrative costs that outweigh the benefits.

With over 64 million influencer accounts on Instagram alone, there is a breadth of newsfluencers to outsource reporting to. Unfortunately, that leaves classically trained journalists at risk of losing their careers simply because they don’t have large social media platforms.

“A lot of the newer media outlets like Mashable and Vox actually do take a look at the social influence of a specific person before putting them onto their roster or accepting their articles,” according to a quote from former Publicis Head of Social Avtar Ram Singh (published by Mark Schaefer).

The owners and stockholders of the news industry will most likely cash in on move into digital content creation. Newsfluencers need to pay attention to whether their contracts adequately compensate them for the added value they bring to the industry, especially if they have no ownership rights or official employment at the newsrooms they work with.

Anyone currently studying journalism at university may want to consider how they could compete both professionally and creatively with peers that aren’t in their academic programs, but would profit from high-paying contracts with the newsrooms they aspire to work in. Tenured journalists who lost jobs through layoffs or managed to hold on to their roles have the same goal: figure out how to build a profitable personal brand or identify other ways to make yourself invaluable in the spaces that still/will employ you.