The LMA Local News Summit in New York, held in partnership with the Google News Initiative, brought together a panel of news ‘creators’ who are actively redefining how audiences consume and trust news.
The panel of creator-journalists included: Mosheh Oinounou of Mo News, published as a podcast, on Substack and Instagram; Kevin Dreyfuss of COURIER Newsroom, with 5.5 million followers, publishing on TikTok, Meta, YouTube and Substack; and NEWSGIRLS’ Mabel Kabani and Wren Woodson, with 200,000 followers across social media and YouTube.
What emerged from the session wasn’t a debate about platforms or formats, it was a much more fundamental shift: Audiences are no longer connecting with institutions — they are connecting with individuals.
That distinction is everything.
As audience habits and preferences evolve, news organizations should consider what lessons they can learn from the success of creator-journalists. Here are key takeaways from the panel that show how news creators work and why audiences connect with them.
The audience wants to know the journalist — not just the journalism
One of the most consistent themes across the panel was that audiences want to know the person delivering the news — not in a superficial way, but in a human, transparent and ongoing way. Audiences want to know more about:
- Who are you?
- What are you working on?
- Why does this matter to you?
This is a sharp departure from the traditional approach to journalism, where the reporter was intentionally invisible. Today, these creators find that credibility is built through familiarity and consistency, not the backdrop of a newsdesk.
The most successful creator-journalists say they are intentionally sharing parts of their lives and their experiences, not to dilute the reporting, but to strengthen their relationship with the viewer.
Transparency is the new authority
Trust is no longer assumed, it is earned and demonstrated in real time.
One way these creators achieve that is by being transparent about the reporting process itself. Kevin Dreyfuss explained that, for him, it’s not just “here’s the reporting” but also “here’s the story of how I got the story.” Examples include:
- Here’s what we know
- Here’s what we’re working on next
- Here’s what we’re trying to verify
Organizations like COURIER Newsroom do this by actively listening to comments, effectively leveraging their audiences as a real-time feedback loop and assignment desk.
“Being personal and transparent doesn’t require hot takes and opinions,” added Kabani and Woodson from NEWSGIRLS. “We read the comments and we ask the audience questions.”
This approach does two things: It builds trust through openness and it increases engagement by inviting participation.
These creators don’t treat their audience as passive consumers. Instead, the creators involve them as part of their reporting process.
Attention is earned in seconds, not minutes
The creator economy has fundamentally reset expectations around attention.
News publishers don’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore. There are too many sources just a scroll away. The panel of news creators shared three keys to earning audience attention:
- The first five to seven seconds determine everything
- You cannot bury the lead
- You must clearly communicate: “What will I get if I stay?”
This is a direct challenge to traditional newsroom storytelling, which for years has assumed viewers will stay until the end of the broadcast or article.
Creator-journalists are structuring content to earn attention immediately without resorting to sensationalism. That balance is critical.
Authenticity outperforms production value
Interestingly, higher production quality does not necessarily translate to higher engagement, according to the panel of news creators. In fact, the opposite is often true.
Kabani and Woodson shared that NEWSGIRLS’ engagement increased significantly when they moved away from a polished, staged format to a more direct-to-camera, conversational style. They said they often ask themselves how they would tell the news to their best friend, and they use that voice and language to present their content.
The takeaway is clear: Authenticity connects more than ‘production values.’
This has major implications for legacy media organizations that are still optimized around studio-based sets and more traditional broadcast production methods.
The individual is becoming the brand
This is where the tension with legacy media becomes most apparent.
Creator-journalists are building audiences around their personal identity and voice, not the institution behind them.
People follow Mosheh Oinounou, not just Mo News. They engage with COURIER storytellers, not just COURIER. They connect with NEWSGIRLS, not a network brand.
For traditional newsrooms, this can be uncomfortable. It shifts power away from the institution and toward the individual. But it’s also where the growth is.
Not every journalist will thrive in this model and that’s OK
The storytelling style used by news creators isn’t a fit for everyone. That was a point made repeatedly by the panelists.
Some journalists will excel in a creator-driven environment. Others won’t and shouldn’t be forced into it. Oinounou of Mo News advised that newsrooms should be “OK with failure. Have everyone try it. But be OK with — not everyone is going to be good at it.”
The opportunity for news organizations is to:
- Identify talent that naturally connects on camera
- Give them room to experiment
- Support them without over-structuring the process
This is much closer to talent development in media and entertainment than traditional newsroom management.
Partnerships will replace employment models
There was a clear signal that the future relationship between creators and legacy media may not be traditional employment.
Creators are open to diverse partnership models including revenue sharing, licensing agreements and distribution partnerships. But most are not interested in operating inside a legacy structure.
At the same time, creators face a number of real constraints as independent operators. These include legal exposure, healthcare and other traditional employee benefits, the need to create their own business infrastructure and the need to market and grow their brands.
This creates an opportunity for hybrid models, where media companies provide support and scale, while creators retain independence, authenticity and voice.
Monetization is multi-channel and iterative
There is no single revenue model for the creator economy. The most successful creator-journalists are experimenting across diverse formats and distribution channels, including:
- Substack
- Podcasts
- Patreon
- Platform monetization
- Brand partnerships
- YouTube
- Social media
These creators adjust constantly based on the performance of their content across these channels.
Notably, newsletters and podcasts were cited as easier to monetize, while social platforms are more effective for audience growth and engagement.
The audience is now the feedback loop
Perhaps the most important shift is this: The audience is no longer just consuming content, they are shaping it.
Creator-journalists read comments, respond directly and use feedback to guide future reporting. This creates a dynamic where the audience becomes a signal for relevance, a source of ideas and a validator of trust.
Legacy media relationships with the audience have historically been one-way. This new model is inherently interactive and adaptive.
Final thought
Those concerned about the growing importance of creators as part of the information economy often ask: Can a journalist be both an entertainer and a journalist? That is the wrong question.
The better question is: Can journalism survive without engagement?
What these news creators have demonstrated is that the core values of journalism haven’t changed — accuracy, accountability and informing the public are essential.
What has changed is how those values are delivered and how trust is built. Increasingly, trust is dynamic, earned between the creator and the consumer, rather than one-way from the brand to the audience.
Editor’s note: The author used AI to assist with writing and editing this piece. Every piece of the article has been edited and fact-checked by humans.
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