By Paisley Porter*
With influencers rising in popularity, debates about what constitutes “journalism” and a “journalist” have found their way into newsrooms.
While many are concerned with ethical standards of influencer reporting, there is an undeniable shift towards consumers receiving their news from individuals rather than news organizations.
A panel at the 26th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ) addressed the phenomenon and accompanying worries on Friday, March 28.
Amy Mitchell, executive director of the Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI), opened the panel by presenting data from a study showing that about three-quarters of Americans believe that “everyday people” can produce journalism.
“We found that upward of 22% of U.S. adults are regularly getting news through content creators and influencers,” Mitchell said.
Within that 22%, the ages are fairly evenly distributed across ages and education levels. The study also found that regular consumers of influencer content are placing greater importance on technology and speed to stay informed.
Liz Kelly Nelson, founder of the newsletter Project C, presented a graphic breaking down the 2025 news ecosystem. While the chart features eight categories including “Established for-profit media,” “New ‘new’ media,” and “New mission-driven,” Nelson focused more specifically on explaining “Content Creator-Model Journalists,” and “News Influencers.”
Nelson starkly defines news influencers as “people who deliver takes on things,” making clear that the main difference between news influencers and content creator-model journalists is that news influencers do not produce original content, while journalists do.
“You can think about it from anywhere, from your Joe Rogans to my aunt in Florida who really thinks that she knows something,” Nelson said.
Nelson gave examples of content creator-model journalists: Emily Atkin of Heated, Taylor Lorenz of UserMag, and Casey Newton of Platformer, to name a few.
Nelson marks a key difference between influencers and what she refers to as “content creator-model journalists,” stating that the content creator-model journalists are using many similar components of what news influencers are doing in terms of audience engagement and means of communication, but in a much more responsible way.
“After this last presentation, I don't really know what I am,” joked Carlos Eduardo Espina, a content creator and nonprofit director, as he stepped up to the podium.
With over 12 million followers on TikTok, Espina utilizes social media as a means of activism for immigrant rights, tailoring his content to what he feels are the most pertinent news stories for his audience.
“It’s not just that I give news and information and my views about things, but I also share a lot about my personal story, I help people out,” Espina said. “They know everything about my life which is really interesting and I think doesn’t tend to happen in traditional journalism.”
Espina says he does not consider himself a journalist but has the responsibility to fact-check and ensure he is not spreading misinformation, just as any traditional journalist does.
“We see a lot of people who just go on social media and lie, it's good for engagement, it’s good for views,” Espina said. “So how do you balance being engaged and being viable at the same time as being responsible.”
Espina said that while he does give his political opinions and talk about the news that there is an added component where he shares personal details and that he helps people and is embedded in his community. He reflects on his work in a non-profit, mentioning a backpack and school supplies drive in Houston for a value of $20,000, buying a wheelchair accessible van for one of his followers, and even paying the bond of a follower who had been detained by I.C.E.
“You don’t see CNN anchors going and paying their followers’ immigration bonds. I’m not saying that's what they should be doing, we're just working in very different realms,” Espina said.
Ben Reininga, Harvard University fellow and former global head of editorial at Snapchat, then began the final presentation of the panel before the Q&A. He opened by addressing an urgent problem: legacy news organizations losing audience trust and reach.
Trust in news has seen a “precipitous decline,” subsequently leading to news avoidance. Regininga cited a 2024 report from Reuters that found 43% of Americans avoid the news in some form. But why? After assessing Reuters’ studies, Reininga finds that consumers avoid news because news creators are elite, too complex, biased, depressing and irrelevant.
“We're seeing a really interesting and huge, intentional shift,” Reininga said. “These social platforms are hugely growing.”
Reininga reflects on statistics he has recently read that suggested the average American uses social media for two and half hours a day, increasing to four hours a day among teenagers. That makes social media one of the “largest attentional spaces” for Americans, he said.
As former global head of editorial at Snapchat, Regininga ran focus groups and found that Snapchat users wanted news that was engaging and relevant to them, and more of it. Contrary to these findings, Snapchat was still running into the idea that “a place like Snapchat is not a place for news.”
Snapchat worked to find a solution for this disconnect. The answer? “Good Luck America,” a daily, three- to five-minute news show hosted by former CNN journalist Peter Hamby.
“I had to look at these platforms as sort of communities with their own cultures,” Reininga said. “I think if you line some of these commonalities of a lot of social media videos up with those reasons people don't trust news, you see a really interesting back and forth.”
Whereas journalists are seen as elite, content creators are intimate and informal, he said. Whereas journalists are too complex, content creators are simple and colloquial. Whereas journalists are seen as biased, content creators are transparent and engaging.
“There's a crew of people out there who have really unlocked a very interesting way to connect with audiences,” Reininga said. “I think it’s a really interesting to explore and think about how we can make that into journalism again.”
Though Oliver Darcy did not present, he shared the story of making the transition from CNN reporter to founder of the briefing Status during the question-and-answer session. He recalled the growth of the newsletter economy in recent years.
“I decided to bet on myself and take the plunge.” Darcy said. “I think I had a mind that would follow me to my own independent venture.”
He launched Status, a nightly newsletter covering what’s really happening in media. Status has found success due to its authenticity with audiences.
“We don’t sugar coat things,” Darcy said. “One of the problems, I would say, with legacy press these days is that they don’t call things for what they are.”
Darcy addressed the ongoing question: Should news organizations make their journalists content creators? He argued that all journalists are creators and everyone creates content, but offered a counter argument.
“Can those creators, the journalist creators, succeed in the creator economy?”
*Paisley Porter is a third-year Journalism and Communication & Leadership student at UT Austin. She is currently an intern at KXAN and has previously done coverage for TSTV and ISOJ.