How news organisations must adapt to a media landscape increasingly shaped by influencers, creators and social platforms is the focus of a report released by the International News Media Association (INMA).

Bridging the Audience Gap: News Brands + Content Creators explores how the rapid rise of creator culture, declining trust in traditional media, and platform-driven news discovery are transforming how audiences — particularly younger generations — engage with information.

The report finds that younger audiences are no longer seeking out news brands — they are encountering news through people. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and podcasts have become primary gateways to information, with creators shaping political, cultural and civic narratives. Nearly one in five US adults now relies on news influencers as their primary source of information, rising to 38 per cent among adults ages 18–29. By contrast, only 8 per cent of adults over 65 do the same.

The report finds that trust in institutional media continues to decline, while creators build loyal communities through authenticity, personality, and platform-native storytelling. At the same time, 77 per cent of news influencers have no formal journalistic background, and only 18 per cent of teens can distinguish news from opinion or advertising, creating both opportunity and risk for the future information environment.

Rather than viewing creators as competitors, the report reveals that leading publishers are embracing two emerging models:

• Collaborating with external creators who bring niche expertise, platform fluency and loyal communities
• Developing in-house journalist-creators who build personal brands through vertical video, newsletters and social storytelling

Case studies highlight dramatic audience and revenue impact, including a 664 per cent engagement increase from creator partnerships at MLK50, hundreds of new subscriptions driven by creator explainers at Denník N, and a 94 per cent rise in subscription starts following staff-driven video strategies at Wired.

Globally, the trend is accelerating. More than 70 per cent of adults in Kenya, South Africa, Malaysia, and the Philippines rely on social media for news, while creator economies in India, Africa, and Latin America are rapidly scaling — opening new distribution and revenue pathways for news organisations.

The report concludes that the future of news will not belong to institutions alone but to networks of journalists, creators and community voices working together to rebuild trust, relevance, and reach in a transformed media landscape.

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Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Content, Research, Social Media

Tags: news, social media, tiktok, youtube