Creators say it’s difficult to make money from news — with platform rules and brand guidelines
Digiday ·
With more people getting news from creators than traditional media, those creators are still trying to build sustainable businesses.
Nearly 60 percent of Americans regularly get their news from social media rather than traditional media networks, according to a recent Syracuse University study . But news creators, whether they left traditional media to forge their own path, tacked on content creation to their existing mainstream roles, or were forged in the fires of social-first, have a difficult path ahead of them in terms of securing brand deals, maintaining consistent revenue, and keeping journalistic standards.
Finding partnerships to sustain revenue can be difficult due to skittish brands, and finicky algorithms can make ad revenue unreliable. Platforms can suppress content, making the supposed freedom of independent news creation feel less free. Yet more than 79% of polled Americans see a “meaningful difference” between independent news creators and traditional journalists, according to the Syracuse University study. The creator economy is set to make $43.9 billion this year . So, where does the news creator go from here?
“It’s probably the most difficult category to be in as a creator,” said Kurt Stadelman, vp of talent management at Pearpop. “News creators are a very tricky category for us. Inherently there are brand safety concerns if their content topics are consistently political or just controversial in nature at all.”
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