From Credibility to Believability: How Journalists Can Thrive in the Creator Economy

A growing tension in modern journalism is emerging between what is described as institutional credibility and individual believability. While traditional news organizations maintain authority built over decades, audiences on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok are increasingly placing their trust in individual creators who appear relatable, transparent, and authentic, regardless of whether they adhere to traditional journalistic disciplines.

This shift was a central theme during a plenary session at the Digital Media Asia conference titled “Can creator collaborations unlock young audiences?” The panel featured Filipino political journalist and educator Christian Esguerra, Jack Kelly, founder and CEO of TLDR News, and Amy Ross Arguedas, a research fellow at the Reuters Institute, with Chris Janz of Capital Brief Australia moderating.

Esguerra’s transition to independent media began out of necessity. After two decades as a journalist, he was fired from his position as broadcast anchor and managing editor in 2021. A year later, he launched his YouTube channel, Facts First with Christian Esguerra, to achieve a level of independence in news creation he had desired since high school.

The move toward individual-led news is supported by global data. Research presented by Ross Arguedas from a Reuters report covering 24 countries indicates a shift from traditional media toward social and video networks. According to the report, 17% of people globally now use TikTok for news, while YouTube remains the most important news network in the world.

Ross Arguedas attributed this trend to “parasocial relationships,” which are one-sided but emotionally real bonds that audiences form with people they encounter regularly online. She noted that many digital platforms are designed to emphasize personalities, and audiences crave these relationships even when receiving news.

The Role of Storytelling and Platform Language

Esguerra argues that the solution for traditional journalism lies in rethinking how stories are told. He contends that journalism is essentially storytelling and that future journalists must develop 21st-century storytelling skills to remain relevant. He criticized the industry for continuing to produce content in formats that audiences have already abandoned, urging organizations to explore more storytelling tools to capture the imagination of audiences on specific platforms.

Jack Kelly of TLDR News echoed this sentiment, suggesting that publishers often focus too much on algorithms rather than the audiences themselves. Kelly stated that understanding a platform requires understanding its native storytelling language and building journalism specifically for those environments.

TLDR News aims to mimic the behavior of normal creators on a platform because that is how the platforms are designed to function and how audiences expect to interact. Kelly emphasized that this approach applies across demographics, whether reaching young people or older generations on Facebook.

Building Trust Through Radical Transparency

TLDR News, which began as a YouTube explainer channel, utilizes a strategy of “radical transparency” to build audience loyalty. This approach includes three specific practices:

• A bi-weekly podcast dedicated to discussing mistakes, criticisms, and audience complaints.
• An annual standalone video focused on criticism.
• The public sharing of information regarding editorial processes and revenue streams.

Kelly acknowledged that this vulnerability is a risk that many major news brands find frightening because they are not accustomed to such openness.

The organization also maintains a deliberate publishing strategy by avoiding the practice of flooding YouTube with clips and livestream fragments, which Kelly argued is not what the platform is designed for. Instead, TLDR focuses on curation to develop a deeper level of trust with its audience.

Authenticity is further codified in the company’s manifesto, which includes corporate guidelines for journalism and a strict policy prohibiting the use of AI in content. Kelly stated that the goal is to present the organization as human and authentic, admitting that they are not machines and may make mistakes.

The Resurgence of Print

Despite being a digital-native publisher, TLDR News has found significant success with a non-digital product. The company launched a quarterly magazine called Too Long, which has evolved from an experimental project into a major revenue driver, currently accounting for approximately 40% of the company’s revenue.

The magazine has approximately 10,000 recurring subscribers, with a few thousand additional individual buyers per issue. Each issue also attracts between 1,500 and 2,000 new subscribers. With pricing ranging from $14 to $32 depending on the subscription package, Kelly projected that the print publication would soon become the company’s largest revenue source.