News Creators Face Challenges Making Money
News creators struggle to secure brand deals and revenue due to platform rules and brand guidelines. They may turn to paywalling content for sustainability.
Original reporting · digiday.com
Original: “Creators say it’s difficult to make money from news — with platform rules and brand guidelines”
Read “Creators say it’s difficult to make money from news — with platform rules and brand…” at Digiday →
How this was written. GMS Agency Desk wrote this article with a language model from Digiday’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Digiday’s report
- News creators face challenges in securing brand deals and revenue due to platform rules and brand guidelines.
- Paywalling content may be a possible path for news creators to achieve sustainability and scalability.
- Platforms like YouTube are investing in courting news creators and providing support for journalists.
News creators are finding it difficult to make money from their content due to platform rules and brand guidelines, according to Digiday. Nearly 60 percent of Americans regularly get their news from social media rather than traditional media networks, making the creator economy a significant player in the news industry.
Finding partnerships to sustain revenue can be difficult due to skittish brands and finicky algorithms, which can make ad revenue unreliable. Platforms can also suppress content, making it feel less free for independent news creators.
More than 79% of polled Americans see a “meaningful difference” between independent news creators and traditional journalists, according to a Syracuse University study. This difference may be due to the unique challenges faced by news creators, including brand safety concerns and the need to maintain journalistic standards.
News creators are looking for ways to grow their revenue and build infrastructure that allows for sustainability and scalability. One possible path is paywalling their content, which can provide a consistent revenue flow and allow creators to continue their regular reporting outside of major events or trending topics.
Several platforms, including YouTube, are investing in courting news creators and providing support for journalists. YouTube has recently invested in a “real renaissance of journalists,” according to Brendan Feldman, director of news, civics, and podcast partnerships at YouTube.
Other platforms, such as TikTok, have been rough for news creators, with flagging engagement and inconsistent content moderation. Some creators have mentally abandoned the platform, while others have found success on other platforms like Facebook and Reddit.
Media companies like Caliber are launching news apps that feature vetted news creators’ content and provide revenue back to the creator. This may be the blueprint for news creators going forward, as they look for ways to consolidate and get picked up by traditional platforms.
Questions and answers
Why do news creators struggle to make money?
News creators struggle to make money due to platform rules and brand guidelines, as well as skittish brands and finicky algorithms.
What is the creator economy and how does it relate to news creators?
The creator economy is a significant player in the news industry, with nearly 60 percent of Americans regularly getting their news from social media rather than traditional media networks.
How are platforms supporting news creators?
Platforms like YouTube are investing in courting news creators and providing support for journalists, including education and tools for audience development.
