News influencers are emerging as powerful players and are challenging traditional journalism in today’s media landscape.
News influencers tend to be active on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, with a large and often niche following base, and who present news in a way that is accessible, informal, colourful and opinionated so that it resonates with their audience, who tend to be more digital-savvy than the traditional news consumer.
The Knight Center published a book on the impact of the digital revolution on the news media ecosystem, and the proliferation of influencers or content creators in this climate, saying “that social media and other emerging technologies are making ‘journalism’ more of a spectrum than a cut-and-dried concept with easily defined boundaries, there arises the need to understand the challenges, opportunities, and limits that come with blurring the lines between journalists and news influencers/content creators–or ‘newsfluencers’,”.
The rise of social media has therefore buoyed news influencers and is helping them stay more relevant but it raises questions about the veracity of their views and news, given that they are not governed by the cardinal rules of traditional journalism including verification, fact-checking and balance.
According to the 2024 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, the appeal of news influencers lies in their relatability and perceived authenticity. In an era where trust in traditional media is declining, many people turn to influencers they feel connected to. They often present complex issues in bite-sized, digestible formats, making them more engaging than traditional news outlets. However, this approach is not without its challenges. Critics argue that blending news with entertainment can blur the lines between facts and opinions, potentially promoting misinformation.
Despite these concerns, influencers are becoming a significant part of the news ecosystem, sometimes even breaking stories faster than traditional outlets. As media consumption shifts to digital platforms, this trend is likely to continue, pushing traditional journalists to innovate in how they deliver news.
Noting the changing model of the business of news, and the need for journalists to become multi-skilled, the Knight Center said, “with the legacy news business in decline, the growth of newsfluencers on social media perhaps represents a watershed moment for the journalism industry to reinvent itself, making news more relevant and accessible to a greater diversity of people.”
Some of the popular news influencers taking South Africa by storm include Cool Story Bru on Instagram, Politically Aweh and others who combine their views with the news to make it easier to understand the world around them. Cool Story Bru, for example, has over 184,000 followers, proving the growing relevance of news influencers.
The Knight Center’s tips for becoming a digital content creator or news influencer are:
- Build trust and credibility
- Develop strong storytelling techniques
- Understand your audience and the different platforms
- Get familiar with audio and video production
- Balance journalistic standards with creativity
- Develop a business model
- Be able to adapt
Content Writer