Building a 2026 creator agenda
The boom in independent creators continues to disrupt the legacy news business. How can they coexist, or even collaborate? A number of industry thinkers have tackled this question in recent days, suggesting it’s a top-of-mind issue for publishers in 2026.
The Video Consortium, a nonprofit that connects and supports nonfiction filmmakers and video journalists, published a study this week on the rise of creator-journalists. It includes a number of recommendations for newsrooms, funders and the creators themselves. (Note: API was an adviser on this report).
The Reuters Institute’s new predictions for journalism media and technology in 2026 also dedicated a section to the creator boom, noting that the trend is “blurring the line between creators and journalists and media companies.”
Some independent journalists say their independence is what motivates them. Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket told Mallory Carra for The Guardian that being independent “is a form of resistance” against journalism’s old ways. “I feel like I have more latitude to come at systems of power, because I’m not answering to anyone,” she said.
Conversely, some creators are not independent at all — they are serving special interests. The Wall Street Journal this week has a deep look at how some creators have actually taken on the role of lobbying in the Trump era, creating “a new class of Washington operatives that blur the lines between consulting, advocacy and journalism.”
- Related: Why publishers are building their own creator networks (Digiday)
News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.
Civic Discourse & Democracy
>> New from API: Local news must invite youth into civic life — and lifelong connection
Young people today — Gen Z and Gen Alpha — need to be brought into a relationship with local news institutions. That’s why in March we’ll convene an API Local News Summit on Youth Trust and Civic Resilience, a clear-eyed conversation about how news organizations can rise to the challenges of engaging youth and building connections that can deepen relationships in the community while strengthening future business sustainability.
>> U.S. journalists face war-zone conditions at home (Editor & Publisher)
Reporters across the country have faced violence and even arrests while covering federal immigration enforcement actions, writes Diane Sylvester. She writes about how news organizations like the LA Public Press have faced a number of new and alarming challenges, and about the costly and intensive work involved in protecting their reporters.
- Related: Trump officials urged to halt violence against journalists amid ICE protests (The Guardian)
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Culture & Inclusion
>> Documented announces the first cohort of its national training program for immigrant-serving newsrooms (Documented)
The independent nonprofit publication Documented has announced that a new cohort of six newsrooms will participate in a program aimed at helping them better serve immigrant communities.
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Community Engagement & Trust
AI is intensifying a ‘collapse’ of trust online, experts say (NBC News)
Artificial intelligence-generated misinformation has the potential to erode people’s trust in what they see online, writes Angela Yang. “As we start to worry about AI, it will likely, at least in the short term, undermine our trust default — that is, that we believe communication until we have some reason to disbelieve,” Jeff Hancock, founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab, told Yang.
- Related: College paper fights to stop AI slop website from stealing its identity (The Washington Post)
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Revenue & Resilience
>> Search disruption: Don’t panic, estimate the risk, plan your response (INMA)
Greg Piechota offers concrete ways to assess the impact of Google’s shift toward AI Overviews and AI Mode on page views and traffic. Among his insights: “AI search does not destroy demand for news. It redistributes attention across the customer value chain.”
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What else you need to know
🗞️ Newspaper family saves Oregon paper (The Seattle Times)
📺 Unaffiliated: Some TV news stations are breaking their national network affiliations, and leaning into local programming (CJR)
🍲 Gourmet Magazine is back. It’s not exactly sanctioned (The New York Times)
👥 The Atlantic adds new friends & family subscription plan (Axios)
