This time, the pivot to video hits differently.
News publishers have been here before, chasing the promise of video, shifting strategies to appease the algorithm gods, hoping to reinvent themselves before the ground beneath them shifts again.
But this latest pivot involves news publishers trying to take more control into their own hands. They’re curating groups of creators to form networks and membership programs that they can use to collaborate on personality-led video, and written content.
It’s a strategy that entertainment-focused publishers like BuzzFeed have had for a while. But now a wider range of publishers like CNN, Yahoo, The Washington Post, Future and Bustle Digital Group are formalizing these relationships on a larger scale than they have previously.
Faced with collapsing referral traffic, platform algorithm changes, waning relevance among younger audiences and the growing dominance of individual creators, publishers are running out of options. The strategy also mirrors a shift in audience loyalty: people are increasingly following people, not mastheads.
“Publishers are leaning into what they do best — curation, credibility, and audience trust — while tapping creators for personality, loyalty and built-in reach,” said Alexandra Press, chief marketing officer at talent management group Mana Talent Group.
Recurrent CEO Andrew Perlman called this the “creatorification” of the media industry.
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