Lessons from influencers for journalism: Knight Center releases free e-book about digital content creators

What do “newsfluencers” mean for journalism? What can digital content creators and journalists learn from each other?

These are the questions driving a year-long project by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and UNESCO, which has resulted in the publication of a groundbreaking e-book that offers a holistic look at the topic.

On Monday, October 21, the Knight Center released the free, open-access e-book: “Content Creators and Journalists: Redefining News and Credibility in the Digital Age.” The UNESCO-sponsored eBook, now available for free download, is an edited collection of lessons and observations from digital creators and journalists from around the world that shed light on the increasing importance of influencers in the news media landscape.

“This book is a testament to the importance of one of the most interesting phenomena of the impact of the digital revolution on the news media ecosystem: the proliferation of influencers or content creators who are suddenly endowed with the privileges of media organizations to collect, process and “To collect and disseminate information to a large audience,” said Rosental C. Alves, founder and director of the Knight Center and UNESCO Chair in Communication at the University of Texas at Austin.

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The e-book contains interviews, research and first-hand reports with journalists, content creators and activists. Some of the people featured participated in a panel in Austin, Texas in April 2024; were panelists at the 25th International Symposium on Online Journalism in Austin; or were part of the experiment Multimedia room for young peoplewhere journalists, creatives and activists came together to cover the 31st UNESCO World Press Freedom Day Conference in Santiago, Chile in May 2024.

This eBook features news content creators from around the world, including Dylan Page (aka News Daddy) from the UK, Kassy Cho (founder of Almost) from Taiwan, and Hugo Travers (aka HugoDecrypte) from France.

Part 1 considers the similarities and differences between content creators and journalists and the important role both can play in this new media landscape. Profiles in Part 2 Let readers experience “newsfluencers” from all over the world up close. Part 3 offers perspectives from creators and activists who are using their influence to combat climate change, and Part 4 shows how creative people can promote media and information literacy.

Last in Part 5The e-book offers best practices for journalists and content creators who want to distribute news ethically and successfully in the age of digital media.

The e-book is now available in English and will soon be translated into Spanish and Portuguese to reach an even wider audience.

“In this edited collection, we examine how the rise of digital content creators is changing the journalism landscape.” said e-book editor Dr. Summer Harlow, associate director of the Knight Center and visiting professor in the School of Journalism and Media at UT Austin. “This book examines the blurred lines between traditional reporting and influencer-driven content, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for the future of news.” By bringing together the perspectives of journalists and content creators, we offer a nuanced look at how “New journalistic actors and methods could offer new and better ways to inform the public.”

The release of the e-book coincides with the launch of the Knight Center Journalism Courses program’s new free asynchronous online course.Digital Content Creators and Journalists: How to Be a Trusted Voice OnlineThe course will be held in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French and will run from November 18th to December 15th, 2024. Registration begins on October 24th, 2024.

The course is open to aspiring and experienced content creators who want to incorporate more journalistic practices, journalists who want to better connect with their audiences, or anyone who wants to better understand the changing media landscape. It will be taught by lecturers Salla-Rosa Leinonen from Finnish broadcaster Yle and Enrique Anarte Lazo, TikTok head of Openly, a global digital platform for LGBT+ news from the Thomson Reuters Foundation.