This edition sponsored by Outpost for Ghost publishers

Hey. Just a short note up top this week to say there are some great pieces below, so you should make sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom.

I’m on my way back from Europe as I write, returning from France and the Netherlands where I was lucky enough to spend a few days getting to know some of the brilliant minds working in journalism in both countries and considering the questions of how creator journalism is just starting an upward swing in Europe.

Despite some of the biggest names in social-first journalism coming from across the Atlantic (Sophia Smith Galer, Hugo Decrypte, Dylan Page), creator journalism hasn’t reached the same level of ubiquity there – but it will get much closer in 2026, so it was a privilege to share what I could at the Sciences Po Ecole de Journalisme’s yearly New Practices in Journalism conference.

I learned much, too, from Swiss podcaster/newsletter-er Kerstin Hasse, who was just tapped to lead INMA’s new Young Audiences Initiative. And from the staff at Nederlands Dagblad, where they’ve just built a dynamic new social-first studio on site and are embarking on a two-pronged creator strategy that would be the envy of any legacy org.

I also ran into fellow speaker Margaret Sullivan, who through her Guardian column and brilliant newsletter, American Crisis, has become American journalism’s much-needed public editor. We connected on the fundamentals of why traditional media needs to adapt to, and embrace, creator-model journalists and we’re going to keep that conversation going in 2026.

More to come in a future newsletter edition, but a few early takeaways from Europe:

If you’ve got thoughts on the evolution of journalism across the pond or how we should keep pushing to support and normalize creator-model journalism in 2026, I’d love to hear them. Just hit reply to this email. - Liz

📌 If you read one thing today, make it Ryan Kellett’s mind-blowing NiemanLab prediction for 2026.

📌 Speaking of good reads: Sophia Smith Galer published a study about UK-based journalists’ social game and discovered, “64% of UK journalists have not built meaningful followings on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube.” [Read Sophia’s NiemanLab prediction, too.]

📌 The New Yorker is the latest brand to stake a claim on Substack. The Conde Nast mag will publish one story a week on the newsletter platform social media network. Think that’s me being snarky? Just consider this quote from the New Yorker’s Jessanne Collins: “At this stage, we’re approaching Substack as much as a social platform.”

📌 But, writes Julia Alexander in an excellent Puck piece, publishers may be moving too quickly ("pivot to video,” anyone?) to set up shop on Substack just as many of the platform’s most successful indie creators are leaving for better deals at Patreon, Beehiiv and elsewhere. (Not cool, replies Substack’s Hamish McKenzie, who reminds us all that Substack just wants to help writers, guys.)

📌 More good end-of-year report cards (and proof that these come in many different forms): Coyote Media Collective (funny) and Extra Points (poignant).

📌 Adults under 30 are more likely to get (and trust) news they discover on social media than any other age range in the U.S., per a new study from Pew Research.

📌 New launches: Former Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson launched Premiere Party on beehiiv to do “pretty much what I’ve been doing my whole career.” Ex-Politico writer Rachael Bade launched her new Substack, The Inner Circle, to write about DC “palace intrigue.” 🤢

📌 Ex Vox-er and massive YouTube explainer Cleo Abram was included on stage at YouTube’s first “Creator Premieres” event for adverstisers.

📌 How Kyla Scanlon grew her audience to over 640K followers in three years: she’s relatable, not afraid to be nerdy and built an ecosystem.

📌 Join Creator Spotlight’s Francis Zierer and The Feed Media’s Nathan May for a live session on building a profitable newsletter. (Wed. Dec. 10, Noon ET)

📌 Howtown is looking for a YouTube thumbnail designer. Find out more and apply here.