Early returns on creator journalism make clear – it's a poly-platform path forward

This piece is published as part of the Top 50 Creator-Model Journalists of 2025 project.

The process of researching and building out the Top 50 Creator-Model Journalists list made clear: the path forward is poly-platform.

Journalists working in the creator space are doing it native to the platform(s) that we all spend our time on. They’re writing in formats to fit our inbox and appearing on our social feeds with the arresting aesthetics that make us want to linger between swipes. And they’re not just doing one specific thing.

Nearly every creator journalist on this list uses at least three to four platforms strategically. This multi-platform dependency isn't just about reach—it's about survival in an algorithm-driven media landscape where platform changes can devastate single-platform creators.

Most legacy publishers have known for years that their most loyal audiences come to them across platforms. In a recent Audiencers workshop, the Daily Mail revealed that “if they moved a subscriber from using one platform to three, they could expect a 56% decrease in churn.”

Sustainable independent journalism is quickly finding the same. 

Each platform should be treated as a distinct component of a larger ecosystem, and the creator-model journalists finding traction know this. They're building direct audience relationships through newsletters while using social media for top-of-funnel discovery, creating premium content behind paywalls while offering free content for acquisition, and developing multiple revenue streams to reduce dependency on any single platform or advertiser

As they do, three distinct themes emerge:

1. Video-first monetization expansion

Marques Brownlee, Cleo Abram, and Johnny Harris started with video content to build massive audiences, then expanded to newsletters and podcasts for monetization.

Starting in 2008 with his first gadget review (of a laptop remote), Brownlee created a blended revenue stream model that spans revenue generation traditionally affiliated with journalism – like ad sales and affiliate marketing – and custom MKBHD branded products of his own.

Harris exemplifies video-first monetization expansion, building a $12M+ annual business with a team of 17 around his YouTube documentaries while creating additional revenue streams like his education company Bright Trip. His success demonstrates how creators can build entire media businesses around their journalism rather than simply monetizing content across platforms. 

This pattern leverages video's algorithm advantages for discovery while adding direct consumer revenue streams that provide predictable income beyond advertising.

2. Newsletter-centric ecosystem builders with community-driven monetization

These creators use newsletters as revenue hubs while treating social media as discovery engines. Casey Newton, Anne Helen Petersen, and Ryan Broderick exemplify this approach, building paid subscriber bases through free social media content that demonstrates expertise and drives email sign-ups. 

But it’s not just the email sign-ups that bridge loyalty, it’s true world-building, creating loyal and tight-knit communities.

Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study community’s threads on gardening, books, and aging bring in hundreds (and sometimes into the thousands) of comments from like-minded followers who rally around the themes and topics sparked by other members as much as her actual writing. 

Garbage Day’s Broderick treats platforms as both content subjects and distribution channels—making internet culture his beat while building business (like his social/trend data product) across platforms.

The chair from Gate E8 at SFO has become a recurring meme/tourist attraction for Casey Newton’s community across social channels and in the Platformer Discord after he recorded an episode of Hard Fork there. 

These journalists are building engaged communities that extend beyond content consumption. They use Discord, live events, and exclusive access to create additional value for paying subscribers. 

3. Platform-specific optimization with consistent voice

Kyla Scanlon, Judd Legum, and Chris Cillizza create distinct content for different platforms while maintaining a consistent editorial voice. 

Rather than cross-posting, they adapt storytelling techniques to each platform's strengths.

Legum regularly threads his stories across the text-based micro-blogging platforms like Threads, BlueSky and X. And he’s regularly testing different prompts to drive traffic back to his fuller work through Substack.

Scanlon’s economic analysis is scripted in short-form for TikTok and reshared with bloggy extra text context for her IG story updates. And all of those platforms can feed off of her in-depth Substack newsletter essays or her book, In This Economy. 

This approach maximizes algorithmic performance while building platform-specific audience engagement and platform-specific revenue optimization. 

Poly-platform approaches are really just about diversified, sustainable businesses

Extra Points’ Matt Brown summed it up well: "I don't feel like I just run a newsletter business at this point. That's the very core of what we do… write interesting things about off-the-field stories in the college sports industry that our audience wants to read. But we've also dabbled in event sponsorship (the Extra Points bowl), business software (Extra Points Library), educational games (Athletic Director Simulator 4000), and even in buying other newsletters (NIL Wire) I'm not sure many of us have the luxury of just being ‘one thing’ in a world where our audience is increasingly fragmented.”

This is especially true across borders. Tim Mak's Ukraine reporting and Bisan Owda's Gaza coverage demonstrate that crisis journalism particularly benefits from platform diversification — multiple channels ensure both source protection and maximum global reach.

Looking ahead, we’re quickly learning that creator-model journalists might find themselves leaving some platforms behind when they no longer fit their business. Casey Newton's migration from Substack to Ghost exemplifies the platform flexibility that defines successful creator journalism—the ability to optimize for editorial control rather than algorithmic reach.

Justin Bank is a principal at Better Media Studios, which focuses on developing better media products within the Creator Economy.