The creator infrastructure gap will define journalism’s next chapter

In the last three months, I’ve had a nearly identical conversation over and over — with aggregators, with media companies, with funders, with tech platforms. They’re all asking the same question: “How do we work with journalism creators?”

None of them have frameworks. None of them have discovery tools. None of them have standards for what distinguishes a journalism creator from any other content creator. And they’re all moving fast anyway.

This is the infrastructure gap that will define journalism’s next chapter. The next 18 months will determine whether creator journalism develops sustainably — with standards, fair partnerships, and editorial independence protected — or tumbles headlong into the exploitative dynamics of the broader influencer economy.

The choice isn’t predetermined. It depends on decisions being made right now.

The momentum is undeniable. Independent journalism creators now outperform legacy media by almost every audience measure. Since its launch in April, the Project C community grew to 151 journalists helping each other navigate independence. We’ve trained 80+ journalists through Going Solo workshops. Traditional newsrooms are suddenly asking how to partner with creators. Thoughtful funders are scrambling to support this space. That’s all amazing.

But here’s what keeps me up at night: Creator journalism is happening with or without proper infrastructure. Audiences, especially next-generation audiences, have already left legacy institutions. They’re not coming back. As much as it breaks my news nerd heart, teens won’t suddenly reach a magic age where they subscribe to the local paper or watch the evening news. Not anymore. And the journalism industry isn’t moving fast enough to keep up.

Platforms aren’t waiting for journalism to figure this out. They see audience attention flowing to individual creators and want a piece of it. But they’re building systems optimized for engagement metrics and ad inventory, not journalistic integrity. Algorithms don’t distinguish a reporter with transparent sourcing practices from a conspiracy theorist with good production value. They don’t have mechanisms to protect editorial independence or ensure fair compensation. They’re essentially trying to apply influencer-marketing playbooks to journalism, and it’s a dangerous mismatch.

So here’s the prediction. By the end of 2026, we’ll see one of two futures emerge:

Path 1: Exploitative consolidation. Platforms build creator programs optimized for their needs, not creators’. Rights-grabbing contracts and big platform fees become standard. Journalists get discovered based on engagement metrics rather than reporting quality. The most sensational voices rise while careful, community-embedded reporters remain invisible. Within three years, “creator journalism” becomes indistinguishable from the attention economy’s worst impulses.

Path 2: Sustainable infrastructure. Creator-governed systems emerge for discovery, standards, and partnerships. Journalists can be found based on beat expertise, geographic coverage, and demonstrated trust-building — not just follower counts. Partnership frameworks protect editorial independence while enabling fair revenue sharing. Standards are set by practitioners, not platforms. Infrastructure exists that creators actually want to use because it serves their sustainability, not someone else’s extraction.

What needs to happen now?

• The journalism industry must think like infrastructure builders, not institutional preservationists. This means creating shared resources like creator databases, open standards for trust verification, and partnership templates that protect independence. These can’t be owned by any single platform or legacy outlet.
• Funders must invest in infrastructure, not just individual creators and publisher partnerships. Supporting one great independent journalist is valuable. Supporting the systems that help hundreds of journalists succeed sustainably is transformative.
• Platforms must recognize that journalism creators aren’t just another content vertical. They require different standards, different partnership structures, different distribution and promotion, and fair compensation.
• Creators themselves must participate in governance. The infrastructure that serves journalism creators should be built with them, not for them. This means advisory boards with real authority, transparent standards-setting, and pathways to community ownership.

The irony is stark: Journalism has spent a century building institutional infrastructure. We know how to do this. But that expertise largely remains locked inside legacy institutions, while creator journalism develops in an infrastructure vacuum.

The next 18 months will reveal whether we move fast enough to fill that gap with sustainable systems. That’s why Justin Bank, Ryan Kellett, and I are launching a new infrastructure project. Because the window for building creator-governed systems is closing fast, and journalism needs to be in the room when these decisions get made.