Newsrooms, meet news creators

*You can also watch our interviews on* YouTube *or listen to them on* Spotify *or* Apple podcasts*.* While I’ve been busy espousing the benefits of traditional journalists adopting some of the elements of video-first social media creators, another powerful way to go is helping news-oriented content creators learn some of the nuts and bolts of traditional journalism. In this new conversation, News Creator Corps founder **Rachel Lobdel** talks about supporting several cohorts of news creators this past year — an education cohort soon, please? — partnering with established newsrooms, and reassuring traditional journalists that creators aren’t all after their jobs. “We do not see creators as a replacement for a journalist. We see it as just part of this ecosystem that we’re living in. And I can promise you, they are not a threat.” Other key insights: “It feels silly to be nostalgic and to tell people stop getting your news on TikTok,” says Lobdel. “What if we just made the news on TikTok better?” “What creators are really good at is the sense-making piece and what it means for a certain audience, what examples to tell, what format to tell it in — what this means for you, what you can do with it afterwards. And none of that takes away from the work that traditional journalists do.” “There’s a lot of talk about creators versus journalists,” says Lobdel. “And I can tell you that the only people who care are journalists. Creators do not want your jobs. They respect the hell out of you, and they want to work together. They want to amplify your work.” “The answer is not for journalists to put a camera in front of their face and start making videos. The answer is to know what you’re really good at and know what you bring to the table. These creators have the trust and access to communities that newsrooms want to reach. And newsrooms have access to a ton of resources and reporting skills that creators want.” “One of the ways that creators are so successful is because of their authenticity, of the way that they speak as if they’re in conversation with their community and they’re not talking at their community. It just kind of feels like you’re having drinks with a friend at happy hour and learning about whatever happened in their day. That is all stuff that journalists can learn from — the way that we talk to people, the way that we be in community with people, the way that we treat information as mutual aid. All of that is great stuff.” “I think what gets lost in translation is \[traditional journalists] only think about format. They think, ‘Okay, we all need to be on TikTok. You know, let’s get this reporter to start making TikTok videos.’ And while the format is great because it is where people are… it doesn’t matter as much as the authenticity piece, the community piece, and the the information-sharing piece.” **Previously from The Grade** Sources, scoops, & soaring audience (featuring WAMU’s Jenny Abamu) Video changes everything (featuring The 74’s Emmeline Zhao) Firsthand news & student voices (featuring Firsthand’s Karina Elwood) It’s way past time to modernize the education beat Think like a newsroom & other lessons from New Haven (featuring Paul Bass) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alexanderrusso.substack.com/subscribe