At Harvard, a model program aims to influence the influencers

Happy December and hello to the continued influx of new readers who have joined us from mentions in both Ryan Kellett’s 2025 NiemanLab prediction and this new Trusting News piece about what moves newsrooms can borrow from creators. So happy to have you here. Reach out to me anytime at [email protected] with story ideas or tips. I answer all emails.

the lede

I want to tell you about a cool new study about the power of creator journalism and trust. It involves smart people at Harvard and Boston University so, like, a big deal, obvy. But before we jump into the findings, a little background:

Creator journalism is a vast and uncharted space. Trust me. Trying to build a comprehensive list of of creator-model journalists is akin to taking a world census. That’s why it’s nice to zoom in on certain areas from time to time. One of the coolest zooms I’ve seen this year is the work being led by Amanda Yarnell, Senior Director at the Center for Health Communication and Lecturer at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Since taking over the Center two years ago, Yarnell has it made one of the Center’s missions to not only understand the burgeoning numbers of creators working in the health and wellness space, but to equip them with resources, training and evidence-based science to spread to followings that are both niche and sprawling.

The Creator Program, launched in 2023, is doing work that journalism schools should take note of and emulate. Not only are Yarnell and her team mapping trends and asking important questions about the impact influencers are having on the dissemination of public health information, but working with creators in cohorts and one-on-one, fielding real experiments that provide durable learnings and codifying processes and how-tos to help creators build sustainable businesses, connect to each other and to key factual sources. They’re seeing real progress working with creators like TikTok psychotherapy stars Nadia Adessi (2.8M followers) and Sasha Hamdani (951K followers).

In a new pre-print study released this week and funded in part by MTV, Yarnell and a team from across academia explored whether evidence-based mental health TikTok videos, created in partnership with influencers, could improve young people’s ability to provide emotional support. TL;DR - the evidence looks good. Participants who were shown the videos said they felt more comfortable and confident supporting their friends. Which is key because, as the study notes: “When experiencing high levels of stress, young people are more likely to ask for support from a friend than from adults or mental health professionals.”

This paper follows an earlier one that found that it is entirely possible to increase the degree to which mental health "influencers" on TikTok incorporate evidence-based content into the videos that they produce.

Although the studies are limited to health and wellness, I can easily imagine similar studies to assess how to actively work with and leverage influencer content across a range of news areas to better understand, and help level up, the level of factual information floating around out there on distributed platforms. In fact, if any friends out there in J-School land want to talk about this, please reach out! 

the latest

• Beehiiv CEO Tyler Denk writes that “Substack has become the Amazon of publishing,” where the illusion of independence is belied by a uniform look-and-feel, the primacy of Substack’s brand over that of individual creators and what he terms Substack’s ownership of the consumer relationship. On the heels of the recently announced Media Collective program, it definitely feels like Beehiv is increasingly positioning itself to challenge Substack’s reputation as the go-to place to build an independent media career. Many writers who started at Substack are making the shift to Beehiiv and other alternate publishing platforms, with some success. News you can use: Lex Roman’s comparison of the platforms is a good place to start if you’re evaluating where to start – or whether to make a change.

• Over at Passionfruit, Taylor Lorenz profiles Erin Reed, a transgender journalist and creator who recently became one of the first trans content creators to secure press credentials for a Supreme Court trial. Reed’s take on trust is particularly interesting and worth noting as trust in media continues to bottom out: “There’s a credibility gap in mainstream media,” says Reed. “Traditional outlets often frame stories through a centrist lens to appeal to advertisers, which can dilute the truth. I make my biases clear, I’m reporting for my community. That doesn’t mean I’m not beholden to the facts. It means I center the experiences of the people affected.”

• Further re: trust: A new UNESCO study reports that only a third of content creators surveyed verify information before sharing. Per the findings, content creators predominantly source their material from personal experiences, followed by independent research and expert interviews.

• A bevy of news-adjacent creators made this year’s Forbes 30-Under-30 list, including Carlos Espina (the “One-Man Telemundo on TikTok), medical mythbuster Joel Bervell and Gen-Z historian Kahlil Greene.

tips + hacks

• Instagram just launched Trial Reels, a way to test out content with non-followers before alienating your loyal audience, I guess.

things to do

• Aspiring video creators in Canada can apply for a new fellowship designed to level up skills of aspiring independent creators. Applications for the 6-week program, which includes a $5,000 (Canadian) stipend, are open through Jan. 24.