Goodbye, legacy media. Hello, indie creators.

Let’s face it: legacy media had plenty of time to course-correct, yet here we are.

Despite having long-standing relationships with audiences grounded in trust earned over decades of reporting, its decline is imminent.

Newspapers, cable news, and even big-name magazines have been bleeding out ad dollars for years. They've clung to outdated models like they’re life rafts.

And this has left them unable to take on disruptive, more agile news providers who are seemingly more suitable to the digital age.

For some, the transition to digital came far too late.

For others, the trust they once relied on has deteriorated as audiences say they have 'no confidence' in the media’s news reporting. Many people now believe news outlets to be mouthpieces for big corporate interest rather than purveyors of truth.

The younger cohort of consumers of media have turned to independent and digital media outlets, and even social media instead of websites maintained by traditional outlets, according to a Digital News Report.

The shift has been driven by a genuine desire for more accessible, informal and entertaining news formats, delivered by influencer types as opposed to journalists.

When Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh graduated with a degree in journalism in 2020, he realised there was no mainstream outlet that focused on the Muslim community – which makes up a quarter of the world’s population.

It was because of this that he decided to build his own digital news brand, instead of going to work in a traditional newsroom as most do.

His brand, @Muslim has since amassed over 2.9 million followers on TikTok and 6.4 million on Instagram over the last four years.

The Palestinian-Jordanian entrepreneur is one of millions of independent creators reshaping the way we get our news.

The move toward independent creators and smaller media outlets is largely due to the fact that audiences see them as more genuine. In a world of constant misinformation, everything comes down to who people trust.

Audiences no longer want polished PR spins. They want human beings who look them in the digital eye and give them the unfiltered truth (or at least a version of it they can relate to).

And now, independent creators have charged into the gap that legacy media is leaving behind.

They're building their own media empires on YouTube, Patreon, Substack, and beyond.

These influencers and indie creators have become today’s opinion leaders. Why? Because they're offering something legacy media just can’t seem to replicate—authenticity.

Creators are monetising their content in ways that were unheard of even five years ago. These include everything from brand partnerships to fan-funded models that are sustainable, scalable, and, well, lucrative. People are paying to support creators they love because these creators make them feel seen, entertained, and in-the-know.

It's no longer about watching whatever’s on the air; it's about choosing what aligns with their values, sense of humour, or even aesthetic.

Another example of this is Taylor Lorenz.

As a journalist, she’s become well-known for her writing, often about influencers within legacy media. She translates the enigmatic laws of online virality for the traditional news consumer. Lorenz is also responsible for bringing terms like 'O.K boomer' to the mainstream.

Her book, Extremely Online, speaks on the rise of influencerdom, its inevitability, and the emergence of monetisation of online fame.

She began her media career in 2011, as a social-media editor for the Daily Mail doing audience development. She freelanced on the side for online publications including the Daily Dot. Lorenz then moved into full-time reporter roles at Business Insider, the Daily Beast, and The Atlantic.

The journalist became a star of a beat focussed on social-media trends and celebrities—subjects that were becoming more and more of a public obsession even as she covered them.

Lorenz was included in Fortune’s 2020 '40 Under 40' list and became a visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

Currently, she works as a columnist for The Washington Post, as well as for a Vox Media-distributed podcast. She also runs her own YouTube channel, TikTok, and multiple meme pages on Instagram – residing on both sides of the coin of journalism.

However on October 1st, Lorenz announced she’s leaving big media. She's decided to launch her own independent publication, User Mag, on Substack to 'pursue the type of reporting on the internet that has become increasingly difficult to do in corporate media.'

Lorenz has long been a vocal critic of traditional journalism’s slowness to embrace digital channels such as YouTube and TikTok that increasingly dominate young audiences’ attention.

Her exit is a symbol of the migration that is already well underway from legacy media to indie creators.

This cultural shift reflects a world that craves diversity of thought.

It's a rejection of top-down narratives, and a fascination with direct, 'no-BS' content. People are tired of the old guard telling them what’s important—they want to decide for themselves.

But as the creator economy gets more crowded and competitive, we have to wonder: are we trading one type of power structure for another?

Will the next generation of 'independent' media stars eventually look a lot like the legacy media giants we’re leaving behind?

I sure as hell hope not. But for now, let’s not catastrophise the future. There’s already an ever-growing list of reasons to do so.

And this transition, in my eyes, is a welcome change.

-Sophie, Writer