Traditional media and content creators are changing the shape of news in India, a topic that came under scrutiny during WAN-Ifra’s Digital Media India conference in Chennai.

During a panel discussion, veteran editors agreed that to stay relevant, traditional news organisations needed to think of new ways to tell stories and connect with young and new audiences. Quick, bite-sized content may be a key.

Rupa Jha, chief executive and co-founder of Collective Newsroom, spoke of the phenomenal shift in how the media industry is structured. “How news is consumed, who is consuming it, and what the audience needs have all changed.

“Content creation is no longer just a side hustle.”

With the creator economy growing at 22 per cent annually, more than the digital news economy, she added that traditional publishers were not paying enough attention to how an audience thinks or how they want to receive information. “We haven’t adapted our storytelling to match what the audience needs,” she said. “People still do care about good journalism. The question is, who is giving them that now?”

Are content creators taking over the role of journalists? Not really. But there’s room for them too. They’re relatable, quick to adapt, and often more natural in how they present things. That appeals to people who are bored of the usual way journalism is done, Jha said.

“There’s space for both traditional journalists and content creators to exist together.”

Content creators have broken the media monopoly in India, one of only a few countries in which there are almost no rules or laws to prevent media monopolies.

Siddharth Varadarajan, founder-editor of The Wire, harked back to 2011–2012, when he said, a single media group in India dominated English and Hindi newspapers, TV news, and radio, “limiting the choices available to readers, viewers, and listeners.

“But now, content creators have broken this monopoly. We are now in a time of de-monopolisation of Indian mass media. People have moved away from being loyal to one newspaper or one TV channel. Instead, they now consume media in small pieces from a variety of sources.”

He said readers had benefited from the digital revolution and the breaking up of old media monopolies. “But at the same time, it has also created space for all kinds of content creators,” Varadarajan said.

“The term ‘content creator’ is very broad. It includes everyone from people making Instagram reels to serious journalists as well as book authors, film makers, musicians and more. Some of these creators’ interviews have even reached nearly a million views on social media.

“While big monopolies still exist, content creators now represent this more open, accessible space,” he said.

Jha quoted the Reuters Digital News Report that about 40 per cent of people – especially younger adults aged 18-24 – tended to avoid traditional hard news.

“This is a wake-up call for everyone in the news business. We’ve lost the way to connect with young people,” Jha said, adding that there were still ways to engage them with serious global stories – if they’re told differently. “There’s a way to tell what’s happening in Iran or Israel that will interest an 18-year-old,” she said.

Meanwhile, Varadarajan said that despite young people primarily consuming non-news content on their devices, their presence there increased the chance they will discover and engage with news.

“Now, platforms offer more opportunities – but also new challenges. For newsrooms, the real question is whether we compete with or collaborate with content creators.”

Collective Newsroom, the sole publisher and content provider for BBC News in India, has experimented with collaborating with content creators with Jha saying the experiments had worked well for both audience and publisher.

In 2019, BBC collaborated with six content creators across languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi and Hindi to cover elections uniquely and attract younger viewers.

For instance, a Hindi creator travelled to Bihar and Banaras, sharing election stories from a young person’s perspective – “it felt fresh and relatable.”

Popular YouTube channels also became faces of the coverage. In Gujarat, four young women bikers covered election issues in an engaging, unconventional way.

“It was a win-win: traditional media brought the audience, and digital creators brought in revenue. These creators marry both worlds perfectly,” she said.

Although these experiments were successful, editorial control over the content was a challenge.

“When working with content creators, you need to follow an editorial framework to protect your brand’s reputation. So, you have to guide and support them a lot. They bring a fresh approach to storytelling, while we bring editorial discipline,” Jha said.

But Varadarajan said the quality of news in legacy media was declining. “About 10-15 years ago, they spent more on reporting. Now, TV news feels more like entertainment with the same stories and guests, which drive young people away,” he said.

This failure created space for content creators. Although they rarely provide deep news or analysis, they share strong opinions and reach massive audiences via platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

With smartphones, about 85 per cent of India can access content. The audience is bigger than ever. Yet, news media is struggling to provide good content.

“That’s why content creators have become popular. Their content is different and hard to fit into regular news,” he added.

–Aultrin Vijay/WAN-Ifra, with thanks

Pictured (left): Collective Newsroom co-founder and chief executive Rupa Jha, and (right) Siddharth Varadarajan, founder-editor of The Wire