The publishing field is swarming with creators who do not write for legacy outlets, judging by The State of Creator Journalism 2025, a study from Muck Rack.
Of those
surveyed, 34% independently publish news, commentary or other content under their own name outside of a traditional media organization. Moreover, 50% have been doing so for more than five years, and
63% make at least part their income from their self-published work.
They describe their primary motivation for self-publishing as follows:
- Creative or editorial
freedom—57%
- Professional branding or career development—13%
- Filing a perceived gap in media
coverage—10%
- Financial opportunity—9%
- Audience engagement and community—8%
- Other—3%
In the “other” category, they say they are connecting with a niche audience or do it as an additional outlet for work that is not a good fit
for their main job.
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One thing that is not clear is how many of these creators have been downsized from newsroom jobs. Also not specified is how many attended J school
or have other stamps of journalistic approval on their resume.
Many apparently do have full-time reporting jobs, covering similar topics. They break it down as
follows:
- It’s very similar—the topics and approach overlap—45%
- It’s somewhat different—I explore other subjects or
formats—30%
- It’s completely different—I cover unrelated topics—19%
- Other—6%
Where do they
self-publish? Their outlets include:
- Personal blog or website—53%
- Email newsletter (e.g. Substack,
Ghost)—41%
- Instagram—30%
- LinkedIn—29%
- X (formerly
Twitter)—26%
- YouTube—23%
- Podcast—18%
- Live events or
speaking engagements—13%
- TikTok—12%
- Other—12%
- Messaging
channels (e.g. Telegram, WhatsApp)—7%
- Discord or private online communities—2%
One thing is for sure—the creators surveyed are a
prolific bunch. Roughly 43% publish five or more stories per week, and 18% do 11 or more.
Muck Rack surveyed 1,515 journalists, 522 of whom identified themselves as creator
journalists.