Fresh from the first day of the Asian Leaders Summit 2025 by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in Singapore, one topic stood out: the rise of the news creator.

For millions of young people, news today is as likely to come from a social media creator as from a traditional newsroom. Creators thrive on agility, authenticity, and the strength of devoted communities. Legacy media, meanwhile, are built on depth, trust, and reach. Both are essential forces in today’s information landscape and yet they seldom collaborate.

In the past decade, we’ve witnessed how Filipinos consume news shifting dramatically toward social media. The rise of news creators has become an inseparable part of that transformation.

But what exactly are news creators?

A Reuters Institute report, “Mapping news creators and influencers in social media and video networks,” published on Oct. 28, 2025, defines news creators as “individuals (or sometimes small groups of individuals) who create and distribute content primarily through social and video networks and have some impact on public debates around news and current affairs. News creators are independent from wider news institutions for at least some of their news output. As such, they overlap with what are sometimes referred to as ‘newsfluencers’ (Hurcombe 2024) or ‘peripheral actors’ in the academic literature (Hanusch and Löhmann 2022).”

In the Philippines, the report notes that news broadcast networks and their journalists still dominate the list of influential voices more than independent creators. Among them are Jessica Soho, Karen Davila, Korina Sanchez, Atom Araullo, and others. Only one independent figure meets Reuters’ criteria for a news creator in the political space: Christian Esguerra, through his podcast “Facts First,” which combats disinformation by providing facts and context on pressing political issues.

Reuters also highlights Facebook’s continuing role as the country’s most critical network for news though younger audiences and that creators are increasingly gravitating toward TikTok.

This conversation was further explored in the Creators x Editors Media Workshop by WAN-IFRA, which I had the privilege to attend just this week. The session, with attendees from the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia, focused on how newsrooms and independent creators can learn from each other and collaborate more effectively. Creators bring agility and personality; legacy media contribute trust and structure. Both sides are needed but still often operate in silos.

Early findings from the 2025 World Press Trends survey, however, suggest progress: 58 percent of publishers are open to collaborating with creators; 35 percent are looking to identify creators within their own newsrooms; 23 percent would consider hiring creators for their brands; and only 8 percent see them as a threat.

From my own takeaways at the workshop, several insights stood out. Audience growth for creators is exponential, especially among younger viewers. Traditional newsrooms often struggle to identify creators within their ranks. Meanwhile, digital-only newsrooms are more open — and quicker — to collaborate.

Independent creators thrive on real-time engagement. Their livestreams invite audiences to ask questions, make topic requests, and receive immediate responses. This is a level of interaction today’s media audience looks for.

Editors, on the other hand, have long worked behind the byline. Shifting to a camera-facing role is a learning curve that many are only beginning to navigate. Even those open to identifying creators within their teams face internal challenges in adapting workflows and mindsets.

Digital-native newsrooms, as shared during the workshop, are already experimenting with creator partnerships in both editorial content and branded executions. Still, they admit there’s no fixed formula for success; it’s a process of continuous learning and evolution.

At the end of the day, while publishers and creators may sometimes compete for client budgets, there’s ample room for everyone when it comes to audience and community building. In my opinion, the rise of the news creator can push publishers to further innovate, evolve, and connect with audiences in new and dynamic ways.

(Rey Robes Ilagan is the editor of Manila Bulletin’s Lifestyle section.)