The Washington Post Launches New Dedicated Creator Unit 🗞️

TODAY’S EDITION

• The Washington Post launched a Creator Network unit as it focuses on personality-driven content

• Google lets users prioritize their preferred news outlets in Search as AI disrupts search and discovery

• Dude Perfect takes their sold-out arena tour to movie theaters globally through a new partnership with Regal

• An upcoming event for the creator economy community in Boston

• Creators were mentioned in several recent earnings calls by CEOs

NEW MEDIA MEETS LEGACY MEDIA

The Washington Post Launches A Creator Network Unit

The Washington Post announced Creator Network, a new unit led by former Axios Editor in Chief Sara Kehaulani Goo, who will serve as President. It's the publication's third newsroom (alongside News and Opinion) and will focus on creating personality-driven content, supporting independent creators to scale their content, and giving advertisers access to new audiences through creators.

The unit will also be "infusing AI" into everything they do to maximize efficiency and scale, which Goo shared in a LinkedIn video post.

Why It Matters: Like ESPN's recent hiring of Katie Feeney as a Lifestyle and Sports Content Creator, this highlights how legacy outlets are leaning more into creators and new media to adapt to changing content consumption habits.

The urgency becomes clear with the numbers: creator platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are expected to surpass traditional media in ad revenue for the first time this year, while social media has overtaken TV as the top news source for 54% of Americans. A dedicated division for creators makes a lot of sense.

The Creator Network positions The Post to capture advertising dollars flowing to creator platforms while supplementing traditional journalism with social content where audiences are migrating. It's a bridge between traditional media credibility and the creator economy's engagement and revenue potential.

By creating a separate division, The Post can experiment with creator-focused content without potentially compromising its journalistic integrity—a delicate balance that will be interesting to watch.

Key questions remain: What type of creators will it work with? Will creators own what they create? How will they get paid? Let's see how it plays out.

UPCOMING EVENT

Boston Creator Economy Summer Mixer - August 26th

Following a successful kickoff event in May that brought together some of Boston's creator economy community, from creators and marketers to agency pros and entrepreneurs, Courtney Duffy (Head of External Affairs & Strategic Engagement, Patreon) and I are back for round two.

On Tuesday, August 26th (6:00-8:30 PM EDT) at Tia's Waterfront in downtown Boston, we're hosting another mixer for those working or interested in the space to network, share ideas, and discover opportunities.

It's a free event—more details and RSVP here.