Newsrooms want to reach new audiences, but creator partnerships can be costly and complex. Adriana Lacy shares a tested framework for building effective collaborations. Her approach addresses common pitfalls and offers practical steps.
News publishers are under pressure to deliver news that feels authentic and accessible, but connecting with audiences through creators is rarely simple or cheap. Adriana Lacy, an award-winning journalist and media consultant, has spent two years working directly with newsrooms to develop more effective creator collaborations. She recently presented her findings at the 77th World News Media Congress in Marseille, outlining a practical framework for publishers navigating these partnerships.
Lacy leads Influencer Journalism, a consultancy focused on newsroom-creator collaborations, and serves on WAN-IFRA’s News Creator Exchange Advisory Board. She explained that the creator ecosystem now includes amplification, co-creation, community engagement, and creator-in-residence models-each with unique demands. Her experience shows that not every partnership succeeds, often due to unclear goals or internal resistance from journalists.
To address these challenges, Lacy recommends that newsrooms first develop an in-house social video strategy. She cautions against relying solely on external creators, noting the high costs of ongoing partnerships. Instead, she suggests starting with staff members who are willing to experiment with social video, using creator partnerships as a supplement rather than a replacement.
Lacy’s STEPP Framework-standing for Standards, Transparency, Ethics, Platform-native, and Public service-emerged from extensive fieldwork and focus groups with publishers. She found that concerns about standards and ethics are the biggest barriers to collaboration. However, she emphasizes that these partnerships are governed by newsroom editorial policies, even when content appears on creators’ channels. The framework was tested during the MLK50 creator-in-residence program, which remained resilient when its creator, Amber Sherman, faced unexpected legal issues during the partnership.
For newsrooms looking to launch creator collaborations, Lacy advises starting with clear goals. She notes that many publishers approach creators without a defined purpose, which leads to confusion and inefficiency. For example, MLK50, a Memphis-based nonprofit, selected a local policy organizer as creator-in-residence to help audiences understand complex policy issues-choosing expertise and audience fit over follower count.
Mapping the landscape is the next step. Lacy encourages publishers to identify influential voices within their own communities and consult younger staff to discover which creators resonate with target audiences. She stresses that the best partner is not always the one with the largest following, but the one whose audience aligns with the newsroom’s goals.
The process continues with identifying, connecting, and conversing with potential creators. Lacy’s team typically holds multiple conversations before selecting partners, seeking to understand how both sides can benefit and uncovering new ways to collaborate. This approach helps newsrooms avoid common mistakes and build more robust, mutually beneficial relationships.
As publishers experiment with creator partnerships, many are watching for signs of what works and what doesn’t. For those interested in how audience strategies are shifting, a recent analysis of direct news traffic and the rise of social and video platforms offers additional perspective: see how changing reader habits are impacting news distribution.
