{"id":154463,"date":"2026-10-12T13:19:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T12:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=154463"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T12:40:54","slug":"what-the-shift-to-creator-led-stories-and-formats-means-for-the-pr-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/what-the-shift-to-creator-led-stories-and-formats-means-for-the-pr-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"What the media’s shift to creator-led stories and formats means for the PR industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media outlets are constantly looking at ways to change and adapt to stay relevant and keep audiences coming back, and that\u2019s led to a shift in recent years of investing in video and taking inspiration from the \u2018creator economy\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the panels at the recent Press Gazette Future of Media Technology Conference<\/a> focused on this, and below we share some of that insight as well as the impact it will have on PR and comms professionals moving forward.<\/p>\n

Going to where the audience is<\/h2>\n

There has been a real pivot in the last few years with audiences getting their news from short-form video sites like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Legacy media outlets are now looking to adapt as a result, as Jasmine Dawson, Senior Vice President, Digital at BBC Studios, explained:<\/p>\n

\u2018In terms of what we’ve been doing for the last five years, we have been building that portfolio and not only using the incredible work that BBC and BBC Studios have to offer, but making sure that we’re making it for the audiences who have migrated. We are meeting the audiences where they are, whether it’s on TikTok, whether it’s on YouTube, and fronting new formats\u2019.<\/p>\n

Leah Green, Head of Guardian Studios, has also been looking at this space and \u2018working out what we can put out\u2019 that will resonate with the audience, especially in long-form conversational formats like podcasts.<\/p>\n

What this means for PRs:<\/strong> The content you share with journalists now has to be more adaptable than ever before. With so many publishers investing heavily in video to meet the audience where they are getting news, you need to make sure that the information will be visually appealing and able to work across multiple platforms.<\/p>\n

Personality is a key driver<\/h2>\n

Publishers pivoting to video are following in the footsteps of the creator economy by encouraging journalists to lead with their personality on camera, with Leah Green sharing that Guardian Studios is \u2018building shows around personality\u2019. It\u2019s something that Graham Page, Head of Media at Q5, also highlighted as a trend:<\/p>\n

\u2018We do a white paper every year to see what our clients are talking about and 75% of them said they are trying to be more creator-like or creator-led. They\u2019re asking their journalists to have more opinion and they\u2019re going straight to camera and publishing things really quickly to try and compete with the creator economy\u2019.<\/p>\n

Andrew Palmer, Executive Editor at The Economist, said publishers need to \u2018build a connection\u2019 with the audience \u2018because it showcases humans, and in the long term, we do think that matters as AI encroaches more and more.\u2019<\/p>\n

What this means for PRs:<\/strong> If you want coverage for your experts, they will need to be more open to appearing on camera. With TikTok and Instagram favouring shorter videos, speakers will need to be clear and succinct. The more long-form options of YouTube and podcasts will offer a better chance to really delve into specialist topics. Confidence in front of the lens – with many podcasts also now being filmed to attract younger audiences – will be vital.<\/p>\n

The importance of trust<\/h2>\n

While publishers and journalists are experiencing the benefits of investing in video and adopting a more creator-led mentality, the reputation of legacy media titles remains important when it comes to trust, as Leah Green explained:<\/p>\n

\u2018One thing that an individual creator can never have is that legacy of a 200-year-old newspaper, the trust that comes with that, the reputation that comes with that. I think it would be a mistake to try and completely replicate the creator economy\u2019.<\/p>\n

Younger audiences aren’t the only group publishers should cater to, as Jasmine Dawson pointed out: \u2018It\u2019s a real danger to think that we have to go after younger audiences\u2019. Leah Green backed this up: \u2018If [audiences] are coming to The Guardian, they want intelligent, entertaining content that tells them something about the world and that doesn\u2019t begin or end at a certain age\u2019.<\/p>\n

What this means for PRs:<\/strong> Trust has never been more important to journalists and outlets than it is now. If you\u2019re reaching out with expert comment, this needs to come from a reputable source that can be easily checked and verified. The same goes for case studies and more general press releases. The other point to consider is making sure what you put forward is relevant and of interest to a general audience and not necessarily just focused on a younger one. All generations want news that they can trust.<\/p>\n

Pitch relevant spokespeople and experts to the media directly via the Vuelio Media Database, which now also features journalist requests from the Journalist Enquiry Service – find out more here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Media outlets are constantly looking at ways to change and adapt to stay relevant and keep audiences coming back, and that\u2019s led to a shift in recent years of investing more in video and taking inspiration from the \u2018creator economy\u2019. One of the panels at the recent Press Gazette Future of Media Technology Conference focused on this and below we share some of that insight. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":154468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,3729],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154463"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154463"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154473,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154463\/revisions\/154473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}