TikTok News Creators Form New Narratives In Journalism

Now many journalists use TikTok. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - To understand unprecedented events on January 6, 2021, Vitus "V" Spehar did what traditional journalists would not do, which is crawling under the table and starting recording videos for TikTok.

Like everyone else who witnessed the invasion of the US Capitol Building on TV, Spehar, who used their pronouns, felt the need to talk about it. However, "I don't want to make people think I'm an expert," Spehar said, who recorded the TikTok video from their home in feasibility, New York. "So I thought, where is the safe place to talk?"

Two years later, the TikTok account "under the Desk News" attracted nearly 3 million followers, who appreciated Spehar's gentler view of everyday news. The event avoided true evil, while focusing on the subject in which people could take action. Spehar tries to end each video with a lighter note.

Since the popularity of this short video application increased at the start of the pandemic, people like Spehar flocked to the platform to discuss, document and share what is happening in the world. Many of them refer to themselves as creators or influence. They don't aspire to be traditional journalists.

What brings these news creators together is the desire to talk about their world in an authentic way. It manages to touch millions of young followers, a generation of media consumers who are difficult to reach but highly desirable next, who are unlikely to watch cable news or read newspapers.

By leaving the convention, these news creators are trying to create a new narrative for journalism at a time when the business is experiencing a rapid decline and requires urgent updates. Instead of repeating the daily news summary, some people choose to connect directly with their audience through the video comments section, and others show their views such as identification.

Josh Helfgott, a TikTok user with 5.5 million followers, uploaded a series of repeated videos called " Gay News" that address recent events relevant to LGBTQ viewers. The inspiration for his account is himself when he was 13, who felt isolated growing up as a gay teenager.

"I want to inspire people or make anyone feel less alone," Helfgott said.

Video beritanya, yang secara rutin menerima lebih dari 1 juta penonton, telah mencakup segalanya mulai dari Presiden AS Joe Biden mengadan Pride di Gedung Putih hingga Human Rights Campaign menyatakan keadaan darurat bagi masyarakat LGBTQ di Amerika.

"There are very few stories centered on the LGBTQ issue that the general public hears," said Helfgott.

Feelings of Helplessness and isolation have inspired other channels. Kristy Drutman launched a "Brown Girl Green" which focuses on climate change, and he said he started posting on TikTok and Instagram because people with colors were rarely represented in discussions about the environment.

"I try to keep up with climate news developments and news that can give people hope," Drutman said. "I think about solutions."

One TikTok video Drutman explains how people can take advantage of tax credit to make environmentally friendly updates in their homes, while other videos show reports of international climate change showing that it's not too late for countries to take steps to tackle global warming.

Traditional news media are in a deep crisis. For every exception, such as rapidly increasing digital income for New York Times subscriptions, there are more horror stories about stagnant traffic and a decrease in the number of readers and viewers.

To date, more than 1,900 jobs have been removed in the US news industry, exceeding the 1,808 jobs lost throughout 2022, according to a report from work placement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas. News streamers who have been favorites in the social media era, such as BuzzFeed News and Vice, have died or are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform for news, according to a report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published on Tuesday, June 13. Twenty percent of people aged 18 to 24 years use TikTok to study the latest events, up 5 percentage points from last year, the report said.

Lisa Remillard, a broadcast journalist with 20 years of experience who has hosted TV shows in Tallahassee, Florida, and San Diego, California, hopes to leverage this growth into a new business model that can help independent journalists earn income on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Remillard founded BEONDTV, a digital media entertainment and lifestyle company.

Since 2020, he has also played the only journalist in the editors, taking videos to explain the biggest national news daily to his 2.5 million TikTok followers, such as the US debt limit deal and the possibility of banning TikTok in the United States due to the platform's ownership by China.

"In my deepest hopes and dreams, I hope this can be the result of all this hard work," Remillard said, expressing his hopes for a new business model for independent journalists.

When Spehar's "under the Desk News" began to become popular, the Los Angeles Times employed them six months ago to be the face of the news organization's TikTok account. The benefits are mutually beneficial: Spehar learns how journalism is produced, while publishers gain TikTok expertise from Spehar.

Spehar's advice for journalists is to build followers on TikTok who will pay for their coverage on subscription platforms like Substack, where some authors have succeeded in creating a lucrative career.

"Choose the world you want to show people and tell them exactly what story you cover," said Spehar.