As our political divisions continue to intensify in the U.S., so does our distrust in legacy news media. Legacy news is providing a low quality product (read: rancid political punditry) through dated distribution channels (read: linear television). This trend fosters distrust in our institutions and hate among neighbors and nations.
Gone is the notion that journalists should act as public servants, serving as relays that connect us to the information we need about the issues affecting our local and national communities. Instead, some entire networks appear dedicated to supporting a single set of political beliefs instead of promoting the healthy exchange of ideas. We see instances where editorial independence appears compromised by commercial or political interests, blurring the lines between news and agenda. Some journalists have relegated themselves to being a mouthpiece for individuals and institutions whose sole purpose is to further their own agendas through whatever means necessary — often straying into disinformation, misogyny, classism, and racism.
The increasing perception of bias in news media is particularly troubling because audiences often aren’t aware whether the content they regularly consume is factual news or opinion.
This confusion contributes to the erosion of public trust in news media.
Simultaneously, younger generations are shifting their consumption of media away from where traditional news media has historically lived — TV, radio, and print — and towards digital media. The media mix that younger generations consume is vastly different than older generations, and overall media consumption is also growing.
Younger generations increasingly prefer social media as their primary source for news:
The future of news media
The definition of “news”, and how it’s distributed, is changing.
Being a reputable news source requires establishing trust with an audience. As trust shifts from institutions to individuals, a new wave of creator-led companies and independent journalists will emerge that compete directly against legacy news media.
The future of news media will be found on user-generated content platforms including YouTube, X/Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscription-based platforms like Substack (digitally native independent publications like The Ankler) may also grow to become key players.
The social feed is the new newspaper. It doesn’t arrive once per day on your doorstep; it’s always up-to-date. It’s not just the perspective given from one network or institution; it’s a diverse mix of individual creators and larger organizations. And it’s algorithmically tailored to your tastes and preferences – for better or worse, sometimes reinforcing existing biases.
In terms of risks, this trend may exacerbate the already-present issues of misinformation and media bias. Media literacy will become an increasingly important skill. While I’m optimistic that our education system will adapt to accommodate this dynamic, it's a monumental task. We need to teach students how to assess the quality and intent of sources online instead of teaching the Dewey Decimal System or how to use an encyclopedia.
An exciting impact of this evolution is that the creator economy will democratize access to journalism the same way the creator economy is democratizing access to creativity. This opens doors for diverse voices and niche reporting often overlooked by mainstream outlets, though new players will need time to figure out the right monetization models and achieve proper scale.
To see how these trends might manifest in a few years, I want to use a case study of one creator that’s done this — Channel 5.
Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, “The Internet’s Most Popular Independent Journalist”
Andrew Callaghan is an independent journalist, documentarian, and entrepreneur. He runs Channel 5 News, a YouTube channel with ~3M subscribers known for providing in-depth interviews and news coverage of U.S. political and cultural topics with a deeply authentic and raw style. His style is partly inspired by gonzo journalism.
Before Channel 5, Callaghan ran All Gas No Brakes. He employed a similar approach to what he does now, but deeply rooted in satire. He travelled across the country in a camper van documenting the fringes of American culture including the Flat Earth Conference, Midwest FurFest, and Burning Man.
Callaghan didn’t own All Gas No Brakes — it was owned by Doing Things Media. As his interests shifted away from satire towards substantive journalism, the parties had a falling out which led to the creation of Channel 5 which is fully owned and operated by Andrew. Just last week, Andrew announced he bought All Gas No Brakes back from the original owner and will reboot it as an extension of the larger Channel 5 umbrella.
There’s a few aspects of Andrew’s journalism that differentiate him and make me optimistic that future creators can solve the systematic issues with legacy news media.
Radical listening
The core of Andrew’s style of journalism centers around a philosophy he calls “radical listening” — giving subjects the space to express themselves in their own words without bias, judgement, or analysis. It’s a deeply empathetic approach that humanizes the subject and topic, which is rarely found in today’s news environment. This contrasts sharply with the often adversarial or soundbite-driven approach common in legacy news media.
He’s done several character studies on conspiracy theorists and other individuals on the fringes of society — one of them became a highly successfully documentary called “Dear Kelly” which became the highest-grossing independently distributed documentary in over a decade. He seeks to understand people and what drives them to develop radical ideologies, and in doing so, he pushes his audience to develop a more nuanced and compassionate perspective.
Authenticity
Andrew keeps a lean production and team. He shoots with a crew of 2-4 on mostly handheld cameras. His shooting style establishes a level of intimacy that higher-budget productions fail to achieve. He effectively balances covering breaking news (like the LA wildfires) and going deeper on specific topics, particularly ones he has a personal interest in (like the gentrification of Mexico City).
Creative independence
It seems like Andrew’s falling out with Doing Things Media arose from his wanting to take the channel in a different creative direction. He founded Channel 5 with the explicit goal of promoting independent journalism. This freedom allows him to pursue stories and angles traditional outlets, constrained by corporate interests or established formats, might ignore. His business generates revenue from a mix of YouTube AdSense, brand sponsorships, Patreon support, merchandise, and the occasional feature-length project, which reflects a more diverse revenue mix that further supports his creative independence.
Parting thoughts
If you haven’t yet seen any of Andrew Callaghan’s videos, I highly recommend giving them a watch. Here’s a link to his YouTube channel, and here’s a link to his full-length documentary available on Max.
Channel 5's journey serves as a compelling look at how individual creators can build trust and audiences, offering a potential roadmap – and perhaps a challenge – for the future of the news and entertainment industries. I’m excited to see how Channel 5 grows and expands into new formats over the next few years.
Thanks for reading. If you want to chat about it more, or have feedback on how I can improve my writing, let me know.
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The End of Network Journalism?
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As our political divisions continue to intensify in the U.S., so does our distrust in legacy news media. Legacy news is providing a low quality product (read: rancid political punditry) through dated distribution channels (read: linear television). This trend fosters distrust in our institutions and hate among neighbors and nations.
Gone is the notion that journalists should act as public servants, serving as relays that connect us to the information we need about the issues affecting our local and national communities. Instead, some entire networks appear dedicated to supporting a single set of political beliefs instead of promoting the healthy exchange of ideas. We see instances where editorial independence appears compromised by commercial or political interests, blurring the lines between news and agenda. Some journalists have relegated themselves to being a mouthpiece for individuals and institutions whose sole purpose is to further their own agendas through whatever means necessary — often straying into disinformation, misogyny, classism, and racism.
The increasing perception of bias in news media is particularly troubling because audiences often aren’t aware whether the content they regularly consume is factual news or opinion.
This confusion contributes to the erosion of public trust in news media.
Simultaneously, younger generations are shifting their consumption of media away from where traditional news media has historically lived — TV, radio, and print — and towards digital media. The media mix that younger generations consume is vastly different than older generations, and overall media consumption is also growing.
Younger generations increasingly prefer social media as their primary source for news:
The future of news media
The definition of “news”, and how it’s distributed, is changing.
Being a reputable news source requires establishing trust with an audience. As trust shifts from institutions to individuals, a new wave of creator-led companies and independent journalists will emerge that compete directly against legacy news media.
The future of news media will be found on user-generated content platforms including YouTube, X/Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscription-based platforms like Substack (digitally native independent publications like The Ankler) may also grow to become key players.
The social feed is the new newspaper. It doesn’t arrive once per day on your doorstep; it’s always up-to-date. It’s not just the perspective given from one network or institution; it’s a diverse mix of individual creators and larger organizations. And it’s algorithmically tailored to your tastes and preferences – for better or worse, sometimes reinforcing existing biases.
In terms of risks, this trend may exacerbate the already-present issues of misinformation and media bias. Media literacy will become an increasingly important skill. While I’m optimistic that our education system will adapt to accommodate this dynamic, it's a monumental task. We need to teach students how to assess the quality and intent of sources online instead of teaching the Dewey Decimal System or how to use an encyclopedia.
An exciting impact of this evolution is that the creator economy will democratize access to journalism the same way the creator economy is democratizing access to creativity. This opens doors for diverse voices and niche reporting often overlooked by mainstream outlets, though new players will need time to figure out the right monetization models and achieve proper scale.
To see how these trends might manifest in a few years, I want to use a case study of one creator that’s done this — Channel 5.
Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, “The Internet’s Most Popular Independent Journalist”
Andrew Callaghan is an independent journalist, documentarian, and entrepreneur. He runs Channel 5 News, a YouTube channel with ~3M subscribers known for providing in-depth interviews and news coverage of U.S. political and cultural topics with a deeply authentic and raw style. His style is partly inspired by gonzo journalism.
Before Channel 5, Callaghan ran All Gas No Brakes. He employed a similar approach to what he does now, but deeply rooted in satire. He travelled across the country in a camper van documenting the fringes of American culture including the Flat Earth Conference, Midwest FurFest, and Burning Man.
Callaghan didn’t own All Gas No Brakes — it was owned by Doing Things Media. As his interests shifted away from satire towards substantive journalism, the parties had a falling out which led to the creation of Channel 5 which is fully owned and operated by Andrew. Just last week, Andrew announced he bought All Gas No Brakes back from the original owner and will reboot it as an extension of the larger Channel 5 umbrella.
There’s a few aspects of Andrew’s journalism that differentiate him and make me optimistic that future creators can solve the systematic issues with legacy news media.
Radical listening
The core of Andrew’s style of journalism centers around a philosophy he calls “radical listening” — giving subjects the space to express themselves in their own words without bias, judgement, or analysis. It’s a deeply empathetic approach that humanizes the subject and topic, which is rarely found in today’s news environment. This contrasts sharply with the often adversarial or soundbite-driven approach common in legacy news media.
He’s done several character studies on conspiracy theorists and other individuals on the fringes of society — one of them became a highly successfully documentary called “Dear Kelly” which became the highest-grossing independently distributed documentary in over a decade. He seeks to understand people and what drives them to develop radical ideologies, and in doing so, he pushes his audience to develop a more nuanced and compassionate perspective.
Authenticity
Andrew keeps a lean production and team. He shoots with a crew of 2-4 on mostly handheld cameras. His shooting style establishes a level of intimacy that higher-budget productions fail to achieve. He effectively balances covering breaking news (like the LA wildfires) and going deeper on specific topics, particularly ones he has a personal interest in (like the gentrification of Mexico City).
Creative independence
It seems like Andrew’s falling out with Doing Things Media arose from his wanting to take the channel in a different creative direction. He founded Channel 5 with the explicit goal of promoting independent journalism. This freedom allows him to pursue stories and angles traditional outlets, constrained by corporate interests or established formats, might ignore. His business generates revenue from a mix of YouTube AdSense, brand sponsorships, Patreon support, merchandise, and the occasional feature-length project, which reflects a more diverse revenue mix that further supports his creative independence.
Parting thoughts
If you haven’t yet seen any of Andrew Callaghan’s videos, I highly recommend giving them a watch. Here’s a link to his YouTube channel, and here’s a link to his full-length documentary available on Max.
Channel 5's journey serves as a compelling look at how individual creators can build trust and audiences, offering a potential roadmap – and perhaps a challenge – for the future of the news and entertainment industries. I’m excited to see how Channel 5 grows and expands into new formats over the next few years.
Thanks for reading. If you want to chat about it more, or have feedback on how I can improve my writing, let me know.
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