News Influencers Are Reshaping the Media – Insights from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Amy Ross Arguedas examines how news creators and influencers are fundamentally reshaping media consumption across Africa, drawing on data from the Digital News Report 2025 conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. The research reveals that while traditional news outlets still dominate on legacy platforms like Facebook, they are being overshadowed by personality-driven content creators on newer video-heavy networks such as Instagram and TikTok, particularly in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
The study identifies four distinct categories of news creators—commentary-focused, news and investigation, explanation-oriented, and specialist—alongside news-adjacent creators in comedy, infotainment, and lifestyle. Key findings show that creators have a bigger impact in African, Asian, and Latin American markets compared to Northern Europe; that 85% of prominent news creators are male; and that YouTube serves as the most important platform for this emerging media ecosystem, though platform preferences vary significantly by country and content type.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Platform-Specific Creator Dominance
Creators overshadow traditional media on Instagram (59%) and TikTok (52%) in South Africa, while legacy platforms like Facebook still favor established news outlets.
Four Creator Categories Emerge
Research identifies commentary, news/investigation, explanation, and specialist creators, each serving distinct audience needs beyond traditional journalism’s scope.
Geographic Impact Variations
African, Asian, and Latin American markets show higher creator influence due to social media usage patterns and traditional media weaknesses.
Pronounced Gender Imbalance
Men comprise 85% of prominent news creators across 24 markets studied, with African countries showing similar patterns (12-14 men per 15 top creators).
YouTube Dominates Creator Landscape
Despite platform diversity, YouTube emerges as the primary network for news creators globally, though X, Facebook, and Instagram remain significant in specific markets.
Traditional Media Launches Creator Initiatives
Major outlets like CNN and The Washington Post establish creator collectives to produce platform-native, personality-driven content for younger audiences.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
The Creator-Driven Media Transformation in Africa
The article’s central thesis is that news creators and influencers are fundamentally reshaping how audiences in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa consume news, particularly on video-heavy platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where they now overshadow traditional media outlets. This transformation represents a significant shift in the media landscape, challenging established news organizations to adapt to personality-driven, platform-native content consumption patterns.
Purpose
To Inform and Document Emerging Media Patterns
Arguedas aims to inform readers—particularly media professionals, researchers, and policymakers—about the empirical evidence of how news creator influence varies across different markets and platforms. By presenting data from the Digital News Report 2025, the author seeks to document this media evolution objectively while highlighting implications for traditional news organizations, platform governance, and audience information consumption patterns.
Structure
Introduction → Categorization → Findings → Regional Analysis
The article follows a clear research-presentation structure: it opens by establishing the phenomenon with data about platform-specific creator dominance, then introduces the study methodology and creator categorization framework. The middle sections present three key findings with supporting visualizations, before concluding with detailed country-specific profiles of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa that illustrate the broader patterns with concrete examples of influential creators.
Tone
Analytical, Balanced & Research-Driven
The tone is academic and evidence-based, maintaining objectivity while acknowledging both the creative value and potential concerns around news creators. Arguedas presents findings without sensationalism, using phrases like “messy, fragmented and loosely defined” and noting creators offer content that is “often creative, engaging and informative” while also being “distant from [traditional journalism’s] conventions—not always to be taken on trust.”
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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To surpass or overshadow something in importance, prominence, or achievement, making it seem less significant by comparison.
“Traditional media are now overshadowed by creators and personalities on Instagram and TikTok.”
The inhabitants of a particular country, state, or town considered collectively, especially in the context of civic participation or rights.
“Creators and citizen journalists sometimes pioneer open-source approaches and address matters of public interest.”
Very noticeable, marked, or conspicuous; standing out clearly and distinctly in a way that is hard to miss or ignore.
“The difference is especially pronounced in category of political commentary.”
To gather together or accumulate a large quantity of something, especially over time, such as wealth, followers, or information.
“Other activists like Aisha Yesufu and Dan Bello also amass mentions.”
Empty spaces or gaps where something is missing or absent, particularly in coverage, services, or attention to important matters.
“It sometimes fills voids left by news organisations, and is often distant from their conventions.”
Established practices, norms, or standards accepted as typical within a particular field or profession, especially in journalism and media production.
“Their content is often distant from traditional media conventions—not always to be taken on trust.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, traditional news media currently dominate attention for news on all social media platforms in South Africa.
2Which category of news creators does the article identify as focusing on topics often neglected by mainstream media using open-source approaches?
3Which sentence best describes the gender distribution among prominent news creators according to the research?
4Based on the article’s findings about platform usage by news creators, evaluate these statements:
YouTube is identified as the most important platform for creators globally, despite variations in platform preferences by country.
X (formerly Twitter) has completely lost its relevance as a news platform across all markets studied.
Instagram serves as the primary network for lifestyle and infotainment content in certain markets like Brazil.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5Based on the article’s discussion of traditional media responses and the creator landscape, what can be inferred about the future relationship between established news organizations and news creators?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The research identifies four primary creator categories: commentary creators who often push partisan messages, news and investigation creators who use open-source approaches and address neglected topics, explanation-focused creators who reach young audiences traditional media struggle to engage, and specialists who go in-depth on niche topics through platforms like YouTube, podcasts, or Substacks. Additionally, four news-adjacent categories include comedy, infotainment, gaming/music, and lifestyle creators who can significantly impact public debates.
The article explains that creator impact is shaped by multiple factors including higher overall social media usage in African countries, cultural differences in media consumption, market size considerations, and critically, the relative strength or weakness of traditional media institutions. In markets where traditional media face resource constraints or trust issues, creators can fill gaps more effectively. The research shows audiences pay more attention to creators in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and other Asian and Latin American markets compared to Northern European countries and Japan where traditional media remain stronger.
The article transparently acknowledges that the data from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria are based on online surveys and are therefore representative of younger English speakers rather than the national population as a whole. This methodological transparency is important because online survey samples may overrepresent digitally-engaged, urban, and educated populations, potentially missing perspectives from rural areas, non-English speakers, and those with limited internet access. The researchers direct readers to full country profiles for more detailed information about sample characteristics and limitations.
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This article is rated at the Intermediate level. It requires readers to understand academic research methodology, interpret data visualizations, and follow complex arguments about media transformation across multiple countries. The vocabulary includes domain-specific terms like “platform-native,” “partisan,” and “open-source” alongside abstract concepts about media ecosystems and creator categorization. Readers should be comfortable synthesizing information from multiple sources and drawing connections between research findings and real-world implications for journalism and social media.
The Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford represents one of the most comprehensive annual studies of news consumption patterns globally. Its significance stems from its cross-country comparative methodology (covering 24+ markets), large sample sizes enabling statistical reliability, consistent year-over-year tracking that reveals trends over time, and rigorous academic standards in survey design and analysis. The report has become an authoritative reference for journalists, researchers, policymakers, and media organizations seeking to understand how digital transformation is reshaping news consumption worldwide.
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