Johnny Harris is one of YouTube’s premier creator-journalists. He’s building Newpress to help others like him.

If you spend a lot of time watching explainer videos on YouTube, there’s a good chance you’ve come across Johnny Harris. With his kinetic style and his deeply researched dives into global culture, Harris delivers newsy videos to an audience of 7.5 million subscribers.

Harris has been quite successful on YouTube, but many journalists are struggling to transition from traditional outlets to the social media-driven news landscape we currently live in. For those reporters, Harris’ latest venture offers crucial assistance. He and his wife Iz Harris are behind Newpress, a company that is helping creator-journalists launch, expand, and monetize their own shows.

The Harrises officially launched Newpress last month. In a tweet, Johnny Harris described the company as “a corner of the internet for good faith, algorithm-free community discourse where the audience can contribute ideas and expertise to our journalism. It’s old school internet, slow, human, transparent, and built for connection and understanding.”

Newpress has arrived during a pivotal moment for the news industry. During the 2024 election cycle, many consumers — especially those belonging to younger cohorts like Gen Z — expressed a clear preference for creator-led journalism over traditional reportage. The resulting “influencer election” included numerous high-profile conversations between creators and political leaders.

Fast forward two years, and creator-journalists are enjoying more access than ever before. Both of the major U.S. political parties want to work with them, other countries are experiencing their own influencer elections, and even traditional outlets like MSNBC are doing whatever they can to fit on-air talent into the creator mold.

There’s just one problem: A lot of seasoned journalists are being left by the wayside. In 2024, the Pew Research Center found that only .4% of the TikTok accounts followed by U.S. adults belong to journalists, pundits, and media outlets. The reporters who are making inroads on social media, like former Washington Post

journalist Dave Jorgensen, are reimagining their coverage to suit the appetites of social-first consumers.

That’s where Newpress comes in. Before his career took off on YouTube, Johnny Harris was a Vox employee, so he has had a first-hand look at the evolution of news media. By sharing his expertise with other journalists, including several of his former Vox colleagues, Harris is helping them develop digital-age shows. You can think of Newpress as a digital video spin on newsletter platforms like Substack and beehiiv.

While the creator-journalists on the Newpress roster focus on their programming, the company handles behind-the-scenes tasks like hiring and sales. Advertising and sponsorship deals provide financial support for both Newpress and its partners. A $60-per-month membership tier adds another revenue stream. Members can interact with Newpress creators and pitch them on new stories.

Iz Harris told the Nieman Lab that Newpress will be choosy as it expands its roster. “I think we have to be very thoughtful and measured,” she said. “We put a lot of time into not just the collaborative, creative, and journalistic processes, but also [into] learning to really pull out of each of the creators what they want their show to be, what it should look like and feel like, and why it exists.”

For now, the initial slate of Newpress shows covers topics like sports, tech, and internet mysteries. Those are topics that require extensive research and thoughtful presentation, and with Newpress, the Harrises are keeping their priorities in line.