The data has been conclusive this year: A fifth of U.S. adults now regularly get news on TikTok, up from 3% in 2020. This increases to 43% in adults under 30.

Much of this news is being disseminated via creators without a journalism background. There is no singular phrase for this type of creator, though some have coined them news creators, information stewards, or trusted community messengers. These creators span topic areas and play a key role in information sharing, whether it be local issues, national politics, sports, food, parenting, or health.

Audiences trust them to provide accurate information, and the creators deliver this in a relatable and engaging way. These often short videos or posts are incredibly packed with the information audiences need to know to learn and make the best decisions for themselves and their families. It’s an efficient way to get information, and it lives in a space that combines many information sources. Social feeds are places where audiences can get updates about the many facets of their life — community events, road closures, upcoming local issues, updates from friends and family, advice for working more efficiently — in one place, making it especially ripe to soak in new information.

Mainstream media leaders are no longer ignoring the role accuracy-focused creators play in the information economy. There are abundant conversations happening around how news organizations can get into this space, and now is the time for this experiment. The question ahead is two-fold: Will publishers embrace working with creators, and what will that collaboration look like?

There are elements of newsroom-creator partnerships that give both sides pause. Creators are concerned that newsrooms are outsourcing authentic audience engagement, using them only as a distribution channel to reach those that newsrooms have traditionally underserved. They are worried about being the literal face of a project without the necessary community management support, or that editors will bring them in for fresh ideas and then execute with an internal team. Newsroom leaders are thinking through how it would all work. What kind of oversight and editing is appropriate? Can we work with a creator who has a perspective on issues that journalists typically do not speak out about? How does this tie in with our other goals?

In many ways, these uneasy areas are the same questions we’ve been asking and answering for decades. What verification should exist for citizen contributors? Are bloggers journalists? Should we brand newsletters with staffers’ names? What happens if they leave after building up a Twitter presence? We have models for how we worked through these questions, and we have many lessons learned that we can draw on to make newsroom-creator partnerships more successful than other audience engagement tactics from the past.

The collaborations have to be two-way streets. Creators must be integrated in a way that is beyond handing them a link and asking them to promote it. The KPIs for success cannot be solely counted in page views back to a website. Newsroom leaders must thoughtfully consider why specific creators are trusted within their communities, and lean in to how a partnership can expand the validity of everyone involved.

The magic of the moment we are in requires us to sit in this uncomfortable territory and tease it out. Audiences are best served when information providers of all stripes — journalists, creators, community stewards — join in at the same table, pool their resources and talents, and work together. And they are ready for it. Right now, we’re seeing highly engaged audiences who are desperate to know more and make an impact in their communities.

It’s the ultimate experiment in loosening the control the mainstream media has desperately held onto as the information landscape has changed. The work that newsrooms do is absolutely vital in serving communities and holding the powerful accountable, and it makes sense that those who have dedicated their careers to doing this work with professional standards are eager to differentiate themselves from the information providers who are coming to audiences from another place. But when we peel back the onion of what journalism is truly about, and what we as journalists really care about, it all comes down to serving the audience with the information needed to have a healthy democracy, functioning communities, and vibrant families. And in this space, working with creators presents more of an opportunity than a risk.