I've never been in a room with so many other creator journalists! I was honored by the opportunity to attend #ONA25 as part of the Project C ONA25 Creator Cohort.

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What we learned at ONA25: From solo creators to shared purpose More than anything, journalism is a people practice. At ONA25, we strengthened our connections with our audiences — and each other.

“Yes, journalism is a craft. Yes, it’s a business. But more than anything, it’s a people practice.” Meena Thiruvengadam, our Lenfest Audience Community facilitator, shared how connection and community were top-of-mind at #ONA25 earlier this month 👇

I also had the opportunity to facilitate an AI Table Talks discussion led by @rubinafillion.nytimes.com & @rodneygibbs.com on AI tools journalists find useful. Transcription has been around a while & is widely accepted. But we also talked about using chatbots for brainstorming. #ona25

HOT 🔥: A Holistic, Data-Informed Strategy. Involve the whole newsroom in video. Run structured experiments and analyze what didn't work, not just your top performers. Match metrics to your goals, whether it's building trust, driving civic engagement, or increasing reach. #ona25

NOT ❌: Letting AI Do Everything. While AI can help turn stories into TikTok scripts, audiences value authenticity above all. A human touch is essential. Also, make sure to attribute your sources, including user-generated content (UGC). #ona25

HOT 🔥: Vertical Video and YouTube Shorts. Vertical video explainers and editorial series are performing well. YouTube Shorts are dominating, accounting for 57% of uploads by U.S. creators but driving 88% of total views and 85% of engagements. #ona25

NOT ❌: Treating Creators as Competitors. The trust gap between legacy media and social media creators is narrowing. Newsrooms should look to collaborate with influencers to boost credibility and extend reach, not view them as the competition. #ona25

HOT 🔥: A Strong Hook & Good Audio. Grab your audience's attention in the first few seconds with a "cold open." And don't forget sound—investing in good audio equipment is crucial. Also, caption everything to make your content accessible. #ona25

NOT ❌: A One-Size-Fits-All Strategy. Each platform has its own culture. TikTok is person-first and less curated, while Instagram leans into aesthetics and strong opening visuals. Don't just post the same video everywhere; customize your content for each platform. #ona25

HOT 🔥: Authenticity & Personality. Audiences crave a human connection. Ditch the formal, anchor-style delivery & talk like a human. Unscripted, casual interviews & video podcasts are low-lift formats that work well. Journalism is a conversation now, not a one-way street. #ona25

What's hot and what's not in video right now? Sky Dylan-Robbins, Adriana Lacy, Jill Nicholson and Michael Guidry II broke it down. The big picture: Trust is shifting from brands to individuals & authenticity is non-negotiable. #ona25

Ultimately, journalists are in a unique position to take on a media literacy role. By explaining how we use AI ethically and helping our audiences navigate this new space, we can reshape the narrative from fear to informed curiosity. #ona25

A key part of AI literacy is showing, not just telling. Newsrooms can create videos or interactive explainers featuring their own staff to demonstrate how to spot AI-generated fakes. This demystifies the technology and empowers the audience directly. #ona25

And, re-evaluate your own coverage. Is your reporting on AI mostly negative, or is it balanced? Consider adding AI as a dedicated beat to provide nuanced, ongoing education for your audience, moving beyond fear to foster understanding. #ona25

Newsrooms can start by creating accessible explainers, using visuals as a powerful teaching tool, and incorporating short, educational posts on social media. Some places also bring the conversation to the community with in-person events. #ona25

Transparency is non-negotiable. Surveys show 94% of people want journalists to disclose AI use, 87% want to know why it's used, and 92% want humans involved in the process. This isn't just a best practice; it's a direct audience demand for building trust. #ona25

AI literacy starts in the newsroom. Audiences are wary of AI, with fears often reinforced by risk-focused news coverage. But 80% also want AI literacy education & they'd welcome it from journalists. Here’s how newsrooms can lead the conversation,
@trustingnews.bsky.social's Lynn Walsh shared #ona25

Final piece of advice from Ben Collins, tongue firmly in cheek: "If OpenAI comes to you and offers $20M, take the f---ing money". #ona25

How can The Onion persevere in the age of AI? Collins believes AI represents "the middle," and The Onion exists elsewhere on the spectrum. His advice to others is to "be as loudly yourself as you can be" and personalize your work. #ona25

On the business model, most of The Onion's money comes from subscribers. They also partner with brands that want funny content and "aren’t actively trying to ruin the world". The goal isn't exponential growth, but to be a "nice little business". #ona25

He believes in taking stands and being an advocate for your reporting, stating people will rally behind you. "Be proud of what you did and throw it everywhere. Go crazy for it," he says. #ona25

Collins’ editorial philosophy is built on trust and empowerment. For the writers' room, he says, "I disagree with them constantly… I get out of their way". His job is to get their work in front of as many people as possible and ensure they're proud of it. #ona25

On finding a niche, Collins says everyone needs one they can exploit. The Onion's: offering something "nostalgic, funny, and not evil" in people's mailboxes. His advice to local papers: if you're known for something, lean into it. If it helps you survive, go for it. #ona25

Funny, thought-provoking & sometimes sobering conversation with @bencollins.bsky.social of The Onion. First order of business: saving the publication. They turned off programmatic ads, built a new website, and started shipping a newspaper everywhere—now the 13th largest in the U.S. #ona25

Two practical ideas from their presentation: redesign 404 pages to include useful information, in case links that are surfaced in results have errors. And, try their experiment for yourself to understand how chatbots are interacting with your newsroom’s content. #ona25

They also found:
*Blocking crawlers doesn’t guarantee content protection.
*Crawlers that are allowed access don’t always cite correctly.
*Formal licensing deals don’t guarantee better attribution.
#ona25

Now, their research into the landscape of genAI chatbot search. Do they hallucinate? Do they scrape blocked sites anyway? They grabbed blurbs from articles and traced them via multiple models. Many tools were confidently wrong, with premium models even more confidently wrong. #ona25

Key things newsrooms should consider here: 1) What is the core purpose of journalism? 2) What do people truly need from us? 3) How can technology support that mission? #ona25

Now that chatbots can search the web and no longer have a knowledge cutoff, we have a fundamental shift in search experience: users prefer conversational, context-aware answers over traditional lists of links. #ona25

Skipping a bit ahead to a talk on a similar topic on navigating the shift to generative search, led by @klaudia.bsky.social & @aisvarya17.bsky.social from the Tow Center for Digital Journalism @towcenter.bsky.social #ona25