Creators are reshaping how communities get news, and they're coming from all kinds of backgrounds—some with journalism training, some without. What they share is that they've built trust with their audiences on their own terms.

CNTI's new report on indie info providers digs into how that trust actually works. One finding that mirrors what we see in our work: In contrast with legacy journalism, these creators tend to marry authenticity with authority. They have a clear sense of their voice. They lead with markers of personal and shared experience—ethnicity, parenthood, community ties—because, as one interviewee put it, "humans trust humans" more than institutions.

I'm joining CNTI on June 1 for a conversation about what this means in practice—how creators establish credibility and what their varied pathways into this work tell us about the future of independent media. The panel includes CNTI's Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein, independent creator and former Vox producer Phil Edwards, and community activist Terrill Haigler (Ya Fave Trashman), moderated by CNTI executive director Amy Mitchell.

It's free, it's virtual, and it's a conversation I think will resonate with anyone reading this newsletter who's thinking about where trustworthy information comes from and who gets to provide it. Register here.

The pressure to always be online, keep up with the news cycle, navigate negative comments, and compare yourself to other creators can take a real toll. Jazmine Alcon, is the senior manager for campaigns at The Jed Foundation, writes for NCC on the necessary steps creators can take to avoid burnout.