Deborah Turness, the former head of BBC News, has warned that traditional television news faces an existential threat from the rise of “creator journalism”, which is drawing audiences away from mainstream broadcasters. Speaking at the Sir David Nicholas memorial lecture in London, Turness said consumption of traditional TV news was “collapsing” and that the shift to personality-led digital content could be more disruptive than the arrival of social media.
Turness, who resigned from the BBC last year, highlighted a significant decline in TV news audiences, noting that nearly four million fewer people in the UK have turned to television for news over the past five years, including streaming. In contrast, the number of people getting news from YouTube has trebled, while TikTok has seen a tenfold increase. She argued that audiences are increasingly choosing “one-to-one” journalism delivered by individual creators on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Substack.
The former BBC News chief pointed to strong trust in individual figures, citing Joe Rogan (20.9 million YouTube subscribers), Tucker Carlson (5.6 million), Megyn Kelly (4.2 million) and Mehdi Hasan (1.95 million) as examples of creators who have built large, loyal followings. She said established media has not confronted the “hard truth” that consumers are moving not just to different platforms but to more direct forms of journalism.
Turness urged traditional broadcasters to respond with speed and urgency, warning they risk being “like the proverbial frog in boiling water”. She said news organisations must be prepared to “liberate their talent” and adopt a digital-first approach, rather than remaining structured around broadcast. In the UK, Sky News has already begun promoting its most prominent journalists with podcasts and exclusive content, a strategy Turness endorsed.
