Continuing with our series on what PR focused WhatsApp channels are talking about, the topic under the scanner is the crossover of digital creators and influencers into mainstream journalism.

For context, earlier this month, podcaster Raj Shamani's interview with absconding businessman Vijay Mallya gathered 21 million views in just four days ( 26 million views at the time of writing). The 4-hour podcast was covered by mainstream media such as the Mint newspaper. The choice of platform, as well as the 'journalistic' value of the interview, has been heavily discussed.

That social media platforms have been setting the news agenda is hardly new information. For example, Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, famously announced the split in NCP via a WhatsApp Status in 2019, saying, "Party and family split". 

It's inevitable, perhaps, that a journalist's influence matters greatly for a news organisation. The immediate trigger for the animated WhatsApp discussion was this development.

 Last week, NDTV hired rural grassroots Shubhankar Mishra to anchor its Hindi prime-time programming from July 2025. Mishra has 30 million followers across platforms, including digital properties, "Newsbook" and "Cricketbook".

This hire by NDTV represents the evolution of digital creators crossing over to legacy and mainstream media, bringing their existing audience with them.

Some PR professionals don't think all digital creators are creators. 

Says senior marketing and communications specialist Navin Nair, "Podcasters don't have insight understanding, like a media journalist. We saw that in Mallya's interview."

Shashank Bharadwaj, founder at BrandArc, feels, "Brands don't collaborate with podcasters or influencers just for storytelling. They collaborate with them for their reach. It's one of the most effective distribution channels.

You work on the messaging and narrative internally, plan the content and use it as a distribution channel. News media adds a credibility factor, and that's important to validate the narrative you are building. And you have plenty of examples for these."

Does this help reduce pressure for the dreaded 'ET' coverage ask? Maybe. PR professionals are ever hopeful about this.

The YouTube News Phenomenon 

So why does YouTube matter? In India, YouTube has evolved from a mere entertainment platform into a primary source of news and information, effectively becoming the new digital town square. According to a 2024 report from the Reuters Institute, 71% of Indians rely on online media for news, with a staggering 54% using YouTube for news consumption. 

This places YouTube ahead of all other social platforms, including WhatsApp (48%) and Facebook (35%). This trend is particularly pronounced among younger audiences. Data suggests that for individuals aged 18 to 34, social media and YouTube are the main sources of news, with traditional publisher websites lagging far behind.

This makes digital creators very important in the news ecosystem. Let's take a look at the top YouTube news creators:

Source: Subscriber, Monthly View, and Video Upload data synthesised from Social Blade and vidIQ reports. Data reflects a recent 30-day period and is subject to fluctuation.

*Note on The Deshbhakt data: Recent data from Social Blade shows a negative view and upload count, which is likely an anomaly caused by the channel deleting or privatising a large number of older videos, resulting in a net loss in public view counts for the measured period. This highlights a limitation of automated tracking and does not reflect the channel's ongoing activity or influence.

Take a look at the top 10 news creators on YouTube across legacy and independent creators.

The table below clearly demonstrates the dominance of legacy media in terms of raw subscriber numbers, while also highlighting the significant presence of digital-first outlets and individual creators.

Note: The "Edu-News Hybrid" category for StudyIQ IAS acknowledges its primary focus on educational content for civil services aspirants, which heavily overlaps with current affairs and political analysis, leading to its inclusion in "News & Politics" rankings.

Beyond Subscribers: A Multi-Metric Performance Dashboard

While subscriber count is a primary indicator of a channel's potential audience size, it is a static metric that does not capture the full spectrum of influence. A channel's true impact is often better understood through dynamic metrics such as content velocity (upload frequency), viewership, and audience engagement. An analysis of these metrics reveals a more complex picture where channels with smaller subscriber bases can command highly active and dedicated audiences, giving them significant narrative-setting power.

For instance, the channel of independent journalist Ravish Kumar, with 13.5 million subscribers, is significantly smaller than legacy channels like Aaj Tak.1 However, his role as a prominent critical voice, particularly after his departure from mainstream media, gives him a distinct form of influence.

His content generates high engagement and substantial viewership relative to his subscriber base, with data from analytics firm Social Blade showing over 81 million views in a recent 30-day period. This demonstrates that influence in the digital news space is a function of not just reach (subscribers) but also resonance (engagement) and relevance (the channel's role in public discourse).

To illustrate these dynamics, the following graph provides a comparative performance dashboard for a selection of leading Indian news creators across different archetypes. It juxtaposes subscriber counts with monthly viewership and upload frequency, offering a more nuanced view of their operational scale and content strategy.

The data highlights a clear strategic divergence: legacy media channels operate on a high-volume, high-frequency model, leveraging their vast resources to publish hundreds or even thousands of videos per month. In contrast, independent journalists and commentators typically adopt a lower-volume, higher-investment approach, focusing on creating community and trust with their audience.

Source: Subscriber, Monthly View, and Video Upload data synthesised from Social Blade and vidIQ reports.3 Data reflects a recent 30-day period and is subject to fluctuation.

*Note on The Deshbhakt data: Recent data from Social Blade shows a negative view and upload count, which is likely an anomaly caused by the channel deleting or privatising a large number of older videos, resulting in a net loss in public view counts for the measured period. This highlights a limitation of automated tracking and does not reflect the channel's ongoing activity or influence.