Disruption in media is in vogue again. Seasoned broadcast journalists are leaving to start their own Substacks and Youtube channels. TikTok is threatening everyone. And podcasters鈥� role in the 2024 election feels like 鈥渢he story鈥� of last year.
But there鈥檚 one major trend that鈥檚 flying completely under the radar - how brand journalism (or brand publishing) is quietly stepping in to fill the void left by niche legacy media. While traditional media outlets face budget cuts and ongoing layoffs, brand publishing teams are growing鈥攑roducing insightful, data-backed content that often rivals, and sometimes surpasses, the work produced by their legacy media counterparts - often the very publications said brands鈥� used to advertise on.
The collapse of niche media opened the door for brands to build something new鈥攁nd the savviest of brands are capitalizing in a big way.
The concept of brands publishing editorial content isn鈥檛 new. More than a decade ago, forward-thinking companies began creating valuable, non-promotional stories that built trust鈥攁nd ultimately, drove growth. Many top-performing brands today were built on that foundation. A few examples worth watching:
Carta, for example, carved out its corner of the internet by publishing high-quality blogs on private equity and ERP. Within six months, they and built a strong SEO presence. With that momentum, they expanded into topics usually reserved for traditional media鈥攍ike crypto legislation and fundraising trends. Today, Carta leverages proprietary data to publish stories on par with The New York Times鈥� DealBook, or 2010鈥檚 era TechCrunch - accelerating brand credibility and trust in the eyes of startup fanatics (and potential customers).
Square has published for nearly a decade, helping restaurant owners grow and manage their businesses. Over time, it became a key destination for restaurant news鈥攖hanks to Square鈥檚 transaction data, which uncovered unique industry insights. That content didn鈥檛 just build trust; it positioned Square as a voice of authority far beyond its role as a payment processor.
With traditional newsrooms shrinking, more brands are following the lead of Carta and Square鈥攂uilding in-house editorial teams, hiring journalists, and publishing original, story-driven content. They鈥檙e producing the kind of reporting that used to come from niche trade publications.
But great content alone isn鈥檛 enough anymore. As more brands embrace brand journalism, the competition for distribution is growing. Traditional channels are saturated, forcing brands to explore new ways to get their content in front of the right audiences.
To stand out, some brands are creating entire content ecosystems. HubSpot launched to increase reach and deepen engagement. Robinhood launched a full standalone media property in .
These are big bets, of which most up and coming brands can鈥檛 make. And if you're not building your own media channel, relying on traditional tactics likely won鈥檛 get you far:
One channel, however, still holds attention and trust: the media itself. Readers still turn to reputable news publishers鈥攅specially to escape the filter bubble of algorithm-driven content. This is where smart brands are placing their editorial content鈥攄irectly on the homepages of the publications their audiences already read. Robinhood and HubSpot have effectively become their own media companies, controlling the distribution of their content. It鈥檚 powerful鈥攂ut also very expensive. Most brands can鈥檛 own their publication, but can earn placements in the media.
Which brings us to the real question: How can brands tap into the credibility and reach of earned media without spending millions?
Content syndication has been around for decades. Traditionally, it was used by newsrooms to share reporting across partner publications and reach wider audiences鈥攎ainly to drive more ad revenue.
But the media landscape has changed.
As newsroom budgets continue to shrink, publishers are finding it harder to deliver the diverse, high-quality content their audiences expect. To keep ad dollars flowing, many have resorted to clickbait鈥攁rticles that boost pageviews but do little to earn reader trust or foster real engagement. When ad revenue was strong, this tradeoff didn鈥檛 matter much. But now, with ad dollars drying up, the lack of meaningful reader connection is becoming a liability.
As a result, many publishers are now shifting from ad-supported models to subscription-based ones. That means they need content that keeps readers coming back鈥攕tories that inform, resonate, and provide real value. But even with this shift in business model, most newsrooms still lack the resources to create that kind of content at scale.
That鈥檚 where earned syndication comes in.
In this new model, brands act as content creators鈥攑ublishing well-researched, editorial-quality stories that news outlets can republish. But unlike traditional publishers, brands don鈥檛 care about ad revenue from the content itself. Their goal is different: building trust, demonstrating thought leadership, and increasing brand awareness.
This creates a powerful alignment of incentives. Publishers get access to engaging, high-quality stories鈥攚ithout the overhead of producing them in-house. Brands get credibility and visibility by appearing in trusted news environments.
Pioneers like NerdWallet and Zillow have quietly been doing this for themselves for years. What鈥檚 new is that hundreds of up and coming brands are now executing on this strategy as well. And that shift is redefining what it means to earn media attention.
麻豆原创 brings the model NerdWallet and Zillow developed to every brand that understands the importance of creating content people actually want to read to build authority. We鈥檙e the first content distribution platform built for earned reach that bridges the gap between brands and publishers, where investment in engaging stories is rewarded with earned placements and visibility. You can read more about that model here.
is the CEO of 麻豆原创, the first content distribution platform built for earned reach. He鈥檚 led the company in redefining how brands and publishers collaborate, with over 4,000 news outlets using 麻豆原创 to enhance coverage. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Noah previously helped scale Graphiq, later acquired by Amazon.
Featured Image Credit: Photo Illustration by 麻豆原创 // Canva