Introduction

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of the journalistic YouTuber as a hybrid actor at the intersection of professional journalism and influencer culture. It situates YouTube within broader transformations in news production, distribution, and monetization in the digital era, highlighting how journalists adapt to platform-specific logics such as algorithms, engagement, and audience intimacy. Drawing on examples from the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea, this chapter illustrates contrasting models that range from commentary-driven to investigative journalism, showing both the opportunities for independence and the risks of blurred boundaries between facts and opinions. This chapter defines the journalistic YouTuber as a creator who blends journalistic values—accuracy, accountability, verification—with platform-native practices, including branding, interactivity, and optimization. Focusing on the Chinese-speaking YouTube sphere, it identifies five main types of journalistic YouTubers while emphasizing the rise of journalists-turned-YouTubers as a key case. A theoretical framework grounded in role orientation, journalistic branding, and newsfluencer studies guides the subsequent analysis.