Editor’s note: The Fix is running a series of articles on different jobs in the media world. We ask leading news media professionals about their job positions – what they actually do, how they make decisions, what excites them about their work, and what they can advise newcomers in their fields. Our aim is to shed light on established positions, but also to look at the unique niches people have carved out in the media industry. To that end, in this episode we look at the job of a journalist-influencer, also known as an independent content creator, by profiling Emilio Doménech, aka Nanísimo.

Few journalists can do what Emilio Doménech does. The Spanish native makes a living from creating news content specifically to be consumed across platforms such as Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. While working at a newsroom, he remains a streamer and influencer with 250,000 followers across six social networks. Doménech embodies the still to be defined role of the journalist-influencer, referring to an independent news creator who can rely on an engaged audience and a successful financial model. 

Doménech told The Fix about what his day-to-day looks like, his plans to invest in short-form video to grow his audience and how he thinks AI will change the social media ecosystem.

When livestreaming on Twitch, Doménech is a one-man band. Headphones on, mic in place, eyes locked on the camera. His basic multimedia kit is laid out in front of him, nothing out of the ordinary, a laptop, an iPad, a camera and tripod, a LED light, and a microphone. He mainly talks about US politics, technology and culture. But this setup has seen him engage with the George Floyd protests, the 2022 US presidential elections and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for Newtral, a Spanish news outlet that specialises in data journalism, fact-checking and technology. Doménech juggles the role of independent content creator working from home with a newsroom’s workload and editorial meetings.

Emilio Doménech hosts a session at the News Impact Summit in Prague on the benefits of Twitch for journalists (photo by Vera Penêda)

Since he began streaming in 2020, Doménech’s work now involves a five-person operation. The flagship product remains his live sessions on Twitch and his newsletter La Wikly on Substack, although he consistently produces content in Spanish across six platforms. His newsletter currently has 12,000 subscribers, including 250 paying ones who have access to special features such as a Discord community. “Yes, I suppose I am an influencer. When you have a decent following and you start closing deals with brands, I’d say that’s when you become an influencer,” he says. Doménech’s followers are loyal and engaged, but sponsored content like cinema recommendations and reviews, is what makes his business model viable at the moment.

Short video across platforms & 36 hours in a day

Doménech’s days seem like they last 36 hours – two articles a week on politics and technology; two live streams on Twitch; personal streams; five editions of his newsletter; multiple videos with four colleagues; and a TV project is in the works. “Right now, we want to make the most of our explainers by translating them into short-form video,” Doménech explained. The aim is to repurpose the content to be used across platforms on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. “This will allow us to trend on social platforms, build our brand and convert our followers. Those who join our streams can turn into newsletter subscribers,” he added.

The recording of a Twitch stream is passed on to an editor who cuts it down to a 10 to 15-minute video for YouTube and three short videos for TikTok. “This way, our followers know the videos are short but they have the opportunity to watch a live session and interact directly with me on YouTube,” the streamer said. Then, his latest breakdown of the protests in Israel or a dive into ChatGPT within the newsletter gets transformed into stories or a slideshow on Instagram.

Every morning, before rushing through Madrid traffic to the newsroom, he finalises the day’s newsletter. He browses the news and picks one or two topics that he will use on his stream or for an article. At Newtral, Doménech reports to the managing editor and a producer, and he enjoys the collaborative environment. “I bring in a different perspective on things and produce a new format that attracts a younger audience,” he said of his role at the newsroom.

But the streamer also appreciates the freedom of deciding on the coverage across his platforms. “A while ago, we dedicated a newsletter to the Colorado river crisis which really resonated with the readers. That week, everyone was talking about the unidentified flying objects over Canada and the US. But I thought the river could provide a preview of what the fight for water would be like in the future.”

Emilio Doménech during one of his streams (photo courtesy of Emilio Doménech)

‘Keeping it real’: it’s all about trust

Doménech gestures, yawns and laughs on camera with the same natural easy going manner, whether he is discussing the complexities of Russia’s war against Ukraine or the US electoral system. His tousled hair adds to the effect. During the broadcast, he pauses to react to comments in the live chat, which themselves lead to discussions around loosely connected topics. A show on politics may have an aside to debate whether young people still want to enter politics, or answer a question like “how do you like your tortilla?” (Spanish omelette). In a way, Doménech is hosting his own talk show.

This combination of personality and facts seems to resonate with younger audiences. “Honesty and a sense of closeness is what gets you the respect and trust of your audience, who will eventually subscribe to your channel,” explained Doménech. “The journalist needs to create a strong bond with the community”.

Doménech has used Twitch to help make difficult topics engaging to younger audiences. But his unique selling point is his charisma and the way he interacts directly with his viewers via the live chat on Twitch. “This chat is one of the main pillars of Twitch,” he stressed, “and why I think it is so important to journalists”. This interaction opens up a window to collaborate with the audience and brings to the fore new ideas from comments. 

While Doménech was checking a video from George Floyd’s protests on YouTube, one viewer suggested looking at the location in Instagram stories from the protest to pinpoint the exact location of the protests. “This idea hadn’t occurred to me but it was a great way to verify that protests were real,” recalled the journalist, grateful for the immediate accountability and fact-checking. “Honesty is an important part of journalism on Twitch. You do fact-checking together with people, and they know whether the journalist is sincere and clear in their relations with the subscribers,” he added. 

When he went live a few hours before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Doménech and his viewers could see and comment how the roads going from Russia to Ukraine were “completely red, marking traffic”. That’s how the journalist and his audience realised together that the invasion was nigh. “Viewers watch my live reaction to the news, which gives it a sense of realness, as opposed to what happens more often on legacy media,” Doménech said.

Emilio Doménech is covering the Biden inauguration in  the United States as a correspondent for La Sexta (photo courtesy of Emilio Doménech)

Monetisation & growth

Better known as Nanísimo, Doménech built a following on YouTube while living in New York and became popular for his videos about life in the US. During the pandemic, he started commenting about US politics on Twitch. The livestreaming platform, created in 2011, still remains especially popular among gamers but journalists and news outlets have tried their luck to reach younger audiences there.

“It was because of Amazon Prime,” said Doménech, explaining why he started on Twitch, which is owned by Amazon. “Lots of people have an account with Amazon Prime, and by linking it to your Twitch account, you can connect your subscription to a specific streamer,” Doménech added. This means that the streamer gets around 2.5 euros per subscription. It also allows video creators to place ads in their streams and get a sponsorship that fits with the values of the channel.

Link to video

Monetising TikTok isn’t part of Doménech’s strategy though, at least not for now, since the metrics and the “changing” algorithm make it more challenging to do so. “It’s good to go viral on TikTok to attract followers to our streams and newsletter,” he added. While a focus on a short-video format strategy is working well to reach younger audiences with low attention spans, Doménech sees a lot of potential in newsletters to reach wider audiences who have yet to discover the benefits of adding them to their news diet, at least in the near future.

Authenticity, AI & advice for would-be journo-influencers

For journalists flirting with the idea of becoming independent content creators for social platforms it is important to stand out with a unique voice. Doménech offers two words of advice: quality and consistency: “Find your niche and produce high-quality content, with journalistic value and technical quality.” Consistency is also key. “If you post regularly, the audience will understand that you consistently report about a certain topic and the algorithm will reward you for it on platforms like YouTube, Instagram or TikTok,” he added.

Doménech dedicated one of his latest newsletters to Florida governor and prominent Republican politician Ron DeSantis in the US, president Daniel Ortega in Nicarágua and how some of the latest AI tools apply to image, video and graphic design. The journalist recognises that artificial intelligence offers amazing possibilities and challenges to media outlets and news creators like himself. “I have tried it and played around with it to help me get ideas and angles for news reporting, but I have not yet made it part of my workflow and routine,” explained the journalist. Doménech envisions the use of AI in the optimisation of images and videos to help them go viral. “It will be difficult to compete [with AI]. The best way to go about this is to be on top of things and learn about it as much as possible, to be prepared for whatever lies ahead,” he said. 

For now, Doménech will continue to blur the lines between “news” and “content” to inform and engage his audience in Spain, the US and Latin America. He draws inspiration from other journalist-influencers like Johnny Harris and Cleo Abrams. Doménech also notes that, especially on Twitch, there are not a lot of women yet exploring this opportunity to connect with other audiences.

“I feel the adrenaline when I have researched a topic in-depth and when I really feel prepared to discuss it in an accessible manner for an audience that is eager to learn about the topic,” Doménech explained. Currently, his biggest challenge is time. “I’m doing too many things at the moment. It’s hard to reach the high-quality I demand of myself and still cover all the topics I’d like to discuss on the different platforms. I feel fit to do it at the moment, but honestly I’m not sure how long I can keep this up,” he said.

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