The Debrief Network celebrated 10 000 followers on Instagram and almost 15 000 on TikTok this week.
Let me tell you why this is no small feat.
In the content business, these are small numbers. Post a video of a twerking bear and you’ll get ten times those followers.
But it means a lot to me because we are building a community organically and pioneering the future of news.
Our journalism rests on three pillars: explainer journalism, solutions focused and people centric.
Our guiding principles are clear, context and concise.
In the last eight months, we have produced 300 episodes of news content from as far as Syria, Egypt, Tanzania and Tunis. We are not restricting ourselves to South Africa.
We tell rural stories and urban stories and, more importantly, we focus on explainers.
Let’s Debrief is our daily explainer series.
Debrief Africa is our weekly Africa-focused series, with many stories going viral. We really do tell African stories the best.
Palestine Perspective and its precursor Punished for Palestine continue to give voice to stories that matter.
Our regular In Brief gives you quick updates.
We are also introducing two new features: Books Brief, where I get authors to talk about new books, and Briefly, where South Africans share what’s on their mind.
So here are some characteristics of The Debrief Network.
We are a team of madly dedicated news creators.
So what’s a news creator? It is the journalist of the future.
We have professional standards. This means fact-checking, ethical sourcing and context remain central. Unlike pure content creators, a news creator is guided by journalistic integrity.
But we use creator-style storytelling.
This means we use short-form video, memes, live streams or interactive threads to tell stories.
The aim is to prioritise human connection, personal voice and relatability.
At the end of the day, we are committed to making complex issues digestible without dumbing them down.
What sets us apart is platform-native delivery. Stories are shaped for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or Substack, not just repurposed from print.
So what are we trying to do? We want to build a loyal community rather than depending solely on legacy media distribution. At the same time, we want to engage in dialogue with followers, not one-way broadcasting.
It’s no easy feat.
Our news creators are not trained camera people or qualified video editors. We do everything on mobile.
This is why the journey to the next 10 000 followers and then to 100 000 followers is important. We are solving for audiences who trust individual voices more than institutions. At the same time, younger audiences consume news through creators rather than newspapers or TV anchors.
I’ve been preaching this every day. Journalism risks irrelevance if it doesn’t adopt more authentic and digital-first formats.
So what do we need from you?
Subscribe to our newsletter so we can build a meaningful community.
Share the word and engage with our journalism on socials.
Tell a rich friend. We need money to change the world. (Kidding. Not kidding.)
If you care about what we do and are willing to help, or if you have ideas on how we can grow, email me at qaanitah@thedebriefnetwork.com
