Forbes Launches “Forbes Creator”: Legacy Media’s New Bet on the People Who Actually Move the Needle

Forbes is officially stepping into the creator economy in a big way. On June 22, 2026, the iconic business media brand announced the launch of Forbes Creator, a social-first network of creators, entrepreneurs, and subject-matter experts who will produce original video, podcasts, live reporting, social content, and new intellectual property across platforms.

This isn’t just another content partnership program. It’s a deliberate strategic pivot: Forbes is building a dedicated creator ecosystem that blends its legendary credibility with the authenticity, reach, and community power of independent voices.

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A New Model for Premium Storytelling

The network will feature a curated roster of creators producing content on topics like the future of work, entrepreneurship, AI and technology, sports, and culture. Early participants include career coach Erin McGoff, entrepreneur and creator Griffin Johnson, comedian Joe Fenti, tech and culture expert Shira Lazar, and others with massive combined followings.

Key elements include:

• Creator Correspondents — a live-event reporting program starting at Forbes’ Power Women’s Summit in September.
• Original podcasts (such as The Work Hotline).
• Social-first video and content designed for where audiences actually spend time.

Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips framed it clearly: the goal is to combine “the credibility of Forbes with the reach, relevance and cultural influence of today’s creator economy.”

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Legacy Media’s Existential Reality Check

This move isn’t happening in a vacuum. Traditional media outlets are facing a harsh truth: having a strong brand and deep archives doesn’t automatically translate into presence in people’s feeds.

Even respected legacy players are struggling with:

• Sharp declines in referral traffic from platforms;
• Audiences discovering news and ideas primarily through creators rather than institutional outlets;
• Journalists and talent increasingly leaving for independent Substacks, new media ventures, startups, or brand deals.

In short, reputation alone isn’t enough anymore. If your content doesn’t show up in the feeds where people actually live, it might as well not exist for large parts of the audience.

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The Broader Industry Shift

Forbes is far from alone in this recalibration.

Several major media companies are actively rebuilding their strategies around creators:

• People Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith) acquired Feedfeed in late 2025 — a popular food publisher and creator network with over 7 million social followers and roughly 1,000 influencer partners. The acquisition was explicitly aimed at strengthening off-platform growth and creator capabilities.
• TIME launched its inaugural TIME100 Creators list in 2025, formally elevating top digital voices (from MrBeast and Kai Cenat to Alix Earle and Charli D’Amelio) into the same cultural canon traditionally reserved for politicians, CEOs, and artists.
• Condé Nast is preparing to launch Vette in early 2026 — an AI-powered commerce platform that lets creators build their own digital storefronts with a revenue-share model, extending the company’s influence into direct creator-led shopping.
• Vanity Fair has already handed over significant portions of high-profile events (like elements of the Oscar Party broadcast) to major creators rather than keeping everything in-house.

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From Competing for Stories to Competing for Attention Architects

The fundamental shift is clear.

In the old media world, outlets competed primarily for **exclusive stories, scoops, and access**. The bottleneck was information.

Today, the bottleneck is attention and distribution. Even the best story has limited impact if it never reaches the audience because it doesn’t appear in the algorithmic feeds where people actually consume content.

That’s why media companies are now aggressively courting the *people* who command attention — the creators who have built direct relationships with audiences. These creators don’t just produce content; they determine what surfaces in millions of feeds every day.

By launching Forbes Creator, Forbes is acknowledging this new reality and trying to secure a seat at the table where attention is actually allocated.

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What This Means Going Forward

This trend raises important questions:

• Will legacy credibility + creator authenticity create genuinely better content, or will it mostly result in branded creator content that feels corporate?
• How much creative and editorial independence will these partnered creators actually have?
• Can traditional media brands successfully “own” creator talent, or will the most valuable creators continue building their own independent empires?

One thing is certain: the era when media companies could rely solely on their institutional brand is over. The new competitive arena is the creator economy — and the winners will be those who best combine trust with reach.

Forbes is making its play. Other legacy players are watching closely and following suit. The question now is whether this strategy will help traditional media reclaim relevance in the feed — or simply accelerate the migration of talent and audience power toward independent creators.

The game has changed. It’s no longer just about who has the best journalists. It’s about who has the best *storytellers* that audiences actually follow.