How Ex-Washington Post creators built a 375K subscriber news brand | Local News International | Ep 6

What happens when the people behind one of journalism's most successful creator experiments go independent? In this episode of The Signal, hosts Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard are joined by Micah Gelman and Lauren Saks from Local News International (LNI), the creator-led news company founded alongside Dave Jorgenson after leaving The Washington Post. Micah spent a decade as Head of Video at The Washington Post, winning Pulitzers, Emmys, Murrows and Webbys, while Lauren helped build Washington Post Universe and its hugely successful TikTok and YouTube strategy. Since launching in 2025, Local News International has grown to more than 375,000 YouTube subscribers and built direct relationships with thousands of newsletter readers. Together, they discuss creator-led journalism, audience loyalty, life after legacy media, and why being independent means never standing still. They also reveal how creator personalities transformed brand recognition at The Washington Post, why direct audience relationships matter more than ever, and answer one of life's great questions: what's the worst kind of slop? The Signal is a weekly podcast hosted by Fergus Bell and Tom Trewinnard exploring the future of journalism, AI, media innovation and changing audience behaviours. Subscribe for new episodes every week. Listen on: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts