News influencers, newsfluencers or news creators — however you label them —  are  transforming how current events get shared and understood by the public. They build trust and reach with audiences who feel disconnected from traditional journalism and who prefer to consume information on social platforms. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, one in five Americans get their news from these news influencers, with a significantly higher percentage among adults under 30.

This year’s challenge is to work with a local-to-you newsroom to help it embrace these current trends and expand its reach and community relationships by working in collaboration with local influencers, meaning anyone with a strong connection to the community, trust and platform where they share information — but they aren’t a journalist.

Watch each team’s presentation below to see how each team proposes to meet an information need in the community while building a collaborative relationship between trusted ‘influencer’ individuals and the newsroom. Then vote for which team you think should win the $10,000 first prize.

Team: Alestle Influencer Amplification Project

Team: The News Checkers

Team: News Dawgs

Team: The Newsfluencer Academy

Team: Spread

The team who wins this vote will get the Fan Favorite prize! RJI covers your registration, flight and hotel to a US based journalism conference.