Influencers, Podcasters and Madonna — Oh My!

May 2026

You Need More than Just Newscasts and Newspapers

Credit: Madonna via Instagram

Madonna’s new album cover, teased on Grindr’s blog.

The power of nontraditional media is not hard to see if you pay attention. And if you’re engaged in nonprofit media relations, you really should be paying attention.

Just ask Eric Swalwell, for example. His California gubernatorial campaign — indeed, his entire political career — imploded last month when social media influencers who had backed him started hearing from women who said he’d sexually harassed or assaulted them, and alerted traditional media.

Or check with former CNN reporter Jim Acosta, who has found audiences for his takes decrying the coziness of the White House press and the Trump administration, in advance of the dinner marred by a gunman, on Bluesky and his online newsletter on Substack.

Podcaster Alex Cooper has seen it from both sides, building the fourth most popular podcast in the United States before becoming engulfed in a battle with a social media influencer she once supported. It’s a break that got attention in the land of mainstream media as well.

Even longtime pop diva Madonna has leveraged gay dating app Grindr’s blog to launch her latest album.

There are many ways to get the word out, if you look.

Go Where Audiences Are

Credit: Alpha En

Anyone reading this newsletter knows that the ways in which people get their news has been in constant flux for decades now. The mornings with newspapers, commutes with radio and evenings with TV news have long been consigned to grand museums — and they also no longer exist. But even since the rise of online news decades ago, people’s sources of news continue to evolve rapidly.

According to Pew Research Center, half of U.S. adults at least sometimes get their news from social media. Beyond X, TikTok and Facebook, audiences are also flocking to podcasts and online newsletters to stay up to date. That doesn’t make traditional media outreach obsolete — after all, social media sites have no news staffs — but it is no longer the sole way to reach people eager to help a cause.

Any savvy nonprofit public relations agency will know to reach out to all kinds of nontraditional news outlets to make sure the word gets spread. These include:

  • Podcasts, which often are looking for guests with missions and stories to tell

  • Online newsletters, a popular landing spot for journalists and commenters whose outlets downsized

  • Social media influencers, an increasingly effective way to amplify a message on social media platforms

Nonprofits — and their trusted communications partners — must be open to finding audiences where they are and be willing to speak to them on their terms.

A modern media relations strategy for nonprofits requires some imagination and flexibility. For example, news outlets aren’t the only place to display thought leadership; receptive audiences for that exist on LinkedIn, too. And in a time when many people watch excerpts of TV shows on YouTube, it makes sense to pitch outlets that live primarily on that platform. Senior Account Executive Ogo Sylla explains:

“These are not backup options. They’re essential pieces of a modern media strategy for nonprofits. The best campaigns today don’t just chase headlines. They build ecosystems of visibility, meeting audiences across platforms and formats.”

Read more in his blog.