When a branded post pays the same as a book deal, what happens to journalism?

Our guest this week is Chico Felitti, an award-winning journalist, author, and podcaster whose work bridges the worlds of traditional reporting and creator-driven storytelling. His first English-language podcast, Don't Cross Kat, has broken into the American market, recently cracking the top 10 on Apple Podcasts — a rare achievement for an international show.

In this episode:

• 🎙️ How a journalist found success by embracing his personality online

• 💰 The economics behind Brazil's podcast and creator economy

• 🌎 Finding universal stories in a market that resists international content

— Natalia Pérez-González, Assistant Editor

P.S. We always welcome your feedback on these stories. There’s a poll at the bottom of the letter if you want to share your thoughts!

• 00:00 Introducing Chico Felitti

• 01:33 Being a journalist first, influencer second

• 05:59 The ethics of influencing as a journalist

• 10:06 The cultural shift to independent creators in Brazil

• 12:47 Why Brazilians are so wild on social media

• 15:48 Rebuilding the story of Kat Torres for the U.S. market

• 22:59 AI dubbing facilitating the cultural exchange

• 27:30 Building audience relationships through different mediums

• 29:33 From zero podcasting experience to Brazil's number one

• 36:50 The power of storytelling and the lives it can change

• 38:55 Chico’s latest project

🎧 If you prefer a podcast platform other than YouTube, we’re on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you tune in to your podcasts.

The cost of rigorous journalism

Chico Felitti spent 18 months researching, traveling, and investigating for a book that earned him a $10,000 publishing deal — and made the exact same amount in minutes through a single sponsored post, posing in a photo with a bag of chips on his Instagram (which currently sits at 360K followers).

This defines the modern journalist’s economic dilemma: bridging traditional and creator-driven media has become essential for journalists trying to make a living, especially in countries where creator infrastructure is still developing.

Chico estimates that only 5 to 6 people make a full-time living as podcasters in Brazil, including himself, leveraging his influencer work to fund his investigative reporting. After spending his early career at Folha de São Paulo (Brazil's equivalent to The New York Times), he found himself jobless at 30, when the 2015-16 media crisis hit.

What came next, to him, was unexpected: his expressive, sometimes goofy personality — once considered inappropriate in serious newsrooms — became his greatest asset. Chico had spent a decade covering wars, economics, and sports; he faced backlash when he started accepting brand deals.

Today, Chico has created nine chart-topping Brazilian podcasts, including A Coach — Brazil's equivalent to Sarah Koenig’s Serial — which became the biggest hit in Brazilian podcast history. His English-language adaptation, Don't Cross Kat, released earlier this year and recently ranked in Apple Podcasts’ top 10 chart, rare for an international story, and tells the shocking story of an influencer who trafficked her followers to the United States.

Despite his shift in storytelling medium, Chico’s journalism remains rigorous — his narrative podcasts are deeply sourced and reported. As Brazil’s podcast boom unfolds nearly a decade behind the U.S., Chico’s path offers a glimpse into a broader future for journalism — one where the rigor of traditional reporting meets the reach of the creator economy.

As I listened to this conversation, I loved learning how Chico adapted a story that was such a hit in a Brazilian context to an international audience, specifically by:

1. Highlighting universal human elements: Stories involving deception, exploitation, and the dark side of internet culture transcend national boundaries.

2. Looking for physical geographical connections: Don't Cross Kat succeeded partly because much of the story physically took place in the United States, making it naturally more appealing to American audiences.

3. Minimizing cultural explanations: Chico notes that stories requiring extensive cultural context ("We would have to explain what Brazil is. We would have to explain what São Paulo is") face greater barriers to international success.

Connect with Chico on Instagram.
Tune in to Don’t Cross Kat.

1.5 million full-time creators

When the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) published its digital economy report in 2020, there were only 200,000 full-time creators. Their latest report, released last month, found that the industry has grown 7.5x since then. There are 1.5 million full-time creators in the U.S. today.

And more than 400,000 of them read Creator Spotlight.

Newsletter operators netting upwards of $1,000,000 in revenue each year. YouTube strategists behind the platform’s most performant content. Executives and founders building the tools and infrastructure powering it all.

Spotlight readers are the future of the creator economy. Get your message in front of them; partner with us.

Building a sustainable journalist-creator career

For journalists and storytellers building careers outside traditional media, Chico’s approach offers a blueprint for maintaining investigative rigor while finding financial sustainability.

Balance commercial work with journalistic projects

Chico's most effective strategy is using commercial opportunities to subsidize long-form journalism projects. Instead of viewing brand partnerships as "selling out," he treats them as necessary funding for investigative work. "As long as you're not deceiving people, as long as you're trying to be real," he says, it can become a practical framework for sustainable living.

His approach involves three simple components:

1. Set clear ethical boundaries: While accepting commercial opportunities, Chico maintains journalistic integrity by being transparent about partnerships and only promoting products he genuinely uses.

2. Allocate time strategically: Using quick, high-paying brand deals to create longer runways for in-depth reporting that wouldn't be financially viable otherwise.

3. Maintain independence: By developing multiple income streams, he avoids dependence on any single media company or platform, which gives him greater editorial freedom.

Build your audience through independent creator channels

Chico’s journey mirrors what we see globally as journalists leverage creator platforms to regain control over their work and revenue. This trend has accelerated as more high-profile journalists establish independent operations:

1. Owning your intellectual property matters: When video producer Becca Farsace left The Verge for YouTube, she cited a lack of ownership over her own content as a key factor. "It made me feel like The Verge owned me," she explained when launching her channel, which quickly gained over 100,000 subscribers.

2. Video journalism scales differently: Johnny Harris, formerly at Vox, transformed his documentary skills into a YouTube channel with nearly 7 million subscribers, covering everything from international relations to presidential investigations, proving that serious journalism can thrive in creator-owned formats.

3. Subscription models can outperform salaries: Ryan Broderick, creator of Garbage Day, transformed his journalism skills into a thriving newsletter business after leaving BuzzFeed. When we interviewed him in early 2024, he had 68,000 subscribers (3,000 paying $5/month or $45/year), generating $135K–$180K annually from subscriptions alone, plus additional revenue from advertising and live events. He’s only continued to grow since.

Like Chico, who’s leveraged his personality as currency, these journalists have distinctive voices and proven expertise that have helped them monetize their relationship with their audience rather than relying solely on traditional media.

• She built a 6-figure creator business as a team of one (Creator Spotlight)

• How to make viral Reels, even without dialogue (Instagram)

• Our editor, Francis Zierer, on how to market yourself in the creator economy (The Study Hall Podcast)

• How to monetize a podcast in 2025 (free checklist!) (Riverside)