The Data Is In: The Washington Post Can’t Replace Its "TikTok Guy"

The shocking look at what happened when Dave left WaPo to start Local News International

Back in July I wrote the substack Can The Washington Post Make It Without Their “TikTok Guy” Dave Jorgenson? That question has started to be answered, and it looks downright terrifying for WaPo.

I scraped YouTube view data via RivalIQ for The Washington Post, Washington Post Universe (the account Dave was running), and Local News International (Dave’s new independent venture). Without Dave at the wheel, the Post’s YouTube performance went into free fall.

In April, Washington Post Universe generated almost 54 million views. By September, it managed just 8.2 million—an ~85% decline—while the flagship Washington Post channel barely moved at all, assuming RivalIQ’s data is accurate. A decline was expected, but the magnitude here is cataclysmic.

This should be a case study every publisher studies closely. Legacy media can’t keep treating breakout creators as temporary assets or social experiments, they’re the connective tissue to new audiences. The smarter play is to think like record labels or talent agencies: incubate, develop, and co-brand. Let the personality lift the platform, and give them real ownership of the result.

Gen Z and younger millennials trust people before they trust institutions. For decades, credibility flowed from the masthead to the individual, “They must be good; they work for The Washington Post.” Now it flows in reverse: “I trust Dave, and he works for The Washington Post, so they must be worth listening to.”

The data makes one thing clear: attention doesn’t transfer automatically. It’s earned, face by face, feed by feed. When Dave left, the audience didn’t stick around to see who replaced him. They left too.

In the platform era, the creator isn’t an accessory to the brand; they are the brand.