As journalists whose job is to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the Houston food scene, the Houston Chronicle’s food team follows most well-known local content creators. We notice the often-hazy line between sponsored content and not. We know the free-feed events and who attends them. And we share a collective uneasiness about the profession’s ethics and its growing influence.
Still, we can’t ignore the power these creators wield. Some have a social reach that exceeds that of the Houston Chronicle itself. We feel the industry’s headwinds, and we know we must find new ways to connect with new audiences — and, hopefully, show them that quality journalism is worth paying for.
A year or so ago, a creator named Shawn Singh, aka Shawn the Food Sheep, went viral when he posted a video calling out a xenophobic comment about his Sikh turban. He seemed like a genuine person and sometimes posted receipts of how much he spent at restaurants. We got in touch, wrote a quick story about the viral video, and later invited him to our annual event that celebrates our Top 100 Restaurants list.
Months later, our director of experimentation, Jennifer Chang, reached out with an idea: How might we collaborate with a local influencer? She wanted to brainstorm what that might look like.
Our immediate gut reaction: Ew.
After that first meeting — one that included reporters, editors, audience staff and leadership — I went back to my desk and messaged Jennifer: “We should partner with a dog. People love dogs, and dogs don’t have questionable ethics.”
Eventually, we learned there was a budget. This was happening, like it or not. So we had to choose an actual human collaborator. The only person the food team could agree on was Shawn. (Editor’s note: The Houston Chronicle was part of our second Influencer Learning Cohort and received a $3,000 grant from API for this work.)
— Jody Schmal, Houston Chronicle food editor
