DANBURY, Conn. — Ian Bick has turned one of the darkest chapters of his life into the foundation of a growing media career. Bick is the creator and host of Locked In with Ian Bick, a YouTube channel and podcast built around long-form conversations with former inmates, recovering addicts, law-enforcement officers, attorneys, investigators and others whose lives have intersected with crime and the criminal justice system. His interest in the subject is personal. At 18, Bick was

The biggest stars on YouTube are no longer simply uploading videos. They are building media companies that increasingly resemble independent television networks. LOS ANGELES — The stereotypical YouTuber once needed little more than a camera, laptop and internet connection. Today, at the highest levels of the creator economy, that bedroom operation has evolved into something Hollywood would easily recognize: a studio. Leading creators now employ producers, editors, researchers