The media industry is in the middle of a second shift toward social video, roughly a decade after its first attempt at the strategy ended badly. In the mid-2010s, print and digital outlets hired video teams and relied on platforms like Facebook for distribution, only to pull back after Facebook was found to have inflated video views. That episode left many in the industry associating social video with layoffs and instability.
This time, the push is being driven by audiences. Social platforms reorganized their feeds around video after TikTok's growth during the pandemic, and adoption has spread to Meta's Reels, YouTube Shorts and even LinkedIn. YouTube now commands nearly 16 percent of TV viewing, according to Nielsen, and Pew found that 20 percent of Americans regularly get news from TikTok, rising to 39 percent among people 18 to 29. Facebook Reels viewing time hit an all-time high in the third quarter, and early tests abroad suggest Meta is considering opening Instagram and Facebook directly into full-screen video.
Some outlets moved early. The Washington Post built a notable TikTok presence before many peers had accounts, though Dave Jorgenson, the face of that effort, left the paper last year and now produces videos under Local News International. CNN partnered with Jubilee, the debate-format channel, and conducted a town hall with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico in that style. The New York Times introduced a vertical series called "The Call," in which a host appears to video-call a journalist in the field to create a sense of intimacy.
Outlets are also working with creators directly. The Post has built creator networks that partner with influencers to make content independent of the newsroom, and a new program supported by Poynter and Microsoft pairs creators with several news outlets. Meanwhile, podcasts, TV shows and even major investigations are being reformatted into vertical clips, a trend one writer described as "the clippening."
The first video pivot foundered partly on the belief that engagement would offset production costs, and the industry now confronts a views metric that counts a post appearing in a feed regardless of whether anyone watched it. As short-form video becomes standard, platforms are again shifting, with YouTube pitching exclusive shows to creators and Instagram's "Features" effort allowing 90-minute horizontal uploads aimed at television viewing. The BBC has struck a deal with an unspecified partner, according to the source article, which cuts off there.
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