Before publishers pivot to video again, consider this

In the past week, I’ve seen at least two pieces in media industry pubs and more mentions in Slacks and Threads and a few WhatsApp convos about a new pivot to video (imagine-head-banging-on-desk-gif-here) hitting a beleaguered industry looking for something, anything, to make up for the steep decline in website traffic and revenue. Some of this was doubtless inspired by the super-insightful Reuters Digital News Report, which clearly shows video as the only on-the-rise medium for news seekers.

So what are we really seeing here? And what are we not seeing, at all?

Okay, here it is. The graph above does not illustrate an audience pivot to news video. What the rising trend lines (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok) do illustrate is an audience pivot to short- and mid-form video for entertainment on platforms with UX primarily driven by algorithms which are, as I mentioned once before, now surfacing news-y vids alongside Chappell Roan and chef reactions. To be super-explicit: Yes, that means more people are getting more news and news-like stuff from video-first platforms. No, it does not mean that is because all of them went to those platforms seeking news-y content. It’s just popping up between the dopamine hits.

If we drill down, there’s an even more important data point to add when it comes to YouTube (a platform that many publishers trust and understand more than TikTok), most starkly seen in the U.S.:

Survey respondents who do say they use YouTube specifically for news are now choosing alternative sources and personalities/influencers over mainstream news brands. I loathe that this in large part driven by alternative humans like Tucker Carlson, but just because Tucker and Joe Rogan top the list, the trend continues down the line and across the political spectrum.

So:

• Video is not wide open. Hold off on plans to re-teach your writers how to capture and edit iPhone vids. (And apologies for anyone I traumatized with this training back in 2015.) Chances are that even if news orgs flood the zone with video across platforms, audiences (especially younger audiences) will still reach for those personalities/influencers first.

• News orgs have been creating video non-stop since the first pivot to video. Some more than others, but one would argue that video is already a core, and exemplary, piece of many publishers’ offerings. For those who either never pivoted or pivoted back away from video, there was probably a good reason.

• There are even news orgs who only, or primarily, work in video that have built loyal and growing audiences on the back of quality, compelling content.

• Yes, there are sponsorship dollars to be had, but brands and agencies are much more keen on spending (less) on influencers to reach specific niche audiences than spending (more) with established brands to reach audiences that are often much harder to characterize.

• Back during the first pivot to video, news publishers learned that the platforms are not in fact our friends. They are, as is their right, in it to win it. As one friend who works at a primarily video org said, “Meta has made one announcement after another about deprioritizing news partners after years of making encouraging noises, and TikTok never even started doing that. They’re just not that into us. And even though YouTube Shorts is currently exploding for publishers, no one can build a business on that - the last ten years have shown it’s near impossible to balance the books with third party platform scale.”

Final thought to news organizations: If video makes sense for your storytelling and your audience, get to it. Full steam ahead. But don’t pivot out of FOMO. Last time around that led to a slew of videos that would have been better left on the cutting room floor or as text.

Better yet, partner with creator journalists who share a subject matter area or expertise that will bolster your reporting and expose your work to new audiences. One organization that has gone this route, AJ+, recently won a Peabody for their work in partnership with independent creator Bisan Owda.

If you have examples of other successful news org + creator partnerships, please share in comments – along with any other thoughts!