Media's second pivot to video: short clips, creators and a turn toward longer formats
News outlets in the US and elsewhere are again investing in social video, this time in short vertical formats and creator partnerships. Platforms are already moving toward longer horizontal video, which could bring new demands for publishers.
The news media industry is pivoting to social video for a second time, according to Mia Sato, a writer at the technology site The Verge. About a decade ago, publishers spent heavily on video and relied on Facebook for reach, only for it to emerge that Facebook had inflated video view counts. Newsrooms cut writers and editors to focus on video, then cut the video teams when the investment did not pay off.
Why video is back
Social platforms have reorganized their feeds around video, driven by TikTok's rapid growth during the pandemic. According to Nielsen, YouTube accounts for nearly 16 percent of TV viewing. Pew found that 20 percent of Americans regularly get news from TikTok, rising to 39 percent among people aged 18 to 29. Viewers favor stripped-down, selfie-style videos from personalities they trust, and the cost of producing video has dropped considerably.
What outlets are doing
The Washington Post found early success on TikTok, but its social video face, Dave Jorgenson, left last year and now makes videos under Local News International. CNN partnered with the channel Jubilee and held a town hall with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico in that style. The New York Times launched the vertical video series "The Call," in which a host video-calls a reporter on the ground. Some outlets are also building creator networks, and a program backed by Poynter and Microsoft pairs creators with news outlets.
Sato points to a persisting problem: platform "views" count how often a post was served in a feed, not whether anyone watched it fully or went on to read the outlet's work or subscribe, so monetizing the attention is not straightforward.
What comes next
Platforms are now aiming for longer, higher-quality content for television screens. YouTube has pitched creators and advertisers on exclusive shows, Instagram's new "Features" effort allows horizontal uploads of up to 90 minutes, and the BBC struck a deal with YouTube in early 2026 for special programming, followed by an announcement of a 24/7 livestream aimed at young people. Sato suggests this could mean higher production demands for both publishers and creators.
