From anchors delivering news on the radio or dedicated broadcast segments on TV, to sending press releases via fax, we’ve come a long way with news creation, both from a publisher and public relations standpoint. And think about where you get your news now – a news app? The Daily Show? Twitter? News consumption has rapidly evolved into a 24-hour cycle, so delivering compelling content in the most concise format possible is key in reaching a wide audience.In the past decade, video has become a popular tool for content creation , even catapulting YouTube stars and former “Viners” as the next generation of celebrities. Snapchat continues to invest in its Stories feature allowing content creators, publishers, and everyday users to share longer videos. In similar fashion, Instagram rolled out IGTV this year, enabling the same group to upload videos up to one hour in length.The latest trend with news content also includes this “pivot to video” – a term we hear sarcastically just as much as seriously, given how often it’s used by media when discussing business strategies . For example, Netflix recently premiered its weekly talk show featuring comedian Hasan Minhaj, and Showtime is set to debut its late-night talk show with Bronx comedy duo Desus and Mero early next year. On the publisher side, Mashable, Mic, and BuzzFeed, among others, have all adopted a “pivot to video” news strategy in the past two years.Given the short shelf life of what’s “newsworthy,” it’s not uncommon to consider video as the next major platform for news. Factor in the growing mobile workforce and rapid adoption of technology, we’re more accustomed to catching up on the news – or having it delivered to us – on our phones, rather than listening to the news on the radio or reading the newspaper.Related: Podcasts: A Refreshing Reprieve From the Soundbite World We Live In But don’t always assume reporters – or readers – prefer a visual over text-based news. Before you decide to “pivot to video,” it’s important to ask yourself a few key questions: What is my goal with creating this video? Who is my target audience? What is my intended message? How long will the video be? Is it easier to deliver this message through text? By answering these questions, you can determine whether you really need to create a video or where the video should be published.Will we be pitching video press releases in the next five years? While we can’t fast forward to the future, it will be interesting to see where video creation takes us and what emerging avenues for news content lies ahead.
