Publishers crack vertical video as platforms eye next format

Publishers are finally mastering vertical video, but platforms are already testing full-screen feeds and new formats, leaving newsrooms and creators racing to adapt.

What happened

Just as publishers are starting to crack the vertical video code, social media platforms are already looking ahead to a new format, The Verge reports. Almost exactly a decade ago, the media industry was in the middle of a video revolution. In the mid-2010s, publications poured money into social media video efforts, hired teams, and trusted platforms like Facebook with reach and distribution. That first pivot-to-video collapsed after it became clear Facebook had inflated video views; newsrooms cut writers and editors for video, then cut those video teams when the pivot did not pay off.

Now a second pivot-to-video is underway. Social media companies have reorganized feeds to emphasize video, spurred by the growth of TikTok during the pandemic. YouTube has become the most popular streamer, commanding nearly 16 percent of TV viewing according to Nielsen. Twenty percent of Americans regularly get news from TikTok, and that figure rises to 39 percent for people 18 to 29 years old, Pew found. The time spent watching Reels on Facebook was at an all-time high in Q3, and early tests in other countries suggest Meta is considering dropping users directly into full-screen video upon opening Instagram and Facebook apps.

News outlets are responding. The Washington Post found success on TikTok before many peers, though Dave Jorgenson, the face of its social video effort, left the paper last year. CNN partnered with Jubilee to run a Texas Senate candidate town hall in the debate-me style. The New York Times introduced the vertical video series “The Call,” designed to feel like updates from a friend.

“The point of ‘The Call’ is to create a sense of intimacy, like you’re getting updates from a friend.”

Key facts

• Almost exactly a decade ago, the media industry was in the middle of a video revolution; Facebook later inflated video views and newsrooms cut video teams.
• YouTube commands nearly 16 percent of TV viewing, according to Nielsen, making it the most popular streamer.
• Twenty percent of Americans regularly get news from TikTok; among people 18 to 29 years old, the share is 39 percent, according to Pew.
• Time spent watching Reels on Facebook hit an all-time high in Q3; Meta is testing full-screen video entry on Instagram and Facebook in other countries.
• The Washington Post had early TikTok success; Dave Jorgenson left last year; CNN partnered with Jubilee; The New York Times launched “The Call.”

Our analysis

The first pivot-to-video failed partly because publishers outsourced reach and distribution to platforms that inflated metrics. This second pivot is different: viewing behavior has shifted more broadly across YouTube, TikTok, Reels, and even LinkedIn. Publishers are no longer just experimenting; they are adopting formats popularized in the vertical video era, such as debate-style town halls and intimate video-call interviews. The lower cost of production — anyone with a smartphone can create video — lowers the barrier for individual creators, which likely increases pressure on institutional newsrooms to compete on personality and speed rather than polish.

That shift suggests a structural change, not a temporary trend. Viewers favor stripped-down selfie-style video dispatches from personalities they trust, even when those creators are not themselves reporting and writing the news. If news organizations hesitate, the source notes, armies of content creators will likely capture those audiences. Publishers that still treat vertical video as a side project risk being late again, especially as platforms test opening directly into full-screen feeds, which would make follower-based discovery less important and platform-native video more important.

What it means for operators

• Make vertical video a default distribution format: adapt articles, investigations, podcasts, and TV clips into short vertical clips for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
• Build personality-driven presenter formats rather than only polished packages; selfie-style dispatches and video-call interviews match what viewers favor, as The New York Times’s “The Call” intends.
• Partner with creators and creator networks instead of relying only on in-house staff; the Poynter-Microsoft pairing and Washington Post creator networks are current examples to follow.
• Prepare for full-screen feed entry tests on Instagram and Facebook by producing content that works immediately without a follower relationship, in case Meta expands the test beyond other countries.