Online video will play a huge role in the future newsroom. As a broadcast journalist, video is a powerful way to tell a story. Video journalism can bring the viewer to the scene through the use of natural and ambient sounds, images, and interviews.

Photo by: Christopher Dick

Today, newsrooms are testing the waters with online video. Clicking on a video on a news site watching an advertisement before the story is becoming more and more common. In the future, I think we’ll be seeing more advertisements, but also smarter advertisements. Advertisements that match the demographics of people who would watch that particular story. I imagine something similar to Hulu‘s advertising model where it asks the consumer whether it likes the advertisement or not.

Access to video content on news sites will also change. Consumers will either be charged per video news story or pay a flat fee. A trend that I have been noticing is that media companies are trying to force consumers to subscribe to cable subscriptions. If you want access to the website, you have to enter your cable subscription information. News 12  is doing this right now.

While newspapers are the number one source for news, and 74 percent still tune into their televisions for news, Internet is also gaining popularity¹. A survey conducted back in May 2011 by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project shows that 76 percent of Americans go online to gather news. The same study also showed that 71 percent went online to watch a video on YouTube or Vimeo².

People are looking for news. As long as news organizations produce quality journalism about issues people care about I do not see revenue as being an issue.

Online videos right now are showing signs of being profitable. According to Streaming Media, “digital video advertising will grow by 41 percent this year, reaching a total of $5.6 billion”³.

Citizen journalism will also play a role in the future of online video news. YouTube is exploding with video content and has “48 hours of video are uploaded every minute”⁴. Journalists should use citizens to help tell stories in their communities. We’re seeing news agencies now asking for video, photos, and information. I think the future of news in general lies with more local news stories. Not only will this show you’re dedicated to your community, but will also help draw more people to your news organization.

Video is an important story-telling tool in journalism. Media organizations should use it to build credibility, trust, and tell stories in the future newsroom.

What are your thoughts?

1. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/25/national/main20111430.shtml [↩]
2. http://pewinternet.org/Trend-Data/Online-Activites-Total.aspx [↩]
3. http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=78004 [↩]
4. http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics [↩]