Local video news content: what works, what doesn't

A student of the University of Minnesota, Vadim Lavrusik, as part of his thesis, analyzed ( .pdf, 418 Kb ) sites of several regional media for their use of news video content. Here are some useful insights from his research.


What video content is in demand:

1. Detailed report. Practice shows that shooting on the ground helps to better convey the meaning of the news and bring the atmosphere of the event. Consumers are happy to watch the video, accompanying, explaining the text narration.
2. Urgent news. Most editors claim that even unprocessed, unmounted video of poor quality is in great demand if it is related to hot news.
3. Local topics. This is exactly what local consumers want and are waiting for. A video can be about anything, as long as it shows the realities, familiar to the viewer - familiar landscape, familiar people, problems concerning the immediate territory.

What content needs improvement, or which can be thrown away at all:
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1. Federal news. They simply do not enjoy such demand as the locals. So instead of buying federal news content, send money to produce your own.
2. Talking heads. Boring video "talking heads" is not in demand. On the Internet, the user is not limited in their actions, as in front of the TV. Accordingly, the wait until the end of the video will not.
3. Long episodes. The duration of the video should be about 2 minutes. Extended reports and talking are not acceptable. Video should be strictly on the topic, extensive reasoning should be prohibited.

Which video content requires additional analysis:

1. User Content. It helps to form a community on the site. Most editors have expressed interest in using such content. The only question is whether users will still upload videos to Youtube, or go to your website.
2. Live. It is expected that this will be a chip next level of development of local online media. It will also help strengthen the position of local media in competition with the federal ones.

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See also " Donate or not donate local video content to Youtube? "