The use of videos online has become one of the main strategics for news organizations to inform their followers. With the digital era not everybody has the time and the habit to flip through the morning paper and read about what happened yesterday at the local newsstand . Readers are going online for information , checking what's happening in the world live. Access to information has never been easier! There are thousands of images and videos available to everyone with internet access.
And videos have become one of the easiest and entertaining ways to spread the news and attract viewers attention. It's easier to watch a video than read a full article. Videos and print had to learn how to work together to keep business running and profitable.
By comparing two major news organizations I was able to see how they display their videos and how they reach their audience.
The NY Times:
Credibility plays a huge roll for the success of news organizations and that's definitely the case of the NY Times.
Their website is still one of the most influential news websites in the world and they have a video tab right on top that has a huge archive dedicated to it. It's almost like watching TV, they have different "channels" which are actually topics that you can click on and all the videos related to it will be displayed. Easy and simple. You can read about sports, politics, travel and so on.
They also have a YouTube channel with thousands of videos available.
Interesting fact is that the NY Times's most watched videos include the elections of 2012. From speeches to debate, the videos have an incredible amount of views. I believe part of the success is that people trust them and having the full speeches uploaded helps people share the link on social media.
The Washington Post:
The Washington Post also has a video section, called Post TV. Like the NY Times, the videos also have a great quality. I still think the NY times offers a simpler way to navigate the website but overall they are similar and great.
The Washington Post also has an official Youtube account and their most popular videos are actually a mix. There is politics and sports... there are videos that seemed to be made to go viral, there is pop culture and war. In sum, a mix of everything.
They don't have the same success in numbers of views as the NY Times but it still a god number overall for and a good way to connect the website to the video channel.
