ertical videos from the New York Times watch tab on its app

As The New York Times tweaked its mobile app to put video at the heart of the reader experience the title’s director of video Solana Pyne and VP for product Jordan Vita met Press Gazette to talk video strategy.

Over the last year the NYT has “substantially increased the number of journalists with deep video and storytelling expertise to work across news, culture and lifestyle, both independently and in collaboration with reporters across the newsroom”, a spokesperson told Press Gazette.

“Watch” is now the second of four menu items offered at the bottom of the New York Times app (after “Home” and before “Listen” and “Play”) and it offers access to a daily selection of around 20 short vertical videos.

The videos are a mixture of narrated news footage, first-person takes from New York Times staff and lighter lifestyle and cooking content.

Like Tiktok and Facebook shorts, users can quickly swipe to the next video. But unlike social media platforms, the NYT video feed is curated and not personalised to the user.

The NYT says video consumption on its platform has doubled over the last year as it produces 75 hours of video per month.

Press Gazette: It looks like you have tried to create your own version of Tiktok or Youtube Shorts, is that a fair description?

Solana Pyne (NYT director of video): “We are not trying to be Tiktok or YouTube Shorts, but we also see that as that scrollable feed of videos as a way that people are getting information. So certainly, the experience is inspired by that.”

Jordan Vita (NY VP, product): “We’re trying to offer people a predictable place to find high-quality video journalism every day that allows them to catch up on the news, to find something interesting, that makes them think, something delightful.

“The pattern of the UX, it’s similar, but the curation that goes behind it is quite different.”

PG: Why aren’t you personalising the video feed? Is that something you are looking at?

Pyne: “We think our core differentiator is editorial curation, where we are telling you ‘this is the top story, this is an important investigation, this was an important conversation’ and allowing people to consume it that way, rather than personalised.”

PG: What is the main focus of New York Times video from a business point of view? Is it about keeping subscribers happy, finding new ones or serving advertising?

Vita: “This is about reaching the widest possible audience, and in building an engaged audience who wants to come to The New York Times and consume high quality journalism every day.”

PG: The video tab looks more news than creator-led. Is that fair?

Pyne: “It’s a real mix, and it depends on the day and the news story. So there’s a range of videos you might have, like a text-on-screen story about, you know, the East Wing of the White House being knocked down, and a reporter-led video on, you know, Trump’s recent visit.

“There’s videos from The Athletic of sports coverage, videos from Wirecutter, which can range from what’s the best mac and cheese to what’s the difference between a $250 pair of jeans and a $50 pair of jeans. And there’s cooking videos as well.

“So it’s a range, but we tend to begin the feed with more of the hard news, which, again, is just a mix. We think about the news at the top, because one hypothesis is that people are there to catch up on the news.”

PG: It seems to be mainly shorter videos. Is there an optimum amount of time you think people will spend with a video?

Pyne: “There are certain much longer videos that are horizontal that we run, that we found people spend a lot of time with, like our visual investigations. But I think if you’re talking about something that feels really native to your phone for news coverage that is mobile first and vertical, we’re generally talking about shorter stories.

“These videos are generally longer than the 30-second or one-minute-long Youtube Short, and that’s because we generally try to make sure we’re including all of the information.

“We do find that they hold people’s attention, like people aren’t just starting them, but they’re finishing them. It’s something we think about on a story by story basis, but generally we’re looking at less than three minutes.”

PG: What have been your biggest hits on video?

**Pyne: **“When we’re on the ground with people who are digging through the rubble after a powerful storm, or showing people who’ve been affected in a really powerful first person way. We’re seeing those videos travel.

“When we have a reporter who can bring insight and analysis or exclusive reporting into the video – those videos do really well. And also our breaking news stories – we see those videos reach millions of people as well.”

PG: What’s next for video at The New York Times?

**Pyne: **“We’re continuing to invest in coverage of different subject areas. So we are investing in our culture and lifestyle coverage. And I think with the Watch tab, it feels really like this is just the beginning.

“We want to understand how people are engaging with it, the way that people consume media now, it feels like it’s constantly evolving. We want to continue to evolve, because, again, we want to reach the most people with our journalism.

“We want to understand how people engage with it and then see how to move forward.”

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