Short-form video drives reach. That’s exactly the problem.

The industry is pivoting (again) to short-form vertical video right when audiences are exhausted by algorithm-driven feeds and seeking refuge from visual overload. Social media traffic is declining. Platforms have deprioritized our journalism. And yet, newsrooms are doubling down on the very formats audiences are abandoning, convinced we just need to tell the story in a faster or slicker manner.

Our job is to build healthy news habits, not trigger base emotions for short-term clicks. In a recent episode of the podcast Dare to Lead, Brené Brown described why she only reads news, never watches it: “When I read, I am much more likely to understand how my daily decisions are impacting other people in ways that are not okay with me, ethically and morally. When I watch, my nervous system becomes so overwhelmed, I just shut it down and I go straight to fuck it. I can’t do this. And I don’t change my behaviors.”

Brown’s experience matches what research demonstrates. Gloria Mark’s studies at UC Irvine over the past two decades found that the average attention span on a screen before switching has dropped to 47 seconds. Cognitive load theory shows that rapid, disconnected fragments overwhelm working memory, preventing information transfer necessary for comprehension.

The evidence specific to short-form video is even more concerning. A September 2024 review of 71 studies with nearly 100,000 participants, published in Psychological Bulletin, found that heavy consumption of short-form video was associated with poorer cognition, especially regarding attention spans and impulse control. The review also found links between heavy consumption and increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.

It’s no wonder we have a trust problem, and we’re addressing it by mimicking tactics for beauty products and beer brands. Newsrooms chase the 76% of young adults who get news from social media, yet only 15% of that demographic follows news regularly. Platform presence doesn’t equal meaningful, quality engagement.

I’ve spent more than a decade pioneering short-form vertical video storytelling while working with creator talent in newsrooms and media spaces. I know how to build audiences on these platforms. I know the playbook. Which is exactly why I’m now questioning whether we should follow it. I’ve always argued for balancing reach with engagement, and there’s a difference between meeting audiences where they are and following them into patterns that prevent the cognitive processing our work requires. Indeed, I’m asking many of these questions with my graduate students in the Engagement Journalism Master’s program that I run.

Newsrooms that double down on short-form video will start seeing consequences — not in reach metrics (those may still look good), but in whether audiences actually retain information, change behavior, or engage with complex issues, all triggers that build loyalty and healthy news habits — all leading indicators of whether someone will pay for your journalism, by the way.

Of course, we must ask if our newsrooms care about these metrics.

Short-form may work toward reaching and growing new audiences, but it does not drive the understanding journalism claims to enable.

This doesn’t mean video formats have no place in journalism. Young and old(er) audiences looking for depth and authenticity regularly consume long-form in-depth video, and short-form may carve a path toward more in-depth storytelling. The question isn’t whether we should use them — it’s whether we should optimize our entire news ecosystem around formats optimized for emotional overwhelm rather than sustained understanding.

Can we balance public good with our bottom line? Or are we consigning ourselves to adopting the playbook written by companies optimizing for advertising revenue and user addiction?

To be sure, it’s working for some. The New York Times folded its standalone audio app into its main platform because audio succeeded. The paper is building a “super app” where audio and shortform video are “front and center.” The business case is compelling — new revenue sources have the potential to pay for journalism and sustainable newsrooms. Business viability isn’t a distraction from journalism’s mission; it’s a prerequisite.

But it’s the newsrooms that figure out how to combine visual storytelling with formats that allow cognitive processing that will start to stand out. Not because they mastered the algorithm, but because they remembered what journalism is actually supposed to do. We can experiment with new formats without abandoning journalism’s core purpose: helping people understand, question, and act on information in ways that best serve their communities. In 2026, we’ll have to decide whether reach or comprehension is the priority.

The newsrooms that choose wisely won’t just survive. They’ll matter.