In the ever-evolving landscape of content creation, one medium reigns supreme: video. For content creators aiming to deliver a powerful message, the answer increasingly lies in video, video, and more video.
Harvard-trained linguist Alex Aleksic describes this shift toward video as the preferred medium as an “inflection point” that has fundamentally transformed communication. His insights, drawn from his recently released book, Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language (July 15, 2025), highlight the undeniable dominance of video in modern storytelling.
Amen, say I. I am not surprised.
Spending time with my teenage grandchildren this summer has only reinforced Aleksic’s point. Armed with their iPhones and TikTok, they are content creators in their own right, crafting videos about their daily lives: “This is me nailing a new song on the guitar” or “My mustache is growing faster than I thought.” Their intuitive embrace of video reflects a broader cultural shift, one that professional content creators, particularly in newsrooms, must heed.
The essential role of video in storytelling
As a facilitator of journalism workshops worldwide, I’ve long emphasized the critical role of video in storytelling. For mobile storytelling, video is often the most effective way to capture attention and convey a narrative. Yet, not all stories come with inherently compelling video clips. Writers, editors, and designers must actively explore video possibilities, especially for that crucial opening screen. In my workshops, I frequently suggest moving a video from the middle of a story to the top, as many editors and designers still default to static images over dynamic video—a mindset that needs to change.
In my mobile storytelling trilogy, The Story (Thane & Prose, 2019), I dedicate significant attention to this topic, noting:
“Especially on that first screen, we react to movement faster than to a dense paragraph of text. The best multimedia stories seduce us with video, much like sitting in a theater with a bucket of popcorn, waiting for the images to roll across the screen.”
The smartphone isn’t television, a newspaper, or a movie theater—but it borrows elements from all three. How we leverage video on the small screen is key to engaging today’s audiences. One standout example is a feature from The New York Times, “I Raised Baby Pigeons in My Bathroom” (view the story here). The headline grabs attention, and the video immediately draws readers into the narrative, showcasing the power of visual storytelling.
According to a March 2024 survey, 79% of Americans aged 18 to 34 watch online video content weekly on their smartphones alone, with higher overall usage when accounting for other devices and age groups. A 2022 study indicated that 89% of U.S. internet users watched online videos, and this figure has likely grown given the increasing trend in video consumption. For a broader perspective, YouTube, a major video platform, is used by 74% of U.S. adults, suggesting a significant portion of the population engages with online video content regularly
As we move further into 2025, video must be an essential tool in every storyteller’s toolkit. It’s time to rethink how we craft stories for a generation that craves dynamic, engaging content. For those still hesitant to embrace video, Alex Aleksic’s insights may serve as a wake-up call:
“Video has become the universal language of the digital age, transcending barriers of text and static imagery to connect with audiences on a visceral level.” — Alex Aleksic, Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language
“The shift to video isn’t just a trend; it’s a fundamental change in how we process and share information, driven by platforms that prioritize motion and immediacy.” — Alex Aleksic, Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language
Let’s embrace this video-driven era and craft stories that captivate, inform, and inspire.
Our workshop deals with the two big revolutions facing editors
For me, it is imperative that editors approach content creation thinking in terms of mobile first.
Mobile first involves the type of transformation where all content is prepared thinking from small to large platform. Thinking small platform does not mean that the reporter conceptualizing a story for mobile consumption should not think BIG. So, plan from small to large, but think big in terms of the story content and the visual assets that go with it.
While mobile first is still elusive to so many newsrooms around the planet, here we are, in 2024, faced with an even bigger challenge not just knocking at our doors, but already IN: Artificial Intelligence.
Transformation and a change of mentality to face these challenges is the first step. Training and education to tackle them with a sense of focus and direction is essential.
That’s where our Garcia Media workshops come in
Our Garcia Media Mobile Storytelling workshops introduce your editorial team to the way we write, edit and design for mobile platforms. This one-day program includes a presentation and a hands-on workshop. We’ve added a new segment about AI for content creation.
Newsrooms around the planet have gone mobile-first after a Garcia Media workshop!
Our Garcia Media Mobile Storytelling workshops are proven to introduce your editorial team to the way we write, edit and design for mobile platforms. It is a one-day program that involves a presentation (where I summarize my Columbia University class content), and follow it with a hands on workshop.
I urge you to consult my latest book, The Story, a trilogy full of tips and explanations about mobile storytelling, which represents the latest genre for journalists to explore. See information below:
The full trilogy of The Story now available–3 books to guide you through a mobile first strategy. Whether you’re a reporter, editor, designer, publisher, corporate communicator, The Story is for you! https://amazon
