Observed Signal · Jul 14, 2026 · Training Initiative · Source: Digiday · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Newsrooms Train Print Reporters as On-Camera Video Talent
Publishers are reorganizing newsrooms to turn print reporters and editors into on-camera video correspondents and creators. Organizations are experimenting with structured coaching (so-called “talent labs”), cross-functional workflows, and looser iteration-based approaches to put more journalists on camera. The New York Times hired a video training editor and reported reporter-led video output doubled year-over-year in Q1 2026; the Wall Street Journal has a WSJ Talent Lab that has trained nearly 200 journalists in group sessions; Fortune is launching a daily video show, and The Economist has featured more than 90 reporters in short-form videos. The shift is driven by audience migration to social and video platforms and the rise of news-focused creators, with Reuters Institute data showing sizable weekly news consumption from creators.
Publishers' shift to scale reporter-led video and invest in training affects audience acquisition, engagement formats, and subscription strategies — an important industry trend though not a platform-level policy change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The New York Times hired Tom Denison as video training editor to coach reporters and editors and expand reporting into video.
- Reporter-led video output at The Times doubled year over year in Q1 2026, CEO Meredith Kopit‑Levien said on an earnings call.
- The Wall Street Journal launched a WSJ Talent Lab to upskill journalists for video and other audience-facing formats and has held group training sessions for nearly 200 journalists.
- Fortune plans to debut a daily video show called “Fortune Daily” in July 2026, with Robert Bikel as showrunner and Ellie Austin as host.
- Reuters Institute’s 2026 Digital News Report found that audiences now get more news from social media and video platforms than from news sites or publishers’ apps, with 27% getting news weekly from news-focused creators and 46% getting news from creators of any type.
Connected Companies & Entities
6 Entities mapped“In March, the publisher hired Tom Denison as video training editor, tasked with coaching reporters and editors and spotting ways to extend t...”
“The Wall Street Journal is taking a similar tack as the Times with the WSJ Talent Lab team, a dedicated team focused on “upskilling” journal...”
“Meanwhile, Fortune is on the cusp of launching its biggest video product this year, Adam Banicki, head of video at Fortune, told Digiday....”
“More than 90 journalists have appeared in its short-form videos in the past two years, said Liv Moloney, head of video at The Economist....”
“Devin Smith, who launched the first creator network at USA Today’s sports media group, serves as the lab’s director....”
“Taneth Evans, head of digital at WSJ, told Digiday....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
WSJ Revamps Podcast Operations for Video and Social
The Wall Street Journal is restructuring its podcast operations to better accommodate video and social media distribution. This strategy shift, covered in Digiday's Future of TV Briefing, reflects the broader industry trend of adapting audio content for visual platforms. The Journal aims to leverage its A/V team to produce video versions of its podcasts, catering to audiences on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. This move underscores the growing importance of multi-format content distribution for publishers seeking to maximize reach and engagement in the evolving media landscape.
Survey Finds Newsrooms Prioritising AI, Video and Creators
The inaugural Future Newsrooms Study from FT Strategies and WAN-IFRA, reported by VideoWeek, surveyed 448 editorial or executive staff across 86 countries and found that skills gaps (61%), cultural resistance (52%) and unclear use cases (45%) are the main barriers to AI adoption in newsrooms. While many expect editorial output to rise, a sizable share (43%) anticipate AI reducing newsroom headcount. The report says publishers should prioritise AI uses that enable journalism previously impractical, and highlights a renewed shift to short-form video (79% planning to focus more) and growing engagement with creators — with 41% building internal creator capabilities and 34% working with external creators. The study cautions that treating creator partnerships primarily as risk management (brand alignment cited by 37%) may limit growth opportunities.
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