About Micah Gelman
Micah Gelman, Director of Video at Graham Holdings, has spoken about the Washington Post's video strategy, emphasizing a shift from scheduled daily shows to producing short, relevant content that aligns with how audiences consume media online. He stated that the video team is embedded across the newsroom to work alongside print reporters, and that the organization is committed to enterprise storytelling without being "confined by the rules of television." Gelman noted that the video team grew from 40 to 70 people in 2017, adding capacity for breaking news, motion graphics, immersive 360 video, and scripted content.
Gelman has discussed the evolution of live video, saying the Post planned to reduce its use of Facebook Live while applying lessons learned to other platforms like Apple TV and YouTube. He described live video as a way to offer immediacy and deep dives, and to engage with audience feedback in real time. In earlier remarks, Gelman emphasized that writing remains a fundamental skill for journalists, stating that "everything else is learnable," and that the future of online video is unpredictable, with what works today likely to change.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Micah Gelman's recent appearances.
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Transcript (9 segments)
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Interviewer0:01
Okay, I know and I'm like a gambler. First question: what do you consider the most important benefit of program?
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Micah Gelman0:06
Well, I think video is important to help us reach people who are looking for something additional to the story, to help them speed with the story. We offer their videos as a way to attract an audience that may not be as tutorial about a story, but doing it from both perspectives because there's so many things we write about that you need to see, and there are so many things they are making the weekend prints presented video that you may not necessarily care to read upon.
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Interviewer0:43
So how can a publishing company improve the video reporting the most effectively?
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Micah Gelman0:45
That's a good question, and that's something that we're always learning. I mean, I think having a nice small SI unit is aggressively going after video for other sources that they could have negated put into it. It helps to get started, but then having some of these good storytellers and writers, you know, if someone's a good writer and storyteller, I can teach them the video part. The harder part is getting them to realize I want a good writer and a good reporter.
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Interviewer1:22
What was the biggest trend influencing day-to-day production platforms?
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Micah Gelman1:28
It's both caption attribute to Instagram platforms. Can I get another video that's right?
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Interviewer1:36
Why were you missing them? Back to your video 70. Could you mention any effects of this every time yet?
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Micah Gelman1:44
Well, we do very successful so far. We're profitable. From a Covid perspective, they are making a big example here. Those people that we hire are just starting in the last few weeks, so it'll probably be a few more months before we see, you know, and we're not expecting everything to work. So we're bringing people on with the idea that we make an important position one day a month in another interview work. Long term though, it's taking video and interfacing places we want people to. Many people already think of the Washington Post as a great news organization. We want, and we're not under the assumption people say 'I got to go see what videos Washington Post posted today.' We welcome and I'll edit videos. Should there be in the future looking for Post? We are for the union.
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Interviewer2:34
I mean, we're producing about 50 or 60 videos a day. I believe by the end of the year it will be about, and then in the end it should be the ratio of text to video. Well, we'll always have more video reported, right? How social loans have more writers than video recorders, so they'll always be more time. But we see this as a purchase of good balance. Thank you, thank you.