Many newsrooms want to create better vertical videos because they know that their audiences are scrolling on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. But not every newsroom has expansive resources, like production teams or dedicated videographers. If they want to capture video in the field, often reporters have to do it themselves.
Shifting from a word driven to a video-first mindset can feel like an entirely separate, overwhelming challenge. At the Detroit Free Press, we have started working to make producing vertical video more accessible for our reporters. We are trying to find ways to make video a natural, simple part of the reporting routine that journalists already do every day.
By building a structured, highly visual blueprint, we are building a workflow to help any reporter capture high-engagement vertical news packages using nothing more than the smartphone in their pocket.
Muhammad Osama Farooq is a 2026 RJI Student Innovation Fellow partnered with Detroit Free Press.
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