Exploring the Adoption of Reels and Short Videos in the Nigerian News Industry

The advancement in digital technologies has indeed changed the consumption and delivery of news. Through the nature and operations of the web ecosystem, short videos and reels can be regarded as a kind of news delivery due to the features they possess for news curation and dissemination. This paper focused on analyzing the potential of utilizing short videos and reels in reaching young audiences in the news media industry and the extent to which news media organizations have embraced the use of short videos and reels. Drawing from the Diffusion of Innovations theory, this study aimed at identifying the process through which news organizations adopt short videos and reels. Considering the research questions posed, an exploratory research design was adopted. For this study, the in-depth interview method was adopted with a purposive sample of ten (10) professionals drawn from different news organizations in Nigeria. The sample comprised two participants from strictly-online news organization, Legit NG Lagos; four participants from television stations, NTA Kaduna and Galaxy TV Kaduna; three participants from print news organization, Daily Trust, Abuja and The Nation, Lagos; and finally one participant from a radio station, Liberty Radio Kaduna. Data was collected through face-to-face and telephone interviews using a semi-structured interview guide that asked the participants questions on their understanding about the use of short videos and reels as a means of conveying news information. Data analysis involved manual coding of themes. The findings revealed that short videos, particularly reels, have the potential of attracting younger audiences. The comparative analysis showed that short videos and reels are being adopted to a varying degree by these news organizations; strictly-online media organizations are leading the adoption rate of this format. The study offered some recommendations on how to effectively address challenges regarding the adoption of reels and short videos for news curation and delivery in the mainstream news media organizations in Nigeria.