Vox Pox

Vox is laying off:

“Layoff talk started a month ago. Company is worried about future growth patterns — which is just jargon for the fact they over-hired in video even when they claimed they weren’t doing that exact thing during the big pivot of ’15-16,” the [anonymous Vox] staffer said.

Up until recently I watched few videos online, and few from such as Vox. The few I've seen haven't impressed me. I recall one vox-plaining "scientific racism". You haven't been affronted until a millennial girl explains to you who Blumenbach was in up-talk.

Mainstream outlets continue to struggle to capture a share of the increasing interest in online video that may or not be there, at least in the way they imagine--seeing the soy boy editor deliver the platitudes in person maybe isn't so compelling after all. The kind of eyeball herding they seek requires the viral or visceral

Overall, we are cautious about the long-term dynamics for video news in particular. Although there has been a significant growth in online video, much of this has been in social networks and around softer news and lifestyle content (or premium drama and sports on demand), not news. 

Video that adds drama and immediacy is now valued and expected by consumers on news websites, but only up to a point and in certain circumstances, with both young and old still valuing the control and flexibility of text. Although we are likely to see considerable innovation in both formats and production over the next few years, it is hard to see video replacing text in terms of the range of stories and the depth of comment and analysis traditionally generated by publishers. The high commercial returns currently available around video are unlikely to last if, as expected, more investment and more automated systems lead to a substantial increase in the supply of content, thus driving down advertising rates.

The smaller but more dynamic market for commentary and analysis feels like it belongs to the alt right naturally as a semi-Samizdat. Unfortunately for the alt right, what's driving video are digital formats, as offered by Google and Facebook. It seems only a matter of time before they Shut It Down.