Yep, count me in the “Hate it” camp - I stopped using CNN because they did this. BBC is mostly still good, but some worrying signs recently…
I see video as being for idiots. I prefer to see a written story and will go elsewhere if there is only a video.
I’ve set Shockwave Flash to ask permission to start. That prevents a lot of video from running.
Yes, CNN is a pain now since it is mostly video.
I agree that it is about appealing to young people who weren’t taught to write cursive and should stay the hell off my lawn, and about making money.
May be an age correlation … I am mid-40s, and agree with you and Colophon.
I kind of feel like the Internet was “perfected” circa 2006-07. There was (a then-new) YouTube and such for videos, but that was separate and kind of its own thing. But the great bulk of the Internet was browsable without using up bandwidth on pop-up videos and such. Meh, I liked it better then 
This place won’t even let me respond with cat meme images. Pretty sure we’re self-selecting for preferring the written word.
I stopped clicking on CNN links a few months ago for that very reason.
Semi-related, I hate that Google is so loose on what it puts in its “News” category. It seems like half the stuff I click on under that tab turns out to be from some stupid blog rather than a credible news source.
I’m generally ambivalent towards the videos, but I have a great deal of antipathy for the auto-play ones.
Can we add instructional/tutorials to this? I hate video only news for all the reasons stated above, but even more I hate the trend of almost all online information about games and applications being in the form of videos.
What’s especially galling is that as often as not they’re done by some teenager who did no preparation, has no speaking skills, and barely knows how to use the software, so you get something like:
"Uh, hi Youtubers "
[By using the term “Youtuber” you’ve already lost a great deal of credibility.]
"I’m, um, going to show you how to , um, build a, um, radiation detector thingy [it’s called a geiger counter, you dork] in Yourscraft. First you click on the assets menu [click click click] uh wait, it’s [click] here [click] somewhere [click] oh, no it’s in the tools menu. Then you, um… "
[Peep…peep…peeppeeppeeep BOOM!]
“Oh, crap, tee hee hee. I got totally blown up by a Peeper! I forgot to turn on wimpy mode. [More giggling] So, um starting over, tee hee hee, you, um, …”
And it goes downhill from there.
I prefer reading an article and choosing to watch accompanying video after if my interest is piqued. I can skim a long-winded article faster and easier than trying to skip through video, which often gets bogged down by pop-ups being blocked.
Good question. I’m 65 and always search for the written story, and almost never watch the online video version, even when there’s no alternative.
I would like to join in the chorus of agreement. Auto-start videos and video-only stories are an instant browser tab close. I might read a story with an embedded video if it appears to be story with a video, as opposed to a story obligingly written to summarize the video – and, yes, you can tell pretty much at a glance which it is.
The only real excuses for video in news stories is if the story is a “lifestyle” story – i.e. “Here’s a clever way to peel ginger,” or if the story is about the video itself or about an event portrayed in the video.
I honestly wish that there was a black & white bare bones zero graphic version of most news sites.
Or… one news site willing to do just that while keeping journalistic integrity. Nobody needs to see dancing cowboys to know whats going on in the world… and that ‘one simple trick’ is to strip all the tacky bells and whistles crap off of at least one news feed.
If you want it limit it to one view a day? Fine.
I hate the trend too. My default setting for reading anything is skim mode and there’s a reason for that: I need to get my information fast or else not at all. So with that in mind, videos as information conduits are way too slow for me The point to the story is usually buried underneath layers of BS that I’m forced to listen to. It’s irritating.
I can’t believe most information junkies aren’t wired similarly, so I do wonder to whom exactly this trend is catering.
Hate the video. Can’t play it at work. Even if I could, I want the text version.
Nearly unanimous in opposition in this thread. Are we fuddy duddies?
I assume it’s service providers that are driving a lot of the move to video. They can make more money from the news sites because of all that bandwidth being sucked up by useless videos of people talking.
The company I work for infuriates me by insisting on providing information via video and I make sure I tell them what a huge waste of productivity that is. I can get the information I need a whole lot faster by reading it, and you know there was a script for it - FFS just publish that and skip the filming and editing and users wasting time.
If it’s a video of tiger cubs ballet dancing then fine, I want to see it, but if I’m looking for facts I want the damn text.
I’m a millennial and also hate video stories. Videos are fine for entertainment but if I’m trying to absorb information it’s too slow, and too analog. The exception is how to videos where having the activity shown to you is important to understand the concept but even then having a transcript or a written set of instructions is vital. It’s much easier for me to reread a sentence than to rewind a video
“News” websites always have the worst pop-ups, floating ads, multiple irrelevant auto-playing videos and everything else annoying.
In general, I leave the sound off and don’t watch videos. I prefer reading and am annoyed at anything without a transcript or some kind of summary. I am weird, though.
I also leave the sound off. And don’t watch videos.
Judging by this thread’s replies, you’re not weird at all. Sorry.
I hate it, but I think it has more to do with money than with demographics. With a video, they can put a commercial in that you have to watch before you see the news you are looking for. With a story, no one forces you to look over at that ad in the corner, you can just go straight to the story.
Well, I mean AP and Reuters for a start. I challenge you to find a single news story that’s reported by more than one source (ie: not an exclusive) for which only video sources exist. I’m incredibly skeptical that you could find one.