5 Questions: Jeremy Jojola Talks Taking News to Social Media

The way people encounter local news is changing fast. The familiar rhythms of evening broadcasts and polished live shots are giving way to a new kind of reporting that happens on smartphones. For longtime reporters who built their careers in traditional television, the shift represents both a challenge and an opportunity to rethink how journalism reaches audiences.

Few Colorado journalists have leaned into that transition as visibly as Jeremy Jojola, a longtime reporter with 9NEWS who has spent the past few years experimenting with short, vertical news videos designed for social media. That work recently led to a new role with Tegna, where Jojola now focuses on producing “mobile shorts” that can be distributed across stations nationwide. 

Originally published by journalist Corey Hutchins in his Inside the News in Colorado newsletter, the following 5 Questions conversation explores how the opportunity came about, why Jojola believes journalists must meet audiences where they are and what the future of local TV news might look like as more reporting moves directly into the palms of viewers’ hands.

How did this opportunity come about?

I was really burning out on television news. I’ve been doing it for 27 years. It wasn’t fulfilling for me anymore. And the reason is the tremendous demands we’re facing as journalists out in the field, having to do more. And for me, I wanted to do something that was more fresh and new.

I’m not afraid to talk about burnout. A lot of other journalists are because they feel that once you start saying that word, you’re going to start getting pushed to the side, but I’ve been around this business for so long that I’m not afraid anymore.

There was a position that the company had already opened up. When it came up, it was almost like a light at the end of the tunnel for me. This is what I want to do and if there’s a job doing this full-time, for the time being, I’m going to go all in. And I feel like my first day on the job as a fresh new reporter in this role.

When did you start doing these and when did you realize they were catching a lot of steam online?

I’ve been making these vertical videos now for maybe two or three years and I love making them. I love the format. I used to be a vertical video snob back in the day, but the fact is, it’s where people are now, watching on their phones. I wanted to be in that space. I think that’s where people are consuming news these days.

Let’s face the reality here: people are not watching TV news like they used to. We’re seeing plummeting numbers of viewership consistently. CEOs of TV broadcast companies, they admit that the industry is headed for a cliff. Even our CEO has said very publicly that our industry is dying and that we need to find ways to stay relevant and as an outlet that is doing journalism.

I think journalism doesn’t really change much, but the container does. And this is just a new container for it, a new method for it. And I think we can still do very good journalism in this method.

We’ve seen people just flock to these social media sites now, it’s just the main way people are getting their information. The company really started encouraging us to make mobile shorts maybe a year and a half or two years ago as part of the main part of our job. It was actually a requirement to generate a mobile short per day.

I understand the journalism process is the same, but what would you say is different about the delivery or the aesthetic?

I started in broadcast news when I was a teenager writing tape decks, then I got my first on-air job in 1999 in El Paso, Texas. Back then we were trained as TV journalists to be stoic, to be absolutely emotionless, to be very boring in ways when we were delivering the news.

But over the years, that has changed so much with social media because I think people online, when they’re looking to make connections with the people who are disseminating the news, not only do they want truth but they also want authenticity and they want human beings to give them the news rather than a robot. And I think when you merge the truth and authenticity together and you have someone who is a trained journalist and can let their guard down and speak like a human being, I think that can really resonate with people.

Look at the people who have huge followings on social media. They’re not robotic like TV news people are. They show their true colors, they’re human beings, they show how they really are. I try to do that online.

I’ve always embraced emerging technologies as a journalist. I think we have to in order to survive and just to stay relevant. And I think that’s how I’ve been able to survive in this industry. This would have been my 27th year being on air as a traditional broadcast reporter. But I love the digital space and I love technology and I love the fact that I can make a video very quickly these days without lugging around heavy equipment, without having to get into a live truck, without having to go through the cumbersome steps to get a conventional TV news story on air. I can create something that still has good journalistic value in a very short time and get it on air and out immediately into the palms of people’s hands.

I think that’s where people are, and if we want to survive as journalists, that’s where we need to be, like now, like yesterday.

What’s your actual setup and how does the process work?

I’m mainly using my iPhone 15 Pro Max to shoot these videos. Sometimes I use a tripod. There are various programs I use to edit, like the editing software by Instagram, which is very simple. I’ll use CapCut, then I’ll use a captions app. If I want to do a little extra production, I’ll use Adobe Premiere on desktop.

With breaking news, I think I can get a decent vertical video out in 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes under 10 minutes. People aren’t really seeking out good production value in those moments. Information becomes top of mind. For me, accuracy is top of mind, too.

The way my new role is designed to work is when I make a vertical video, what my company calls a mobile short, I put it into our system at the station — I work out of 9NEWS, but I’m working for Tegna now — and at Tegna we have an online system where I upload my mobile short usually through a desktop although I can use a mobile app too, and when I upload it my mobile short will instantly go out to every single Tegna station’s app.

Then, I can share those videos on my social profiles. My goal in this new role is to get to a point where I can do maybe up to seven or more per day.

What’s your advice to an aspiring broadcast journalist who might be in school right now and probably doesn’t watch the local TV news?

I think what drives journalism is care for the community and curiosity. And I think those two things really make a good reporter.

A third element is that no matter what happens to our industry, what is going to transcend our industry long after it’s gone is storytelling.

As long as you’re curious, you care for the community, and have a passion for storytelling, I think those three elements can really help be a compass for someone who want to do this.