KSHB Kansas City offers an intriguing case study in producing YouTube-style news videos that are platform portable and striking chords with audiences.
Diversity of content is one of YouTube’s greatest strengths. Whether I’m looking for information on installing solar panels, learning watercolor techniques, repairing a bicycle or watching live television, there is something for everyone. Broadcast TV stations, by contrast, can show only one program at a time.
That depth of content makes it easy to argue that YouTube’s scale, not its style, is the real source of its power. There’s truth in that. But if we look closely at where younger audiences are spending their time consuming video, it’s on platforms that look and feel very different from what most TV broadcasters are producing in morning, midday, evening and latenight newscasts.
Whether it’s YouTube, TikTok, Reels, Shorts or Instagram, the dominant style is more modern, authentic and conversational. The storytelling feels personal. It’s designed to earn attention, not assume it.
Often in this column I focus on transforming the business or technology side of local TV. Inevitably, someone comments that the real problem is content. And it’s true: We need to produce more engaging content. And while local news is only one part of what airs on broadcast channels, it remains uniquely valuable. It informs communities about what’s happening locally, supports local businesses and generates revenue without network or syndicator ad inventory splits.
So, how do we make that content more relevant without abandoning what makes local journalism trustworthy?
A station in Kansas City may be among those illuminating the path.
To take a step back, I produce the Broadcast Transformation Lab for the Local Media Association, where one of our tracks focuses on growing audience and revenue on YouTube. Once a month, leaders from about 10 broadcast companies join a webinar to hear how peers are building their CTV and YouTube businesses.
Last month, I saw a story in News Blues about a team at E.W. Scripps-owned KSHB Kansas City experimenting with a new editing and storytelling approach for traditional news. I reached out to the station’s leadership to learn more.
What they’re doing is often described as “YouTube-style” storytelling. After watching several of their videos, I invited the KSHB team to present to the LMA Transformation Lab.
They described the approach as modern, authentic and transparent. The reporting is conversational. The edits move quickly. It feels less like a correspondent delivering a script and more like a friend explaining something important happening in town.
Ryan Takeo, KSHB’s executive reporter who leads the station’s MMJ team, described it as doing meaningful journalism in a modern way. Their goal, he said, is to give viewers something truly worth watching, recognizing that attention must be earned. They are intentionally meeting viewers where they are.
The first video I watched was created by Elyse Schoenig, covering skyrocketing health insurance costs for retired employees in Olathe, Kan. When I watched it, I immediately understood the appeal. Schoenig speaks directly to the viewer. The camera moves. The pacing is natural. The viewer hears facts, interviews with people affected and genuine concern. It feels authentic without feeling casual about the journalism.
Then I watched Charlie Keegan, another KSHB MMJ who is coaching reporters on this approach, explain changes coming to Kansas City’s Broadway Blvd. There’s a shot filmed through the steering wheel of his car, something you would never see in traditional local news storytelling. In another video, Keegan opens the story lying on the sidewalk in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. He said they hope this approach catches attention quickly enough to “stop the scroll” on social platforms.
These videos inform and engage at the same time. They deliver meaningful community information, but in a way that feels current. It’s clearly different from how most TV journalists are telling stories today, and I’ll admit: I like it.
According to Takeo and Keegan, they’ve never received a complaint from viewers about this storytelling style. What they have received are positive comments about the information in the stories.
What I find most interesting is how KSHB is thinking about where this style fits. Many newsrooms talk about adopting a different presentation when publishing on YouTube. In Kansas City, they think of their modern approach as “portable.”
The same stories air on broadcast TV, FAST streams and YouTube. They’re then scaled down for TikTok, Instagram and Reels. Jeff Mulligan, KSHB’s news director and station manager, told me he believes this modern style works across platforms. Like many viewers, he watches YouTube alongside Netflix and local television. The style isn’t foreign. It’s familiar.
That said, he’s clear this approach doesn’t work for every story. Nor should it.
Then there are practical realities. This type of editing requires more steps. In most newsrooms, time is scarce. Takeo shared that KSHB produces an average of 12 content packages a day. On most days, only one story uses this more modern editing and presentation style. Expanding it requires thoughtful planning up front and efficient editing workflows.
Whether this exact approach becomes the standard for local TV news will be determined over time. But what’s already clear is that how stories are told and where they’re consumed is changing. It’s increasingly difficult to attract younger viewers to the living room TV.
Perhaps this is part of the bridge to what comes next.
What I do know is KSHB and others like it are making attempts to modernize how they are informing their communities. From what I can see, those efforts are not about chasing YouTube. They are about connecting with viewers in a way that feels modern and relatable, not rigid or scripted, and from what I can see, it’s necessary and it’s working.
Source: tvnewscheck.com
