Gen Z doesn’t just consume news—they seek it out. Whether on Google, TikTok, or YouTube, they ask questions and expect quick, clear answers. In an interview with Yoof News, Jemima Walker, Deputy Head of News at The News Movement (TNM), tells us how the company has built its success by tapping into this behaviour and using search data to shape its storytelling, rather than simply delivering headlines. By turning search data into engaging storytelling and rejecting the traditional top-down approach, The News Movement has successfully carved out a space as a peer-to-peer trusted news source for the 18-30 demographic, relevant, digestible, and impossible to scroll past.
News that starts with a Question
Rather than assuming its audience has prior knowledge, The News Movement builds its coverage around what people are actively searching for. Instead, it builds its reporting around what its audience is searching for. ‘One of the hardest things in any newsroom is deciding what not to cover,’ said Jemima Walker, The News Movement’s Deputy Head of News, and one of the media’s early team members.
‘For us, it's really a combination of what people are talking about in our morning meetings and what data is telling us the people are searching for.’
Google Trends plays a significant role in shaping their content. When discussing the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East, Walker and her team turned to search data. ‘We saw that some of the top Googled questions were literally, 'What is Hezbollah?' and 'Does Hezbollah run Lebanon?' That immediately answered our question about what kind of content would be most useful.'
This insight-led approach drives TNM Explains, a fast-paced video format that presents information concisely in under a minute. ‘They always start with a question, generally one that people are already Googling. So, we know there’s a demand for that content,’ Walker noted. The videos are structured for maximum engagement, with one word at-a-time flashing on the screen and a rapid cadence to hold viewers' attention.
Optimising for Discovery
The News Movement always ensures its content is discoverable where Gen Z actually seeks news: TikTok and YouTube. ‘For our audience, TikTok is increasingly functioning as a search engine, much like Google is for older generations,’ Walker explained. ‘So SEO isn’t just for written articles; it’s embedded into our video strategy too.’
By optimising titles, captions, and hashtags to reflect trending queries, TNM ensures its reporting remains highly visible on algorithm-driven platforms.
The Power of Peer-to-Peer Storytelling
Beyond search-driven content, TNM’s success also stems from how it delivers the news. ‘We always take an 'episode one, chapter one' approach—never assuming prior knowledge,’ Walker said. ‘Because our journalists look and sound like our audience, it doesn’t feel like a teacher-student dynamic. It’s peer-to-peer storytelling.’
This relatability factor helps counter news avoidance, a growing issue among younger audiences. ‘People turn away from the news because it makes them feel overwhelmed or stupid,’ Walker noted. ‘That’s the worst thing news can do. We want our audience to feel informed, not defeated.’
What about the formats?
The News Movement’s content across platforms consists of several formats, with an emphasis on short form: either fast-paced videos or ‘Quick Guides’ on news items, formats designed for quick consumption. On Instagram for instance their colour-coordinated verticals help users quickly navigate between topics like lifestyle, arts and entertainment, and hard news: ‘We do have ways of signalling to people what kind of story they're going to get,’ Jemima Walker says.
Yet, Walker sees long-form videos, dubbed ‘Big Stories’, as the most exciting format.
‘They really give you a chance to dive into a subject, and really explore a phenomenon,’ she explains. However, with documentaries running between 10 and 20 minutes, she acknowledges the challenge of holding the attention of an audience accustomed to bite-sized content, echoing insights from Yoof News’ interview with Phil Edwards. ‘In the grand scheme of things, when you think of how people use the internet, that is actually quite a lot of time to demand from someone.’
Because of this, long-form pieces must be ‘hard-hitting showcase pieces’ that truly justify their length. And the effort pays off—some YouTube videos have reached 50,000 to 100,000 views, including for instance Eden Golan: How Israel and the war in Gaza tore Eurovision 2024 apart.
So what?
By treating news as a service rather than an institution, The News Movement has positioned itself as an essential source for younger audiences who engage less with traditional outlets. ‘Our goal is to meet our audience where they are, answer the questions they’re already asking, and leave them feeling more informed about the world they live in,’ Walker concluded.
In an era where Gen Z consumes news on their own terms, TNM’s approach offers a glimpse into the future of digital journalism—one where curiosity, searchability, and accessibility drive success.