There’s something so magical to me about a platform where you can watch a 5-hour-long documentary on the show Victorious, a video of someone playing Papa Louie games, The Notebook, illegal uploads of Spongebob, a how-to video on retiling your shower and the news. YouTube really is the wild west of the internet… and maybe that’s why we all love it?

In a Pew Research study, a whopping 84% of U.S. adults reported using YouTube. That’s almost the same as the amount of people who drive in the U.S. (86%)

The same study also says YouTube is one of the only sites that a majority in all age groups use. That means YouTube is the most popular social media in every generation.

Youtube and the News

It comes as no surprise to anyone that interest in traditional news reporting is down. In 2025, only 51% of Americans said they had interest in the news. 10 years ago, that was 67%. 

Because of this, journalists need to meet the consumer where they are, and most of them are on YouTube. 

Video is the preferred way of consuming news for most Americans. Another Pew study found that 44% of adults in the U.S. like getting their news by watching it– versus the 37% who prefer reading and the 19% who like to listen to it.

That’s why even outlets that have historically focused more on print news or web articles, like Washington Post, New York Times and AP, have YouTube channels focused on video storytelling.

YouTube has the capability to host short-form and long-form video content– between their normal video and YouTube Shorts. They also have a livestreaming feature.

I think that streaming feature is where YouTube really shines for the purpose of news. Traditional broadcast channels have migrated to streaming platforms since people began getting rid of cable. The issue is, all these channels now have their own streaming app… and let’s be real, no one’s downloading all those. 

This all makes YouTube kind of a one-stop-shop for news. You can access any channel’s content, tune into live broadcasts and even get quick updates with Shorts. Plus– it’s better suited for user design than some of the news streaming apps I’ve seen.