A Broadcast Editor's Checklist for Vertical News Clips
News moves fast and vertical versions are now part of the delivery. A practical checklist for turning a broadcast package into a clean 9:16 clip.
In many newsrooms the vertical version of a story is no longer an afterthought. The same package that airs in 16:9 is expected on social within minutes, cut for a phone. Speed matters, but so do accuracy and clarity. This checklist covers what to look at before a vertical news clip goes out.
Before you reframe
Choose the shortest version of the story. A two-minute package rarely works as a two-minute vertical clip. Find the strongest 30 to 60 seconds: the key fact, the best soundbite, the defining image.
Note the burned-in graphics. Lower thirds, tickers and logos placed for a 16:9 screen will be cut off or split. Plan to rebuild names and titles as vertical-friendly text.
While you reframe
Keep the speaker's face whole. In interviews and pieces to camera, the face is the story. Never let the crop cut through it.
Follow the news, not the movement. In b-roll of a crowd, a fire or a press conference, the most visually busy area is not always the newsworthy one. Frame what the script is talking about.
Watch for split context. A wide shot that shows two sides of a protest, or a speaker and the audience, can change meaning when only one side is visible. If the vertical crop alters what the image says, use a different shot.
Hold on maps and documents. When an image needs to be read, keep the frame still and give the viewer time.
Before you publish
Check every name and title. Rebuilt text is new text, and new text needs checking.
Add captions. Many viewers watch without sound. Burned-in or platform captions are essential.
Watch it once on a phone. Look for covered faces, unreadable text and graphics hidden behind the app interface.
Working inside your editor
For editors who cut in Adobe Premiere Pro, Cropper for Premiere Pro brings gesture-driven reframing into the same environment as the broadcast edit, so the vertical version can be prepared without leaving the timeline.