Trim a Broadcast Media Clip to Share Just the Relevant Portion

Broadcast media clips are pulled in automatically through the Critical Mention partnership as a full clip (up to 59 seconds) with audio and a complete transcript. Trimming lets you cut a clip down to just the portion relevant to your story before sharing it with stakeholders or including it in a report.

Prerequisites: Access to Listen is required to view and edit broadcast media clips.

Trim a clip

1. Navigate to News, and locate the Broadcast Media story you want to trip. To help find a specific story, you can filter to Broadcast Media as your Source or use the keyword search. 

2. Select the broadcast media clip. The full clip (up to 59 seconds) loads automatically with its audio and complete transcript text.

3. Select the three-dot menu on the clip, then choose Edit and trim clip.

4. Use the navigation bar on the left side of the trim tool to select the portion of the clip you want to keep, or make your selection directly on the clip by dragging the green (start) and red (end) handles below the video to set your clip.

5. Click Archive, then read and accept the terms of use. 

6. Enter a name for the trimmed clip, such as "Updated clip." Naming the clip is optional and will only be visible when viewing the history of trimmed clips in Zencity. Select Archive.  

7. A clip URL is generated — copy the Direct Link. Close the panel, paste the link back in your dashboard, and hit Save. 

Once saved, the clip reflects the trimmed duration everywhere it's used — including in PDF and email reports. For example, a 59-second clip trimmed down to 30 seconds will show only the 30-second version  when shared or added to a report.

Pro tip: The full transcript stays searchable even after a clip is trimmed. Trimming only shortens the clip's playback length — it doesn't remove any content from the transcript record, so searching for a term from a trimmed-out portion will still surface the clip.

Revert to the original clip

You can go back to a trimmed clip and restore the original at any time.

1. Select the clip.
2. Choose Edit and trim clip again.
3. Click Load to see all saved versions of the clip, including any trimmed versions you've created (e.g., "Updated clip").
4. Delete the trimmed clip to revert back to the original.

After deleting, click Cancel and refresh the page to confirm the clip has reverted to its original length.