[neilk]

You're right about all of that. But people use different media to convey different things, and to reach different people, and engage different states of mind. Every advantage you list is also a disadvantage from another perspective. Video is not just text poured into a different container - even if it's just a video of a talking head!

For example, it's well-known that video engages empathy in ways that text does not. When you're documenting a kind of widespread tragedy, that could be essential.

So, are you sure the video didn't work on you? If someone had just posted a giant article would you have read it, or wanted to read more with the same interest? And even if that would have worked for you, a popular video like this can create a proven demand for journalists to write more stories and authors to write more books.