The newsletter nobody else was writing.
About Told By
I've spent nearly a decade figuring out how to reach audiences where they actually are, with stories that actually matter. 200m video views later, and with a consultancy business that's had me training organisations around the world, I still think what I thought back in 2019 when I made my first ever TikTok: that most of the people who need to know this stuff across media, communications and campaigning still aren't hearing it.
Online conversation about vertical video is often dominated by legacy names, not the cut-through rising stars of today and tomorrow; we also hear too much about campaigns that trumpet-blow their own reach without ever showing you the numbers. That's not useful to me, and I don't think it's useful to you either.
Told By is where I put everything I actually know — and what I analyse and dig up myself.
Every week I scrutinise a real creator or organisation to piece apart what's working, what isn't, and why. I share best practice examples of high-performing vertical video right now, industry gossip when I have it, and opportunities worth knowing about if you work in this space.
Competitor awareness is one of the top insights my clients ask me for, and that's why I'm creating this online home for it. With every new paying subscriber, I broaden my scope to make sure that your field's established and up and coming creators are noticed, followed and analysed.
About Me
I'm Sophia Smith Galer, a journalist credited with pioneering vertical video reporting in the UK.
I began this work at the BBC World Service before moving to VICE News, by which point I was one of the only journalists in the UK to have built a TikTok following of over 100,000 people. Using the platform to newsgather and publish won me a score of scoops for both newsrooms as well as the British Journalism Award for Innovation of the Year, a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, and recognition in British Vogue as one of the UK's most influential women in 2022. My viral explainer videos built a community around my work, which enabled me to go independent in 2023.
I have since dedicated most of my time to my videos, my non-fiction work, and a consultancy to share my expertise. Today, I have a million followers across my platforms, and continue to innovate and use my own body of work as part of my insight-gathering to inform my clients.
Beyond my own output, I've taken on a number of advisory roles with organisations I believe in. I currently sit on the Future Insights Board at Mediahuis — a strategic advisory body that provides forward-looking recommendations to the Board of Directors and senior leadership on navigating the long-term challenges facing our industry. I've also held advisory roles at the Public Interest News Foundation, the National Gallery, Synthesia, and the Nature Commission on Quality Health Information for All.
I can't reveal all of them — but I'm very proud to have trained companies like BBC Media Action, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mediahuis, Google, L'Oreal and the UN's #TeamHalo project. My training has reached exiled journalists, doctors, research scientists, anti-disinformation researchers, a human rights lawyer and even a chef. I take on both groups and individuals, and on Skillshare my video training has been taken by over 4,000 creators.
All of this experience informs Told By and, if you grow to love the newsletter, you can get hold of my training too — subscribers get a 20% discount on my in-person workshops.
