diff --git a/image_utils.go b/image_utils.go
index f5c3fe3..0796179 100644
--- a/image_utils.go
+++ b/image_utils.go
@@ -733,11 +733,14 @@ func drawShapedBlockAt(
 func drawImageAt(img draw.Image, imageUrl string, startY int) int {
 	resp, err := http.Get(imageUrl)
 	if err != nil {
-		return startY
+		return -1
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
 	srcImg, _, err := image.Decode(resp.Body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return -1
+	}
 
 	// Resize the fetched image to fit the width of the destination image (img)
 	width := img.Bounds().Dx()
@@ -756,13 +759,16 @@ func drawVideoAt(img draw.Image, videoUrl string, startY int) int {
 	cmd.Stdout = nil
 	cmd.Stderr = nil
 	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
-		return startY
+		return -1
 	}
 	frame, _ := os.Open(tempImagePath)
 	defer os.Remove(tempImagePath)
 	defer frame.Close()
 
-	imgData, _, _ := image.Decode(frame)
+	imgData, _, err := image.Decode(frame)
+	if err != nil {
+		return -1
+	}
 
 	width := img.Bounds().Dx()
 	resizedFrame := resize.Resize(uint(width), 0, imgData, resize.Lanczos3)
diff --git a/render_image.go b/render_image.go
index 8c7459e..76b8b28 100644
--- a/render_image.go
+++ b/render_image.go
@@ -217,8 +217,15 @@ func drawParagraphs(paragraphs []string, fontSize int, width, height int) (image
 			if i == 0 {
 				yPos = 0
 			}
-			yPos = drawMediaAt(img, paragraph, yPos)
-			continue
+			next := drawMediaAt(img, paragraph, yPos)
+			if next != -1 {
+				yPos = next
+				// this means the media picture was successfully drawn
+				continue
+			}
+
+			// if we reach here that means we didn't draw anything, so proceed to
+			// draw the text
 		}
 
 		rawText := []rune(paragraph)