Alternatives to

I have recent posts with titles, links and excerpts on the home page of a site

<?php query_posts('showposts=3&cat=24');?>
      <?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
      <?php $text = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'text', true); ?>
            <h4 class="orange"><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h4>
            <?php content('20'); ?>
            <span class="meta"><?php the_date('j F Y'); ?> by
            <b><?php the_author(); ?></b></span>
        <?php endwhile; endif; ?>

And, while this is fine, I’ve noticed that it puts in a video if there is a video before the first 20 words of the post. And if there is an open italic or bold tag it fails to close it.

Is there a better way of doing this?