By Dalton Barker
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| As newspapers have struggled, long-form journalism has found a home online. |
Job cuts that have swept the journalism industry have led to thinner newspapers and tightly stretched staffs with more responsibilities and less time to do them. It was only inevitable, then, that many papers would pare production of in-depth stories and instead require that reporters submit two, maybe three stories per day.
However, the Web is now driving a long-form journalism comeback, according to Forbes writer Lewis DVorkin. Tablets, smartphones and the ability to share via social media what you're reading are a few factors driving the upswing, according to the article. It mentions how the first two have given publishers and online-only publications more incentive to produce in-depth pieces because more people are itching for online content.
More good news: A revenue model seems to be developing around the craft.
Applications have desensitized readers into paying small incremental fees -- 99 cents or $1.99 perhaps -- for subscriptions or one-time article purchases. App-driven devices like iPads and mobile phones are conducive to lengthy pieces because they allow for viewing content wirelessly. People standing in line at lunch can read a few paragraphs and then tuck a story away for later.
Fueling and accommodating the upswing are services like Atavist, Longreads and Matter. Many are using micropayments to give people platforms to publish, distribute and sell their written products.
Journalism.co.uk writer Rachel McAthy mentions those services in her rundown of "some of the latest journalism and non-fiction platforms with long-form narrative at their core."
How often do you read long-form journalism? Let us know in the comments.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user NS Newsflash
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