Posts tagged long form

Excerpt of Jeff Sonderman of Poynter article called “New iPad app aggregates only long-form journalism” The Longform iPad app aggregates editors’ picks of long-form journalism from Longform.org, as well as long stories from 25 sites known for such work, including The Atlantic, Slate, Mother Jones, and Esquire.   The essential role of an aggregator is to make choices for readers, usually about which topics, sources or issues are worth paying attention to. A new aggregation and reading app launching Wednesday for the iPad holds a different standard — length. For most sources, the cutoff is 2,000 words, Longform co-founder Max Linsky told me, though editors can exercise discretion to include a great 1,500-word story or cut out a 4,000-word item that doesn’t belong. you can check out the whole article at Poynter. I think it’s a great idea to highlight long form writing but the app is $4.99 and I wonder is the news companies are getting any of that.  ~Chao. 

Excerpt of Jeff Sonderman of Poynter article called “New iPad app aggregates only long-form journalism”

The Longform iPad app aggregates editors’ picks of long-form journalism from Longform.org, as well as long stories from 25 sites known for such work, including The Atlantic, Slate, Mother Jones, and Esquire.  

The essential role of an aggregator is to make choices for readers, usually about which topics, sources or issues are worth paying attention to. A new aggregation and reading app launching Wednesday for the iPad holds a different standard — length.

For most sources, the cutoff is 2,000 words, Longform co-founder Max Linsky told me, though editors can exercise discretion to include a great 1,500-word story or cut out a 4,000-word item that doesn’t belong.

you can check out the whole article at Poynter. I think it’s a great idea to highlight long form writing but the app is $4.99 and I wonder is the news companies are getting any of that.  ~Chao. 

poynter.org

Amazon and Long-form Journalism

Anecdotal evidence is trickling in that Amazon is turning into a legitimate outlet for long-form journalism.

For example, Marc Herman recently wrote about Libya for The Atlantic and then turned his additional reporting into a Kindle Single selling for $1.99. Current result: the title is in Kindle’s top 500 and Herman is on pace to recoup the costs of his Libya trip.

Over at GigaOm, Matthew Ingram writes:

As newspapers and even magazines have declined in both reach and financial health, there has been a lot of concern expressed about the future of journalism — particularly longer-form or what some call “investigative journalism.” This is arguably where the most value lies, especially when breaking news can easily be aggregated by outlets like The Huffington Post or distributed widely for nothing. But how does this kind of journalism pay for itself? Herman’s example is one potential answer to that question: it pays for itself when readers subsidize the writer directly for content that they appreciate.

Longreads: A Digital Renaissance for the Long-form?

Via the New York Times:

At the South by Southwest conference last year, a button featuring the acronym “tl;dr” seemed ubiquitous. “Too long, didn’t read” has become a rallying cry for a generation that likes it short and sweet, or else. And with those tiny smartphone screens, who can blame them?

But what happens to “tl;dr” in the Tablet Era? Sure, an iPad is great for reeling through short bursts of e-mail or Facebook updates, but its native splendors truly emerge on a longer haul. And, although the iPad and most other tablets are built on connectivity, there are vast reaches of time — in the subway, on the airplane, in the car — when the user is connected only to whatever is in the device.

A site called Longreads.com is looking to occupy those places in between.