I’m a fan of long-form journalism. Commissioned, edited and published by The Fence magazine. I enjoy reading it most of the time. However, such works sometimes tend to be decorative, dull and frankly too long. I would like to know what other editors and writers at other more influential publications feel, how they predict the future of long-form journalism in the British media landscape, and how this I wanted to know if there were too many sneak peeks on the American side, where the format is a gem. the country’s literary culture.
The Financial Times and the Guardian are two newspapers with long-read and representative platforms, and interestingly, they have two American editors close to their helms. Jonathan Scheinin is a former editor of The New Yorker who moved to London in 2014 and founded The New Yorker. He has revolutionized the Guardian Long Read and is now the paper’s head of special projects. Matt Berra, formerly of Time magazine, became editor of FT magazine two years ago.
Both highlight the major differences between the American and British markets. In Britain, sharp broadsheet newspapers compete fiercely for the same audience on a small island, while in the vast Americas, establishment newspapers represent each city, and the Los Angeles Times competes with the Boston Globe. We rarely exchange swords or topics. (before the digital era). Scheinin argues that the idea of feature writing is a different tradition in the United States, defined not by length but by the way the story is commissioned and reported.
Clearly, prominent practitioners of New Journalism, Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe, all made their names as magazine reporters, and publications such as Esquire and The Nation were among the top American newspapers. He responded to his strict stance. In the UK, on the other hand, the whole concept of writing features and long-form articles is a newspaper tradition.
The Fleet Street tradition may have led British editors to frequently commission soft profiles of celebrities and politicians, rather than publish riskier, more ambitious content. I have the impression that there is no such thing. The subject and scope are different.
Jonathan Beckman, editor of 1843 Magazine, said, “Britain is not temperamentally suited to long-form journalism…American articles tend to be more flashy and gothic.”
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It’s also practical. Samira Shackle, a regular reporter for the Guardian Long Read, told me: Transcription fees are paid at £180 plus VAT per hour. This is completely outrageous considering the courtroom was held for four to five hours a day and the trial lasted four weeks. ”
Most editors I spoke to acknowledged that the talent pool of long-form journalists in the UK is very small. The skill set is considerable. The ability to write clear prose, report diligently, and organize material (especially when lawyers are involved), as well as the harsh realities of the editorial process and the ever-present possibility of: You need the ability to deal with sexuality. Your work can skyrocket at any time, leaving months of hard work unrewarded.
Here, we will properly explain “money”, a theme that every writer loves. The reason so many people are attracted to American publications is because the fees are much higher. There are many stores that will pay you $1 or more per word. I hear The New York Times Magazine pays up to $2.75 per word. According to my unsolicited inquiries, there are six major publications of hers in the UK that charge upwards of 40p per word. The market leader at the top of the tree is Granta, with a new price of 85p per word.
But magazine fees may be just the beginning. The rich possibilities of podcast syndication and TV and film options beckon, which writer Simon Akam sees as increasing the number of journalists looking to commit fraud. . One person who does this very well is former Loaded staff writer Jeff Maisch. He counted 10 options on his article, including one for $1 million, which is certainly a lot for an 8,700-word feature. This is a bounty.
But Meish is an anomaly. Many freelance writers, even if they do, will only be capable of writing three or four major works a year. As is often the case, delays in publication mean delays in payment. As Samira Shackle says, while in the U.S., “you may have a contract that’s more like a book contract, where you get paid a portion of the fee when you deliver the first draft.”
Bella agrees. “Fees are generally too low. If only the independently wealthy could afford to write, we wouldn’t have a vibrant journalism scene.” Writers aren’t the only ones suffering. do not have. American publications are well-resourced and have teams of skilled senior editors to spot errors and question misplaced commas.
Returning to this side of the pond, it’s worth noting that many of the major current affairs magazines eschew length. It’s hard to find anything longer than 2,000 words in The Week or The Spectator, and features dominate, while The Times, Telegraph and Sunday Times all feature the Financial Times. It has yet to develop a peer platform that matches the ambitions of the paper and the Guardian.
Peter Geoghegan, editor-in-chief of Open Democracy, who writes great long-form articles for the London Review of Books and other outlets, told me he had no intention of publishing them in his own patch. Especially high quality ones are too expensive. ”
Some people who bet on quality online feature journalism, or “free” journalism, have lost out. Buzzfeed News’ Pulitzer Prize-winning team has disbanded. Vice’s vertical collapsed several years ago, and its parent company, once worth billions of dollars, is now in bankruptcy and set to be acquired by creditors. And Tortoise Media pivoted from long reading to podcasts after research showed that readers don’t stay with online articles until the end.
I’ve heard that some broadsheets have scrapped plans to expand into long-form journalism because they feared it would put them in the red. After a tough start to the millennium, many legacy publications are now profitable and making significant profits. Among those numbers is Private Eye, one of the country’s leading current affairs magazines in both circulation and influence, and noted for the density of its news coverage, with articles ranging from 300 to 400 words per page. It’s packed with 5-6 pieces.
Senior hack Adam McQueen, who has worked at i since 1997, believes that the problem of being read longer can be solved by changing the brand name. “In many cases, ‘Read Later’ might be a better title. Apples that people bought with their lunch with the intention of being nice are left on their desks, crumpled and eventually thrown away. Of course, there are some great examples of this genre, but for the most part, there are some great examples of this genre. If you can’t tell a story short, it probably isn’t a story.”
It’s interesting to see how long these magazine features are at this point. Amir Srinivasan’s latest London Review of Books essay on free speech on university campuses is 9,974 words, just under a third of the length of Animal Farm (Mrs. Dalloway wrote 63,422 words). (The Great Gatsby is 47,094 words).
Melissa Deans, features editor of the New Statesman, said of the long article: “It’s a way to reduce audience fatigue with important topics like immigration that people see every day in the news sections, such as in-depth coverage of Channel crossings.”Skillful reporting can help readers engage with the topic in other ways. You can be interested. ”
Matthew Whitehouse, editor of The Face, says that by publishing two full-length pieces in each quarterly magazine, “you can turn fashion magazines on and off, alternating them with glossy images.” I can do that,” he says.
Sophie Elmhirst, who had just published the definitive article on condoms, was a regular reporter for the Guardian Long Read and 1843, and is a writer of British long-form journalism, with an exciting mix of “whimsical combinations of subjects and points of view”. I feel that a new sensibility is developing. Perhaps it’s the unique tone and humor. ”
Trends come and go and tastes change. For most of the 19th century, major British periodicals such as Blackwood’s Magazine and the Edinburgh Review published long essays on poetry, philosophy, and other provocative subjects. And it was only 30 years before her that a young British editor named Tina Brown landed her top job at an American magazine. She once described William Shawn’s classic New Yorker story as “her 50,000-word essay on zinc.” Who knows what kind of alchemy and strange irony awaits.
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