Long-form journalism

Long-form journalism is a branch of journalism dedicated to longer articles with larger amounts of content.[1] Typically this will be between 1,000 and 20,000 words. Long-form articles often take the form of creative nonfiction or narrative journalism.

"Long reads" redirects here. For the Longreads service, see Automattic.

History

Middle Ages

Main article: Tract (literature)

The distribution of tracts pre-dates the development of the printing press, with the term being applied by scholars to religious and political works at least as early as the 13th century. They were used to disseminate the teachings of John Wycliffe in the 14th century. As a political tool, tracts proliferated throughout Europe during the 17th century. They were printed as persuasive religious material from the time of Gutenberg's invention.

Renaissance

Main article: Treatise

A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject. Some noteworthy Treatises include The Prince, The Wealth of Nations, A Treatise of Human Nature and Two Treatises of Government.

Early modern Europe

Main article: Pamphlet

Further information: Chapbook

Beginning with propaganda during the Reformation, the rise of the printing press and literacy led to pamphleteering enjoying its heyday from the 17th Century to the 19th Century. Books were considered expensive and tracts did not necessarily address contemporary issues so pamphlets were widely produced and circulated. UNESCO defined a pamphlet as " a non-periodical printed publication of at least 5 but not more than 48 pages, exclusive of the cover pages, published in a particular country and made available to the public" and a book as "a non-periodical printed publication of at least 49 pages, exclusive of the cover pages". A notable pamphlet is Common Sense.

20th century

Main article: Essay

Literary and cultural commentary publications such as Reader's Digest, The Atlantic and Harper's Bazaar pioneered long-form journalism in the new medium of magazines.

21st century

Long-form journalism has grown in popularity over the past several years,[2][3] with blogs and media organizations including Medium, BuzzFeed[4] and The New York Times[5] creating or expanding long-form coverage and new companies such as The Atavist, Longreads.com and Longform.org being founded to capitalize on the new interest.[6]

See also

• Treatise
• Tract

References

1. Tenore, Mallary Jean (3 December 2012). "Longform journalism morphs in print as it finds a new home online". Poynter. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
2. "The Longform Journalism Renaissance". Good. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
3. Carr, David (27 March 2011). "Long-Form Journalism Finds a Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
4. Alexander C., Kaufman (4 January 2013). "How BuzzFeed Is Betting on Hollywood, Long-Form Writing to Grow". The Wrap. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
5. Sulliven, Margaret. "It Was a Big Year for Long-Form Journalism at The Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
6. Zhang, Mona. "Good Times for Long-Form Journalism?". 10,000 Words. MediaBistro. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

Further reading

• Bennet, James (12 December 2013). "Against 'Long-Form Journalism'". The Atlantic. Washington, DC. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
• Nazaryan, Alexander (15 September 2014). "Serious Reporting Thriving on the Internet, Despite Predictions". Newsweek. New York. Retrieved 19 December 2014.