5 ms·

The problem is that more recently, long-form journalism has become commoditized. I get the feeling that in the past, you wouldn't see long-form journalism unles

The problem is that more recently, long-form journalism has become commoditized. I get the feeling that in the past, you wouldn't see long-form journalism unless the writer could actually do it well. I love this piece of writing, but with modern long-form on the web, too often I've had this feeling that the "long form" is just turgid padding, and there isn't really the understanding of theme, or how the whole is really supposed to exceed the sum of its parts.

dclowd9901 11y ago
I notice modern long-form means, "Here's what happened to me when I met this person, in 1,200 words." Pieces like Frank Sinatra Has a Cold swathe you in the life of the subject, and the writer takes a back seat. You literally will not find the words "I" or "me" used in reference to the writer once in this article. Modern day long form are vanity pieces; little more than well-written diaries or blog posts. So I definitely know where you're coming from, but I think it's simply a lack of discipline of the writers to take themselves out of the story. It's part of the reason I can't stand the Serial series.
- azernik 11y ago
  I don't know that the insertion of the author is the problem - DFW was I think a master of the genre, and many of his pieces are completely self-absorbed.
- conistonwater 11y ago
  Sorry, I know it's kind of mean and doesn't really matter to your point, but I see three uses of "I" that reference the article's author: > I had seen something of this Sicilian side… > And as I watched this ritualistic scene, I got the impression that Frank Sinatra was… I didn't find any "me". In fact, Language Log had a number of posts on pronoun counts and how people easily get them wrong and how they don't mean much anyway (https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Alanguagelog.ldc.upenn.edu+pronoun+counts https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Alanguagelog.ldc.upenn....). It doesn't affect your point, of course, but the same point could be made just as well without counting pronouns.
- kbenson 11y ago
  Perhaps some stories are actually about the author as well. Serial, since you brought it up, always seemed to me to also be about Sarah Koenig's relationship to Adnan, how she feels about him and whether he's telling the truth, and her journey along the way. I really don't think "it's simply a lack of discipline of the writers to take themselves out of the story" is a fair representation of what the story is about. You might think it it would have been better presented a different way, but I don't think it's the way it is because they were sloppy, but because that's the type of story they wanted to tell.
DanielBMarkham 11y ago
Bingo. Used to be if you were going to give a writer a dozen pages, several very experienced people went through the piece with a fine-toothed comb. The writer was contracted because he was top of the pack. Used to be if you picked up an article in a mag like Playboy, you knew you were in for a ride. Now long-form journalism just means "long". The editorial staff is dead and the gatekeeping process has been destroyed. Now the only thing you know starting in on a long article is that it's going to take a while before you get to the end.

dclowd9901 11y ago

I notice modern long-form means, "Here's what happened to me when I met this person, in 1,200 words." Pieces like Frank Sinatra Has a Cold swathe you in the life of the subject, and the writer takes a back seat. You literally will not find the words "I" or "me" used in reference to the writer once in this article. Modern day long form are vanity pieces; little more than well-written diaries or blog posts. So I definitely know where you're coming from, but I think it's simply a lack of discipline of the writers to take themselves out of the story. It's part of the reason I can't stand the Serial series.

azernik 11y ago
I don't know that the insertion of the author is the problem - DFW was I think a master of the genre, and many of his pieces are completely self-absorbed.
conistonwater 11y ago
Sorry, I know it's kind of mean and doesn't really matter to your point, but I see three uses of "I" that reference the article's author: > I had seen something of this Sicilian side… > And as I watched this ritualistic scene, I got the impression that Frank Sinatra was… I didn't find any "me". In fact, Language Log had a number of posts on pronoun counts and how people easily get them wrong and how they don't mean much anyway (https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Alanguagelog.ldc.upenn.edu+pronoun+counts https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Alanguagelog.ldc.upenn....). It doesn't affect your point, of course, but the same point could be made just as well without counting pronouns.
kbenson 11y ago
Perhaps some stories are actually about the author as well. Serial, since you brought it up, always seemed to me to also be about Sarah Koenig's relationship to Adnan, how she feels about him and whether he's telling the truth, and her journey along the way. I really don't think "it's simply a lack of discipline of the writers to take themselves out of the story" is a fair representation of what the story is about. You might think it it would have been better presented a different way, but I don't think it's the way it is because they were sloppy, but because that's the type of story they wanted to tell.

DanielBMarkham 11y ago

Bingo. Used to be if you were going to give a writer a dozen pages, several very experienced people went through the piece with a fine-toothed comb. The writer was contracted because he was top of the pack. Used to be if you picked up an article in a mag like Playboy, you knew you were in for a ride. Now long-form journalism just means "long". The editorial staff is dead and the gatekeeping process has been destroyed. Now the only thing you know starting in on a long article is that it's going to take a while before you get to the end.