Better Late than Never: Slow Journalism Is Breaking News
In the media world, big and fast get noticed. And the bigger and faster -- or at least the claims to be so -- often get the most notices.
But a little noticed news announcement at the end of last month deserves a little more attention.
The international editor of Time Out in the UK (Marcus Webb, along with Rob Orchard) has launched a new magazine dedicated to “slow journalism” called Delayed Gratification. Consider this a delayed post on the news.
According to published reports and the company’s website, slow journalism measures news in months, not minutes, “returning to the stories after the dust settles.” Each issue of the quarterly will distill three months of the UK’s political, cultural, scientific and sporting life into a witty magazine of record.
The concept clearly appeals to those dear readers who are overwhelmed (or probably more likely underwhelmed) by news blasts, screaming headlines and broadcasts, tweets and alerts. And the concept seems to take long-form journalism one step further by looking at news stories months after they first made headlines. As the magazine claims, the “last to breaking news.”
There are no apparent plans to bring the idea to the U.S., which must keep some who are experiencing their 15 minutes now a little happier that they won’t witness their story NOT in print three months later. To wit: Remember Slater from Jet Blue? 