Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Exactly why New York Times Publisher Arthur Sultzberger, Jr., fired the Times’ executive editor, Jill Abramson, probably won’t be known until after she’s dead. According to various sources, Abramson and the NYT negotiated a settlement that includes a non-disparagement agreement, which is biz jargon for “she got hush money, and both parties agreed to make nice and not sue.” Third parties, of course, remain free to speculate on the reasons for her demise, and some, possibly with axes to grind, are making the most of the opportunity. But after the squall blows itself out, Abramson’s departure from the times won’t have a discernible consequence on journalism.
But a change of policy at the Associated Press will have significant consequences. With a few exceptions, stories should be 300–500 words.
The news wire service said that readers “do not have the attention span for most long stories” and that too much valuable time is being wasted on cutting down such stories. Carovillano noted that AP’s readers and members have spoken and are “near-unanimous” in their desire for shorter content.
It’s more likely that editors, not readers, have the short attention spans. And even more likely, I think, that the AP wants reporters to churn out more stories in the same amount of time.
In a way, this is a retreat to an earlier era. When I was a journalism student, the local daily enforced an arbitrary 300-word policy. Reading the paper’s stories, one learned what happened, to whom it happened, and where and when it happened, but little about why and how it happened. It was better than a headline service, but not much better. The paper’s editor scorned in-depth reporting as an intellectually pretentious affectation practiced by snob reporters with college degrees.
That’s not an era to which anyone should want to return. The days of distributing news on dead trees are numbered. Within a decade, I expect that almost all news will be distributed on the internet, where the news hole is infinitely deep and stories, and accompanying graphics, can be as short or long as the subject matter requires. The AP’s shorter stories edict is short-sighted and short-changes readers.