Reader Profiles: Longform.org
“Longform" is one of those mis- and overused words that is in danger of losing all meaning. The main complaint is that the term makes a virtue of length for the sake of length. We talked to Aaron Lammer, founder of longform.org, who has been collecting and publishing the best, curated collection of in-depth reporting, feature writing and essays since 2012. Though dark clouds hang over the journalism industry, he’s pretty happy about his site as well as the state of the craft of journalism.
Longform journalism is as good as it’s ever been
Maybe the coolest thing about the site is that is doesn’t just publish the best stuff of the current moment, but also reprints articles from decades past, mostly work that pre-dates the internet and isn't terribly easy to find. “(Longform journalism) is as good as it has ever been,” Lammer says. ”It is never going to dominate the Facebook algorithm, but we provide an alternate place to find stuff to read.”
Podcasting is the new longform
The site has also launched a podcast series with authors about how a non-fiction writer does their job in 2017. Lammer sees the podcast as a supplement, not a replacement for reading good writing. "I hope that they deepen readers' relationship with the work and provide free training to future generations of reporters,” he says.
Sex sells think pieces, too
The term longform may imply ponderous and overly serious treatment of a subject, but Lammer says that sensational and titillating subjects tend to get the readers’ attention. It turns out that, just like on social media, people share serious articles, but they actually, “read stories about sex and crime at the highest rates.”
He was longform before it was cool
Lammers admits the name longform has a lot of baggage, but says he ignores the haters. “We're flattered that people are annoyed at the over-saturation of the word Longform,” he says. “The word "article" is probably sufficient but I'm not going to argue for or against the way language evolves online. We'll just keep doing what we're doing.”
What does Aaron read?
Lammer recommends following the New York Times an Kyle Chayka’s writing about design.
SUBSCRIBE TO LONGFORM.ORG
