The Values of Magazine Writing

“Magazine journalism requires space: you simply cannot build a convincing and provocative argument in 500 words,"  according to Richard Just, editor of The New Republic magazine.  The Yale Daily News reports on a recent speech by Just in which he states "We, you and I, have to make an affirmative decision that magazine journalism has to live on, even after physical magazines no longer exist." According to the article by Ariel Katz, magazine writers have a value system that prizes uncertainty in the writing and checking of the facts in a piece which makes for "a stronger argument, a truer story," very different than the "smugness and stridency" of Internet journalism. Also valued is artistry in writing and a willingness to passionately pursue arguments and ideas. Read the full account here.

Niche Necessary

Freelance writer Yael Grauer on her blog Yael Writes, reports on a panel discussion  "The Future of the Magazine" in which participants described how they believed long-form journalism will work on various platforms.
According to Grauer, Utne Reader editor David Schimke "recommended new writers brand themselves as niche market writers [and] need to be blogging, tweeting, working with authors, speaking, putting video and podcasts on their website, promoting their won work and writing SEO-optimized copy."
For a report on what Schimke and other panelists had to say, see Grauer's blog entry. Here's also a link to the event which was held in early October in Minneapolis and promises to post video.

Byliner.com

Byliner.com claims to be both a publishing company and social networking site whose focus is original narratives of some length. As well as publishing original magazine-type pieces, the site also provides links to select pieces from such magazines as Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated and Granta. A current featured article by James Wolcott describes how, armed with a recommendation from Norman Mailer, the writer attempted to join the ranks of scribes for the Village Voice while navigating the gritty New York City streets of the early '70s.

Check out the site at Byliner.com

Kindle Singles

Virginia Heffernan in her swansong for the New York Times Sunday Magazine this week touts a new home for long form journalism--Kindle Singles.  Amazon is making longer narrative nonfiction pieces available on its Kindle eReader and platform for prices ranging from free--for a few teaser pieces--to $3, with many priced at an impulse price of 99 cents. Articles include titles such as "Beware Dangerism!" by Gever Tulley which argues for not being overly-protective of your kids and "Reboot-enanny" by Rebecca Huval which describes the modern Greenwich Village folk scene. Heffernan rhapsodizes: "with Kindle Singles, Amazon has gone white knight on us. In one fell swoop, it has figured out a way to shut out virtually every entity that mediates between journalists and readers: traditional publishers, printers, warehousers, advertisers and the World Wide Web." 
But Heffernan's piece is even more interesting for the parting swipe she takes at the Web. Part of the reason she welcomes the Kindle Singles program is because its not Web based.  "I never thought I’d back off the Web," she writes, "but I have. The once-glorious freedom of the Web was not free. Its price is a bone-deep commercialism that cannot yet be circumvented. For convenience, comprehensiveness and social life, I still visit, but now I see these visits as at least as risky and irritating as they are liberating and exhilarating."
By the way, you don't have to have a Kindle to access content in Amazon's Kindle library. You can download the Kindle app for free to iPhones, PCs, Macs and even iPads.

Long Form eArticles

Long form pieces may become the content of choice for eReaders if the Atavist has its way.  This ePublisher of long-form works is positioning them for use with the Kindle, iPad and other slabs.  At 12,000 words they may be longer than typical print mag pieces, but would fit nicely the magazine requirement that they could be read in one sitting.
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13ping.html
(Image: New York Times Photo Illustration)

Innovations in Magazines 2010

As you might guess from its title, the Innovations in Magazines 2010 World Report summarizes many new directions magazines took last year as they continued spreading among platforms.

The report, assembled by The Innovation International Media Consulting Group  for the Federation of the Periodical Press lists some of the following innovations:

• "Mobizines":  Magazine apps for cell phones
• Embedded video:  Insertion of an ultra-thin monitor and speaker directly into the pages of a magazine.
• Development of "interactive digital narratives...combining a fusion of text, photos, infographics, video and audio."