that reflects the way we really are and shapes the world we want to live in”. Delayed Gratification, the world’s first slow journalism publication, which was launched in the UK in January 2011, says it “revisits the news after the dust has settled to give the final analysis on the stories that matter”. Aeon, a not-for-profit publication, promises “no ads, no paywall, no clickbait – just thought-provoking ideas from the world’s leading thinkers, free to all”. In Europe, the Dutch Correspondent boasts “ad-free journalism that helps you understand the world better” and the Finnish Long Play says it wants to “publish the best possible journalism” to “increase the readers’ understanding of the world”. Inspiration for the approach comes in part from the Slow
Detail and research are the hallmarks of ‘slow journalism’, says Rachel Broady
O
nline news can be overwhelming. You calmly log on to look for a story about the US shutdown and find yourself reading accusations of fake news, then you encounter listicles (articles in the form of lists) of celebrities who spoke out against Trump or
slideshows of Trump’s rallies. Then you realise you’re reading about the top 10 most popular presidents or an advertorial for trips to Washington, and you keep stumbling across the same stories in different publications … Trying to find news can feel like a high-speed chase. ‘Slow journalism’ is a global trend and involves more than
writing longer pieces – it is about challenging problems created by free online news. The internet is accelerating journalism, putting increasing demands on journalists to find content that is fast to produce and attention-grabbing, amid concerns about clickbait, churnalism and uncorroborated, repeated stories. Slow journalism emerged as a response to this. It does not mean getting to stories late but instead taking time to research and resisting the urge to be the first to break the news.
Publishers define and defend it in various ways. Tortoise, cofounded by former head of BBC News James Harding and due to be launched fully soon. It is intended to provide “news
16 | theJournalist
Food Movement, which educated consumers about where their food came from and how it was produced. Ultimately, by investing in journalism, demanding quality and accuracy above speed, and focusing on stories rather than chasing advertising or a desire to shape the news agenda, advocates of slow journalism believe it can create business models and tackle some problems faced by journalism, journalists and news consumers. In a book on slow journalism, Dr Megan Le Masurier. A former journalist and now a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, argues that news consumers need to know how the work is produced, if staff are paid fairly and whether the media organisation is environmentally responsible. She says: “The pressures on journalists to produce more and more quickly has accelerated in the digital 21st century. We have always had inaccuracy and a lack of fact checking but this is getting worse, especially with social media driving and competing with stories. Churnalism – stories driven by PR and spin and wire services – is rife. As is plagiarism. And now we have fake news; more than wrong information, fake news is deliberately inaccurate, designed to a particular ideological end. “I don’t believe journalism will slow down or stop being
driven by profit and thus competition. There is a possibility that, with education that people need to pay for their journalism – which they did until some dumb organisations started providing news for free online – forms of slow journalism could be supported financially and become more pervasive and popular.” Rob Orchard and Marcus Webb are the cofounders and
joint editors of Delayed Gratification, which is proving to be successful in terms of popularity and income. The company, based in London, was dreamt up after the pair had worked as travel writers for Time Out in Dubai. On returning to the UK in 2017, having had limited access to social media, they were amazed at its impact on the UK news cycle. Orchard says: “When we left for Dubai, you could read a paper in the morning, watch the news in the evening and consider yourself all caught up but, when we returned, it felt like news was breaking every hour or so and nobody was following in the wake, piecing together what it all meant.” Meanwhile, Tortoise shares the same concerns. Built on the ideas of ‘open journalism’ first discussed by Alan Rusbridger during his time as editor of The Guardian, its website argues: “We are overwhelmed by information. The problem isn’t just fake news or junk news, because there’s a lot that’s good – it’s just that there’s so much of it, and so much of it is the same.” Slow journalism, in wanting consumers to know where
news comes from and how it is produced, also aims to consider the working approaches and conditions of
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