In India except for the weekend, there is hardly any long-form journalism or features on offer in mainstream newspapers. Most magazines (not including academic journals) are news oriented. The longest story in a magazine is 3,000-3,500 words in length. The biggest piece a newspaper carries is between 1,000 and 2,000 words. If a piece takes one full page, it is deemed to have been given too much importance. This, however, is not about the length of a piece. Anything that requires deep analysis, reportage and huge amounts of time and editing is generally not suffered easily.
It is in this impatient market that Delhi Press' The Caravan was launched in 2010. The monthly magazine carries at least three pieces of an average length of 7,000-14,000 words. These are very deeply researched, well-written and offer perspective. Surprisingly The Caravan has found readers in India. Editor Anant Nath claims that it gets an average of 600,000 page views a month online, though he refuses to share the print circulation of the Rs 55 title (its Wikipedia entry puts it at 40,000 copies).
It seems contradictory that in a world where the whole media ecosystem is gearing towards the consumption of quick, short bursts of content on the run, long form would find favour. There are no clear answers on this one, but here are some thoughts and anecdotes.
The Guardian is one of the few media brands globally to have done a good job with online. The paper started doing a larger proportion of faster, shorter pieces as reading shifted to iPads and mobile phones. But "there was a sense that digital had changed the metabolism of The Guardian and that it would be useful to counterbalance the fast-moving news with something slower and more immersive", says Jonathan Shainin, editor, Long Reads, at The Guardian. So last year it introduced long reads, thrice a week. It is not about "print versus digital. A long read should have a kind of autonomy - to be its own reason for existing", says Shainin, who was earlier with The Caravan and The New Yorker.
Long-form journalism "helps understand multiple layers of a story. By default fiction sells more than non-fiction on TV and in print because people want a good story well told with all the colour and drama", says Nath. And putting colour and drama in non-fiction writing, means "we have to give writers an important position. Otherwise a 10,000-word story cannot stand", he adds.
Wander across to other media. Millions of people pay for and then binge on shows such as Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. All 13 episodes in any single season of House of Cards are released in one go by its producer Netflix and subscribers like watching it in one go.
Long form may not be about print versus digital, but the audience reaction to long form - on TV or print - is. Long form has become synonymous with good quality. Binging on good shows or reading 5,000- to 10,000-word pieces is about reaching out for the best in an avalanche of information, news and entertainment. This is not about the media format, it is about a place the reader or viewer wants to be in - where he feels truly illuminated, informed or entertained.
There couldn't be a better sign for the health of the content business. As digital audiences grow, but revenues don't, legacy media will subsidise digital for at least five to 10 years in newspapers and television. For instance the lavishly mounted Game of Thrones is possible because of the $15 and more that HBO charges viewers in the US every month. Popular magazines such as Saras Salil and Sarita underwrite The Caravan's ability to work for two-four months on a single piece. So even if legacy formats lose, good story-telling and writing seem to be winning. In the long run that is a good place for any media business to be in.
Twitter: @vanitakohlik