Less is more doesn't always apply

By Tyler Hopson
Reporter Staff

Just about every print journalist wants more — words, that is.

Panelists at “Not in a New York Minute: The Changing Face of Long-Form Journalism” have the luxury of fleshing out a story to its fullest.

“The ambition of reporting cannot always be fit into short spaces,” said David Remnick, Pulitzer Prize winner and editor of The New Yorker.

Moderator Jessica DuLong asked if laziness, not necessity, makes the reporter believe she needs more space.

“Length has to be earned by the depth of its writing, by the drive of its narrative voice, by its wit,” Remnick said.

He noted that when long-form writing is done correctly, it can be a pleasure the reader doesn’t want to end.

“I’m reading Bill Clinton’s new book,” joked Remnick “and not once have I experienced this emotion.”

Harper’s editor Lewis Lapham said switching from newspaper to magazine writing in the 1960s made him realize how different the two forms are.

Lapham said newspaper writing tends to follow a formula. “With magazines, you have to try to be interesting,” he said.

Lapham earned big laughs from the audience with tales of heavy editing at the beginning of his magazine days.

“Often the first four pages would be gone,” Lapham said of his manuscripts.

Remnick said if reporters want to improve their skills they must think of themselves as writers, not tradespeople.

“Give yourself the permission to write in a way that is not in an ice cube tray formality,” he said.