Long-form Reading Shows Signs of Life in Our Mobile News World

• Published in: Policy File 2016
• Main Authors: Mitchell, Amy, Stocking, Galen, Matsa, Katerina Eva
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Information technology; Media coverage; Pew Research Center; Social conditions & trends

In recent years, the news media have followed their audience's lead and gone mobile, working to make their reporting accessible to the roughly seven-in-ten American adults who own a smartphone. With both a smaller screen size and an audience more apt to be dipping in and out of news, many question what kind of news content will prevail. One particular area of uncertainty has been the fate of long, in-depth news reports that have been a staple of the mainstream print media in its previous forms. These articles - enabled by the substantial space allotted them - allow consumers to engage with complex subjects in more detail and allow journalists to bring in more sources, consider more points of view, add historical context and cover events too complex to tell in limited words. In a news environment so dramatically different from past forms, the question is worth exploring: Will people engage with lengthy news content on their phones? This study of online reader behavior addresses this question from the angle of time spent with long- versus short-form news. It suggests the answer is yes: When it comes to the relative time consumers spend with this content, long-form journalism does have a place in today's mobile-centric society. This gap between short- and long-form content in engaged time remains consistent across time of day and the pathway taken to get to the news story. However, when looking solely within either short- or long-form content, engaged time varies significantly depending on how the reader got to the article, whether it is midday or evening, and even what topic the article covers, according to the study.