Kinsley: Newspaper articles are too long

Atlantic columnist Michael Kinsley sums up what he sees is wrong with newspaper writing in five words: “newspaper articles are too long.” Kinsley’s premise is that the newspapers’ style of writing leads to long opening sentences, too much exposition and writing that is more florid than conversational. It’s not that Kinsey opposes context, he just feels that context writing has become lazy and predictable: “…providing “context,” as it was known, has become an invitation to hype…. it’s the lowest form of hype—it’s horse-race hype—which actually diminishes a story rather than enhancing it.” The article gives several good examples of Kinsley’s point. The gist: write more conversationally, don’t rely on “he said – she said” quotes and keep things tight.