In a world of abbreviated communications and miniaturized technologies, the basic tools of journalistic writing also had to submit to a dictatorship of concise summaries.
I mean, to adapt to the conditions that force the use of short or concise texts that synthesize the most important elements of a news item, instead of accessories.
This fits for print and digital newspapers. In the case of the latter, the literal infinity of their spaces could be an exception to the rule, but contradictorily it is not.
Because its nature is to give a lot of news continuously, to keep readers minimally informed of the actuality of a fact.
Printed matter, on the other hand, does not have this advantage, because they are finite in their formats and their pages, but as the habit of fast reading has become widespread on digital platforms, they have had no choice but to adapt to these trends.
Now that the traditional model of the written press has entered into crisis, with drastic reductions in advertising that ensures the profitability of the business and the movement of readers to digital platforms, the screw is tightening us.
The news is now shorter in tabloid formats, not only because of the limitation of space and paging, but because today’s readers are under the influence of this dictatorship where summarizing any information is the aspect that reigns, except in the cases of reports, chronicles or in-depth content.
In the latter, the reader is not looking for news that may possibly reach him through other channels, such as radio, television or digital media, but the mass of basic and essential information that allows him to have a greater command and understanding of the facts.
- Translated from Spanish by Randy Rodriguez.
Director's Thoughts 