Is there a future for slow journalism?

Abstract

Speed has always been a central part of journalism, and for good reason: people want to be informed about events and threats as soon as possible. Immediacy is seen as one of the key values in journalism's culture. Over the past decade technological and commercial forces have strengthened the speed game. At the same time professional journalism has lost its monopoly on news production; news has become abundant and the value of news diminished along with the attention of the public for news, especially among the younger part of the population. It is hard to tell whether the future of journalism lies in speed strategies like “digital first”, in Slow Journalism, or in both. A decisive question is: will the upcoming digital generation be interested in Slow Journalism? Our research among Dutch users in the age range of 15–39 years (N = 2642) showed that—indeed—an overwhelming majority finds that news should be available anytime, anywhere, and for free. However, we also found that a considerable proportion of younger users want journalism to be more investigative, inclusive, co-operative and constructive. These features can serve as substantive building blocks for the emerging concept of Slow Journalism.