Washington Post's online only investigative reporting: too expensive for the paper

Posted by Emma Heald on June 22, 2009 at 9:58 AM

The Washington Post recently took the unusual step of publishing a long investigative reporting piece on a local homicide only on its website, rather than in the print paper. Even though many articles are published online first and then in print, it has become common practice to publish in-depth pieces which are not breaking news in the print paper first, and the Washington Post's move is somewhat of a break with tradition.

The 7,000 word article on the unsolved murder of Robert Wone appeared on the Post's website in two parts, on May 31 and June 1. It is, however, the "sort of long-form reporting that newspaper editors say still justifies print in the digital age," according to the New York Times. And unsurprisingly, keeping the article out of the print edition angered many readers who pay for the newspaper, with comments on the article questioned the move.

The New York Times reported that editors at the Post were not trying to take a stand in favour of online-only journalism, but said that the decision was made because the article was too long for the print paper at a time when financial pressures mean that the Post is trying to scale back newsprint costs.

Increasingly, newspaper websites feature articles that do not appear in print, simply because the website offers an almost infinite amount of space and potential to reporters. But although few would argue about the validity of not publishing a journalist's blog in the print product, is it fair to paying customers to leave out detailed, in-depth reporting? Many editors would argue not, and some take the opposite course. At the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, for example, investigative pieces are published in the print edition on Sundays and then posted online on Wednesdays, in order to give those readers who pay for the paper something extra for their money.

Is the Washington Post's move indicative of a greater trend: as papers find the costs of newsprint harder to meet, will more significant news appear only online? And crucially, how will such news be paid for on the web?

Source: New York Times