Last night, ProPublica and the New School sponsored a public conversation on “Long-Form Storytelling in a Short-Attention-Span World.” The event featured This American Life’s Ira Glass, The New Yorker’s David Remnick, Frontline’s Raney Aronson-Rath, ProPublica’s Stephen Engelberg and was moderated by Need to Know’s Alison Stewart.
Below is a video of the entire discussion. The group covered topics such as what makes a long story good, the best traits for narrative writers, the costs of doing long-form, and how much of what they commission actually gets aired or published. And, out of habit, Ira Glass chimed in with questions of his own!
The free event filled up every seat in Tishman Auditorium and most of the seats in the overflow room. Thousands more watched a live video stream online and the panelists answered questions posed by people in the room and online.
We hope you’ll take some time to watch. We’re already plotting our next big event!