I just clicked on the homepage for Yahoo! mail. The lead story was “5 hot concept cars.” I’m in the car market, so I printed it out and stuck it on my refrigerator with a magnet.
The same cozy scenario plays out thousands of times every day. Walter Mossberg’s favorite PDA, recipes for 10 low-calorie blueberry desserts, how-to-pronounce-it phrases for your trip to Papua New Guinea — all exemplify “refrigerator journalism.”
They’re useful and, for some, exciting.
Google “refrigerator journalism” and you’ll get several hits for Don Ranly, a retired professor of journalism at the University of Missouri who invented the term for copy that was useful enough to be posted on the refrigerator. Sounds simple, but with today’s ten-minute news cycles, publications managers (and writers) have to work faster to produce consistently enticing content.
A few tips:
- Include phone numbers and Web addresses. In a story about voter registration, that means include contact information for a state’s Secretary of State.
- Give dates and times. If you want people to show up at a public hearing on a proposed zoning change, don’t skimp on contact details, down to the room number where the event will take place.
- Keep stories taut. Readers have short attention spans these days—especially during the workday. The “concept cars” story is 213 words.
- Cite resources unfamiliar to readers. We have learned, in working on publications dealing with aging, that many universities have aging institutes. Give the contact info. Readers’ minds will open up.
- Lists are fun. I still remember, from a Money magazine best-of list last year, that homely-sounding Middleton, Wis., ranks as the number one community to live in, at least in the United States.
That’s my advice for now. In the meantime, I’ll be heading out to the supermarket to buy ingredients for blueberry crumble no. 7.
2 Comments
There is a presumption here that shorter is better. Perhaps, but my experience as editor of a local B2B magazine is that a lot of readers appreciate an occasional long story. Our feature story is regularly 1500 to 2000 words, broken up with some subheadings.
I would argue that the length of a story is less critical than how well it’s written. Even so, I don’t presume that readers are going to consume a 2000-word story in one gulp. If it’s interesting enough, they might nibble at it in two or three readings. A reader’s grazing habits don’t require me to write a story that’s essentially a set of sidebars, anymore than putting a good meal in front of you requires that you eat all of it.
Why do we expect our information to be like fast food? Maybe refrigerator journalism is a good metaphor for what’s in our refrigerators, which is to say more like French fries and less like leafy greens.
I’d prefer a banquet of well-written copy from which I can choose what satisfies me. If you want to help me a bit with some bulleted lists and subheadings, that’s OK. Otherwise, I’m perfectly capable of skimming an article, thank you.
I am not saying that all articles should be long; I am saying that a variety is necessary, depending on number of factors.
Unfortunately, it is not about US editors or George. It’s about the reader. Their psychology in general, the time they have to read, the way they like to read.
Psychological research back to the 50s and more currently, talk about memory and learning better with chunks of information. Write your 5000-word feature, but divide it up into sidebars, graphs, figures, display quotes, summary blurbs, etc. Same amount of information packaged differently. Everyone wins.
Especially with B2B mags, it’s is about getting information quickly and clearly. Tell me quickly, what’s in it for me. How do I benefit? Otherwise, many, not all, will put your magazine down and might never get back to it. With layering and chunking of informaiton, at least all readers can gain by reading something quickly.
If you want one long narrative, read “think” pieces or a book of fiction, if you have time.