"Short (a few hundred words) summaries or explainers about a major news event covered more in depth by somebody else. In its best form, we wrote short little decoders of a big story, and tried to link generously to the original source."
I think there's a place for this, if done well. My startup lets the community summarize popular stories with an emphasis on being short, unsensationalized and to the point. This means we sacrifice Google traffic but I prefer to consume most news like this and I know there are others who feel the same.
Of course, there are times you want a deep dive but that's when you go to Slate, NY Times and the like.
Edit: This is kind of similar to Open Salon but with a very narrow focus on the type of writing: summarized news in a dry, direct way with no puns or jokes. The stories should be as short as possible while giving the reader a good understanding of the topic.
I think there's a place for this, if done well. My startup lets the community summarize popular stories with an emphasis on being short, unsensationalized and to the point. This means we sacrifice Google traffic but I prefer to consume most news like this and I know there are others who feel the same.
Of course, there are times you want a deep dive but that's when you go to Slate, NY Times and the like.
If you're interested, it's http://skimthat.com
Edit: This is kind of similar to Open Salon but with a very narrow focus on the type of writing: summarized news in a dry, direct way with no puns or jokes. The stories should be as short as possible while giving the reader a good understanding of the topic.