Take five: how Sports Illustrated and L’Équipe redefine the long-form sports journalism genre

Abstract

The consolidation of the counter genre that is long-form sports journalism (LFSJ) is of growing interest to the sports media researcher. In order to trace its expansion across the sports journalism landscape, this article offers a comparative transatlantic case study featuring the entire collection of long-form stories developed by two prestigious publications: the American magazine Sports Illustrated (SI Longform) and the French sports daily L’Équipe (L’Équipe Explore). The study considers the slow journalism heritage of LFSJ and its challenge to established Web interface theology while exploring key issues such as the sports agenda, sourcing and the use of immersive multimedia formats, aimed at improving the sporting culture of its users. The article concludes by considering the pivotal role of LFSJ in the brand-building strategies of the media outlets themselves.