As George Harrison once sang, it's “been a long, long, long time.†I'm talking about 2012, when many long, long, long stories appeared in The Times.
One reason for that is that The Times published a lot of great journalism over the past year. Hugely ambitious projects often take a lot of space to tell (though length certainly is not synonymous with greatness).
And while greatness is subjective â€" though one thinks of Wal-Mart's abuses, “Donna's Diner†and the wealth of the Chinese prime minister's family in that context â€" length is not.
So here are th e numbers:
In 2012, 33 articles of more than 4,000 words originated on the front page. (Six of those were in December.) That's up â€" a lot â€" from 16 the previous year; 21 in 2010; and 23 in 2009.
The longest of all of those that originated on the front page? Clyde Haberman's masterly obituary of The Times's publisher Arthur Ochs (Punch) Sulzberger clocked in at 7,725 words. (“Snow Fall: Avalanche at Tunnel Creek,†a separate section but all one article, was much longer still at 16,537, but did not technically begin on the front page, which is what we're measuring here.)
The Sports section joined in the long-form fun, too, with 15 stories that were more than 4,000 words â€" only one of which began on A1, the rest appearing in the Sports section. In 2011, by comparison, there were only five, and in 2010, there was one; in 2009, none at all.
Thanks to my excellent assistant Joseph Burgess, for his research on these numbers and his invaluable help throughout my first four months as public editor.
Times readers, I look forward to representing your interests in the new year. Thanks to all of you for your correspondence, your comments on my blogs and columns, and your passionate interest in The Times and its journalism.
