Best of Slow Journalism: Armstrong after the fall

David Zalubowski/AP/Press Association Images

Fast news media often have a short attention span. Some of the biggest events disappear from the radar overnight, as herds of reporters are deployed to the next ‘breaking’ story, the focus shifts and the agenda lurches on.

Here at DG Towers, we like to go back to events that mattered and give you the latest on stories that once dominated the headlines but are now all but forgotten.

Fortunately, we’re not alone in this. For this week’s slow read, we highly recommend John H. Richardson‘s brilliant ‘Lance Armstrong in Purgatory’, published in Esquire. This 8,000-word piece profiles the disgraced seven-time Tour de France winner nearly two years after being stripped of his titles for taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Richardson’s account is one of a man who cannot even participate in a local swim meet, who’s been disassociated by his own cancer foundation, and who really loves his ‘Lanceritas’ – special margaritas “with the ice crushed just so”.

The 30-minute read is printed in August’s Esquire magazine. You can read it online here.

Posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014 - Categories: From the team, Slow Journalism.