Narrative journalism

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Narrative journalism is the interpretation of a story and the way in which the journalist portrays it, be it fictional or non-fictional.

Narrative journalism is also commonly referred to as literary journalism, which is defined as creative nonfiction that, if well written, contains accurate and well-researched information and also holds the interest of the reader. It is also related to immersion journalism, a term used to describe a situation when a writer follows a subject or theme for a long period of time (weeks or months) and details an individual's experiences from a deeply personal perspective.

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[edit] Narrative journalism basics

In 2003, The Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, hosted a virtual round table about the craft to see what writers, editors and readers considered to be the key definition of narrative journalism.

Chip Scanlan, a senior faculty member at Poynter, offers this definition of narrative journalism: "A story that features characters rather than sources; communicates experience through the five senses and a few others: a sense of people, sense of place, sense of time, and, most important, a sense of drama; has a beginning that grabs a reader's attention; a middle that keeps the reader engaged, and an ending that lingers in the reader's mind like the reverberations of a gong."

Other contributors to Poynter's round table discussion, entitled What is Narrative Anyway? also offered the following elaborations on the subject:

"Narrative" means any technique that produces the visceral desire in a reader to want to know what happened next. - Bob Baker, Los Angeles Times

"Narrative: story with heart, honest and true." — Mary Lou Nolan, The Kansas City Star

"Narrative is writing rather than just reporting. A reporter gathers information and regurgitates it — sometimes projectile-vomits it — into the computer. A writer arranges the information in a way that draws pictures, evokes tears, holds the reader's attention. A good writer does this without emotional manipulation and forced phrasing, but like telling a story over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table." - Suzy Fleming, Florida Today

[edit] History

Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is a historic example of narrative journalism in novel form. Published in 1965, the book was the first "nonfiction novel" and helped show journalists the possibility of using creative writing techniques while holding to the guidelines of journalism.

Though Capote claims to have invented this new form of journalism, the origin of a movement of creative writing in journalism is often thought to have occurred much earlier. Characteristics of narrative journalism can be found in Daniel Defoe's writing in the 1700s, as well as writings of Mark Twain in the 19th century and James Agee, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck in the World War II period.

Capote's contemporary Tom Wolfe also wrote The New Journalism in 1974 and is credited for popularizing discussion on the appropriateness of narrative in journalism. He sites Gay Talese with being the "father" of new journalism, and exemplifies the foundations of narrative journalism in his compilation "The Gay Talese Reader".

Today, many nonfiction novels use narrative journalism to tell their stories. Print publications such as Harper's, The New Yorker, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and The Village Voice are also welcome homes to narrative journalists.

Mainstream newspaper publications are still wary of supporting narrative journalism too much due to time and space constraints, and will often print the occasional narrative in a Sunday features or supplemental magazine.

The definitions of narrative journalism are many and varied. Some prefer to refer to literary journalism, or creative non-fiction. Simply put, narrative is the way in which a story is constructed through a particular point of view and arrangement of events. The Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism, launched in 2001, aims to provide a centre for the teaching, learning and practice of narrative journalism. The Nieman Foundation defines narrative journalism as more than simply telling stories: it is a complex genre with multiple layers and contexts that, when done well, has the capacity to reform newspapers and make them essential and compelling. Broadly, some critical elements of narrative journalism include the following:


• It contains accurate, well-researched information, and is also interesting to read.

• It looks at intriguing people, human emotions, and real situations. It provides the private story behind the public story.

• It reaches past the ordinary by blending the reportage of facts with the writing style of fiction.

Mark Kramer, director of the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism, says it is “journalism that doesn’t assume the reader is a robot, that acknowledges the reader knows lots and feels and snickers and gets wild.” Kramer stresses the importance of voice. Readers have their coffee with the newspaper in the morning, he says. They want to understand and even identify with the news voice; but regular news reporting is anonymous and restrained, leaving the reader feeling lonely. When you have an audience made up of so many disparate sorts of people it seems noble to appeal to the lowest common denominator and just talk about the facts. But what happens is depersonalisation of the news voice – narrative journalism aims to put the human voice back at the breakfast table. Kramer defines narrative journalism as writing that contains the following elements:


1. Set scenes;

2. Characters;

3. Action that unfolds over time;

4. Voice that has personality;

5. A relationship with the audience; and

6. Destination – a theme, a purpose, and a reason.

[edit] Online narrative journalism

One of the earliest and most high profile examples of effective usage of narrative journalism online can be found in the Philadelphia Inquirer's nonfiction serial "Black Hawk Down". The 1997 online newspaper series chronicled the dramatic American raid of Mogadishu and based their stories on interviews with the soldiers who fought in the battle. The story became part illustrated book, part documentary and part radio program and allowed readers to explore the story in depth.

With the availability of free publishing online today, narrative journalism has become a popular form used by writers eager to give their personal perspectives on noteworthy events and public issues.

Salon and Slate are two of the most popular forums for narrative journalism. Other sites devoted to this craft include Creative Nonfiction and Atlantic Unbound, and with the increasing popularity of citizen journalism there exists potential for more to explore on the scene to cater to a variety of niches.

Six Billion, founded in 2003, is an online magazine of narrative journalism that attempts to tackle an issue from 360 degrees. Each issue (themed by one topic such as "Battleground States" or "Veterans of Foreign Wars") features stories told in text, film/video, photography, sound, illustration, and interactive media.

[edit] Issues with narrative journalism

"A narrative does not depart from the cardinal rule: Make nothing up or you'll be out of here and working at the Sunglass Hut so fast it'll make your head spin around. A narrative is a journalistic form that has fallen into considerable disfavor in the wake of our craft's ceaseless, self-flagellating credibility crisis" — Patrick Beach, Austin American-Statesman

Since so much of narrative journalism is based on a writer reconstructing his or her experiences, many professionals in the news industry find themselves wary of using this technique because it is often harder to verify facts within the story. In a post-Jayson Blair era, those concerned with the ethics of honest reporting and writing are cautious of journalistic storytelling that may be manipulating facts to make the reader more emotionally invested.

Also, Narrative journalism has not yet found a definite home in the newsroom due to the nature of news reporting. Long-form writing is something that most journalists are not trained for, and incredible hard-news beat reporters are not necessarily great storytellers.

[edit] References and External links

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