Narrative journalism

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Narrative Journalism, also referred to as literary journalism, is defined as creative nonfiction that contains accurate, well-researched information. It is related to immersion journalism, where 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.

Contents

History

One of the first "non-fiction" novels of investigative journalism was Operación Masacre, completed in 1957 by the Argentinean Rodolfo Walsh. Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1966) was one of the first English-language examples of the genre, and it has since been established as a historic example of narrative journalism in novel form. Capote demonstrated to writers the possibility of using creative techniques while retaining the guidelines of journalism.

Though Capote claims to have invented this new form of journalism (i.e., "New Journalism"), the origins of literary journalism can be traced much earlier. Characteristics of narrative journalism can be found in Daniel Defoe's writing in the 18th century, as well as in writings of Mark Twain in the 19th century and James Agee, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck in the early to mid-20th century. For example, Jack London's investigative reporting on poverty in The People of the Abyss (1903) is often seen as an early example of narrative journalism, as London—disguised as a tramp—is both an active participant in and the author of the narrative. [1]

Capote's contemporary Tom Wolfe wrote The New Journalism in 1974 and is credited with popularizing discussion on the appropriateness of narrative in journalism. He cites Gay Talese as the "father" of New Journalism in "The Gay Talese Reader," arguing that Talese exemplifies the foundations of narrative journalism.

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.

Many mainstream newspaper publications are still wary of supporting narrative journalism due to time and space constraints, though some will print an occasional narrative in Sunday features or a supplemental magazine.

Definitions of Narrative Journalism

The definitions of narrative journalism vary. Some prefer to refer to the genre as "literary journalism" to emphasize the use of literary devices or techniques, while others use the broad term "creative non-fiction" to distinguish the genre from "hard" journalism. 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 center 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 speaking, some critical elements of narrative journalism include the following:

Mark Kramer, former 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.” [2] 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 depersonalization 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.

Online narrative journalism

One high-profile example of the effective use of narrative journalism online can be found in the Philadelphia Inquirer 's nonfiction serial "Black Hawk Down". The 1997 online newspaper series chronicled the 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, was an online magazine of narrative journalism that attempted to tackle an issue from several perspectives. Each issue (themed by one topic such as "Battleground States" or "Veterans of Foreign Wars") featured stories told in text, film/video, photography, sound, illustration, and interactive media.

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 because of the nature of news reporting. Long-form journalism is something that most journalists are not trained for, and incredible hard-news beat reporters are not necessarily great storytellers.[ citation needed ]

Narrative journalism cannot be practiced in every setting.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to have been first used in 1970 to describe an article about the Kentucky Derby by Hunter S. Thompson, who popularized the style. It is an energetic first-person participatory writing style in which the author is a protagonist, and it draws its power from a combination of social critique and self-satire. It has since been applied to other subjective artistic endeavors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-fiction</span> Type of genre, true work

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creative nonfiction</span> Genre of writing

Creative nonfiction is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as academic or technical writing or journalism, which are also rooted in accurate fact though not written to entertain based on prose style. Many writers view creative nonfiction as overlapping with the essay.

New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form non-fiction. Using extensive imagery, reporters interpolate subjective language within facts whilst immersing themselves in the stories as they reported and wrote them. In traditional journalism, the journalist is "invisible"; facts are meant to be reported objectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay Talese</span> American writer (born 1932)

Gaetano "Gay" Talese is an American writer. As a journalist for The New York Times and Esquire magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, and Hunter S. Thompson, one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Talese's most famous articles are about Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra.

Faith McNulty was an American non-fiction author, probably best known for her 1980 literary journalism genre book The Burning Bed. She is also known for her authorship of wildlife pieces and books, including children's books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieman Foundation for Journalism</span> Journalism institution at Harvard University

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism is the primary journalism institution at Harvard University.

<i>The New Journalism</i> Book by Tom Wolfe

The New Journalism is a 1973 anthology of journalism edited by Tom Wolfe and E. W. Johnson. The book is both a manifesto for a new type of journalism by Wolfe, and a collection of examples of New Journalism by American writers, covering a variety of subjects from the frivolous to the deadly serious. The pieces are notable because they do not conform to the standard dispassionate and even-handed model of journalism. Rather they incorporate literary devices usually only found in fictional works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhetorical modes</span> Major types of writing and speaking

The rhetorical modes are a broad traditional classification of the major kinds of formal and academic writing by their rhetorical (persuasive) purpose: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation. First attempted by Samuel P. Newman in A Practical System of Rhetoric in 1827, the modes of discourse have long influenced US writing instruction and particularly the design of mass-market writing assessments, despite critiques of the explanatory power of these classifications for non-school writing.

A narrative hook is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that they will keep on reading. The "opening" may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, but ideally it is the opening sentence in the book.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Sinatra Has a Cold</span> 1966 biographical article in Esquire magazine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiction</span> Narrative with imaginary elements

Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose – often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.

The term "journalism genres" refers to various journalism styles, fields or separate genres, in writing accounts of events.

John Augustine McNulty (1895-1956) was an American journalist and writer. John McNulty is a major figure in the development of the genre of literary journalism.

In literature, mood is the atmosphere of the narrative. Mood is created by means of setting, attitude, and descriptions. Though atmosphere and setting are connected, they may be considered separately to a degree. Atmosphere is the aura of mood that surrounds the story. It is to fiction what the sensory level is to poetry or mise-en-scene is to cinema. Mood is established to affect the reader emotionally and psychologically and to provide a feeling for the narrative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Underwood (journalist)</span> American communications scholar

Douglas Mark Underwood is an American journalist and media studies scholar. He is a Professor of Communication at the University of Washington.

Mark William Kramer is an American journalist, author, professor, and editor.

References

  1. Ahearn, Marie (1976). "The People of the Abyss: Jack London as a New Journalist". Modern Fiction Studies. 22 (1): 73–83.
  2. Reagan, Max (December 6, 2016). "Conventions of Literary Journalism". Medium. Retrieved March 12, 2021.