Module III·Article II·~1 min read
Journalism and Narrative Ethics
Narrative and Media
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Fact Through Narrative
Journalism is a narrative activity. Facts do not speak for themselves: they need to be selected, organized, titled, placed in context. These are narrative decisions. The same set of facts can be presented as a story of success, tragedy, or scandal.
"New Journalism" of the 1960s-70s (Tom Wolfe, Hunter Thompson, Joan Didion): journalists deliberately applied narrative techniques of the novel—scenes, dialogues, point of view—to reporting. The goal was to convey experience, not just facts. The risk was blurring the boundaries between reportage and fiction.
Narrative Responsibility
How do narrative decisions shape the perception of societal issues? If mass shootings are covered through the story of a single victim instead of statistics—is that more humane or more manipulative? Research shows: individualized narratives are more persuasive than statistics ("identifiable victim effect"). This is used by charitable organizations—and propagandists.
Question for reflection: How does the "identifiable victim effect" work in corporate communications? When is it ethical, and when is it manipulation?
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