Restorative Narrative as Contextual Reporting: Model for Journalistic Sustainability in the Landscape of Modern Storytelling

• In Event: Constructive Uses of Journalism

Abstract

The past sixty years have seen a decline of “conventional” news stories, with a corresponding rise of “contextual” news stories. Despite this dramatic journalistic shift, there is little academic or professional understanding of “contextual” journalism. A recently-termed genre of journalistic storytelling, termed “restorative narrative,” falls within the canopy of contextual news stories. Intended to report on the response of communities and individuals in the wake of traumatic events or systemic dysfunction, restorative narrative includes among its recommended elements: long-term reportorial engagement; a willingness to confront the hard realities of a given situation; and a receptivity to the human capacity for solidarity and resilience. Through in-depth interviews and narrative analysis, this research seeks to understand how “restorative narrative” as “contextual reporting” fits into the landscape of modern journalistic storytelling. The article then posits a working hypothesis and conceptual model of restorative narrative through the lens of contextual reporting.

Author

• Nicole Smith Dahmen, U of Oregon