When a good reporter sits down to write, the first task is to place the daily story in the context of the overarching social narrative. Presumably, the reader is aware of that narrative, and the hard news story can therefore plug directly into it. But our standard techniques fail us when the overarching narrative isn t there, or when it s wrong, or when it s too shallow. Then there is nothing to plug our daily episode into, and the hard news form fails us. We need to orient the reader to the history, issues and values that lie behind the facts.
Narrative is important because it is the penultimate orientation technique.
We learn best by experience, but experience has a cost. Narrative is the next best thing, because it allows us to live vicariously the experience of others. So it s not surprising that narrative journalism thrives in moments of great change. The last golden age of news narrative was the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when we were reorienting ourselves to a world undergoing revolution in every aspect, from civil rights to environment to sexual behavior. The sagas of the civil rights marchers reset our social values, as did tales from Vietnam, Chicago and the City of Love.