## Embracing narrative journalism in the Nordic countries

## Introduction to special issue

## RASMUS RØNLEV

University of Southern Denmark

## STEFFEN MOESTRUP

Danish School of Media and Journalism

Narrative  journalism  -  understood  broadly  as  journalism  'that display storytelling techniques to report upon real-world events and situations' (van Krieken and Sanders, 2021, p. 1404) - has a long and proud tradition in the Nordic countries (Bech-Karlsen, 2007, p. 41). In recent years, however, the genre has gained renewed momentum in  the  region.  Digitally  born  media  such  as  Zetland  in  Denmark makes extensive use of the approach, but traditional print media, for instance Verdens Gang in Norway and Kristeligt Dagblad in Denmark, have also discovered the power of narrative and won international awards for their digital storytelling (Moestrup, 2022). Public service media such as Danish DR, Icelandic RÚV, and Swedish SVT experiment with style and digital elements in their narrative web docs, and narrative journalism also thrives in new print media such as the newly launched publications Atlas in Denmark (2010), Magasinet Plot in Norway (2011), and Filter in Sweden (2008).

But what is the state of research in narrative journalism? Internationally,  narrative  journalism  has  attracted  some  scholarly  attention, not least due to the journal Literary Journalism Studies which has  served  as  an  arena  for  studies  of  the  form  since  2009  (van Krieken  and  Sanders,  2021),  and  the  efforts  of  the  journal's  publisher, the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies, which has organized conferences, published newsletters etc. In a Nordic context, practitioners of the form have reflected on its particular characteristics and qualities, for instance at the annual, evergrowing conference Fortellingens Kraft in Bergen and in a number of anthologies with prescriptive texts, interviews with practitioners, and examples of narrative journalism (Kinch-Jensen, 2001; Sønnichsen  &  Kramer,  2002;  Dalviken,  2005;  Hvid,  2007;  Skjold,

2015; Vaaben, 2019). However, until now, narrative journalism still has not been the subject of unified research across countries and institutions in the Nordic countries, which is why, with this special issue, we take initiative to such a collaborative effort. The aim is not only to shed light on a form that is becoming more and more important - and debated - in journalistic practice, but also to promote a research agenda that increasingly attracts attention from scholars across Nordic research environments focusing on journalism, media, literature, rhetoric, etc.

In this special issue, you will encounter articles on narrative journalism from a range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Taken together, the articles cover both conceptual, empirical, critical, and educational issues.

A narratological analysis of journalism set in the future is done in the  article  by Harald  Hornmoen,  Yngve  Benestad  Hågvar and Jørgen Alnæs .  By investigating reporting on the climate crisis, the corona pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, the authors provide an analytical approach that differentiates between stories about the future, stories from the future, and stories evocating the future.

Cecilia Aare presents a close reading of three books about gang criminality in Sweden. Using her own concepts of narrative compassion and narrative empathy , Aare shows how the books offer - and block - insights into characters such as gang members, victims, and family members. Thus, her study showcases how narrative journalism may qualify - and inhibit - public debate about pressing societal matters.

A critical look at the term storytelling is carried out by Frank Harbers .  He examines the discourse on digital storytelling as journalistic  innovation in the Netherlands. The analysis shows a one-dimensional and techno-centric focus where journalistic innovation is seen as a matter of mastering the digital affordances of new technological tools and platforms without questioning how this impacts journalism's professional ethics and cultural authority.

Steffen  Moestrup and Karsten  Vestergaard provide  an  educational  approach  in  their  article.  They  introduce  the Digital  Story Model and discuss student experiences of applying the model in the production of digital journalism. By drawing on an action research approach, the authors co-develop and test the model in an international classroom setting with 85 journalism students representing 35 countries.

Rasmus Rønlev and Susanna Sommer focus on the functions of the third-person narrator in narrative journalism. Adopting a rhetorical-narratological perspective, they show how third-person narrators may be more or less (c)overt in narrative journalism. In continuation  of  this,  they  argue  that  no  matter  how  covert  a  third- person narrator journalists choose to use in their journalistic narratives, journalists cannot evade their role and moral responsibility as the creative force behind the narrator.

## REFERENCES

- Bech-Karlsen, J. (2007). Åpen eller skjult: Råd og uråd i fortellende journalistik . Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
- Dalviken, L. (2005). Fortællende journalistik i Norden . Århus: Forlaget Ajour.
- Hvid, M. (2007). Fascinerende fortælling - Den journalistiske feature . Århus: Update.
- Jørgensen, John Chr. (2007). Journalistik med stil. Fra klassiske nyheder til fortælling . Århus: Forlaget Ajour.
- Kinch-Jensen, A. (2001). Forankring fryder. Journalistisk fortælleteknik . Århus: Forlaget Ajour.
- Moestrup, S. (2022) Det digitale jeg: Jeg bliver til i en strøm af nuller og ettaller, som du kan klikke på. Hvad laver JEG her - en lærebog om at bruge sig selv i journalistikken ? København: Samfundslitteratur.
- Skjold, S. B. (2015). Den journalistiske fortælling . Frederiksberg: Dansklærerforeningen.
- Sønnichsen, O., & Kramer, M. (2002). Virkelighedens fortællere. Ny amerikansk journalistik . Århus: Forlaget Ajour.
- Van Krieken, K., & Sanders, J. (2021). What is narrative journalism? A systematic review and an empirical agenda. Journalism , 22 (6), 1393-1412.
- Vaaben, L. (2019). Fortællingernes tid. Styrken i fortællende journalistik . København: Informations forlag.

## RASMUS RØNLEV

Associate professor Centre for Journalism University of Southern Denmark roenlev@journalism.sdu.dk

## STEFFEN MOESTRUP

Senior associate professor Research and Development Danish School of Media and Journalism sdm@dmjx.dk