“A compelling story can shape— for good or ill— the way a reader understands people, events, and issues.” – David Craig
Narrative journalism is a style of writing that combines journalism and fiction to tell true stories. It’s a term that’s used interchangeably with literary journalism and sometimes, long form journalism. And just like all great writing, it is controversial and misunderstood.
How did it all start?
The first writer to capture the mood of narrative journalism was Tom Wolfe in his seminal book, New Journalism. Wolfe observed in New York Magazine, what he saw as a growing trend of journalism that ‘read like a novel’.
It’s important to note that Wolfe did not coin the term ‘new journalism’ – in fact, he makes a point of distancing himself from that label. In his Esquire piece, ‘Why They Aren’t Writing the Great American Novel Anymore ’, Wolfe writes:
“Any movement, group, party, program, philosophy or theory that goes under a name with “New” in it is just begging for trouble.”
An Australian writer who exemplifies this practice is the novelist and essayist, Helen Garner. In a conversation with Caroline Baum for the Sydney Opera House, Helen explains why she believes audiences may be reluctant to embrace stories like House of Grief.
“I think the fear of the darkness that all of us contain is why some people don’t want to read this book, or don’t want to read books like this”, Helen said.
So, what makes this style of writing compelling?
In an episode of the now defunct ABC podcast, Media Report, journalist Matthew Ricketson explains why this practice draws audiences in.
“Literary journalism takes you to places and tells you stories that you probably haven’t even dreamed of”, Ricketson said.
He also touches on literary journalism’s ability to make a ” deeper connection with its readers”.
During my research, I came across the book Telling True Stories, a collection of essays that function like a manual for nonfiction writers. The book includes contributions from renowned journalists such as Malcolm Gladwell, Gay Talese and Nora Ephron. The writers share their insights on narrative journalism, including how to select topic ideas, story structure, reporting across cultures, as well as research and publication.
The editors of Telling True Stories, Mark Kramer and Wendy Call, introduce the section on ethics by asking a fundamental question that goes to the heart of reporting on real stories :
‘How do we work with subjects?’
A former RollingStone reporter was confronted with this question when she told a story about a rape on campus.
The Story
In 2014, Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote a story about the rape of a young woman on campus. Soon after its publication the story’s claims were called into question and eventually the article was retracted.
The story had all the elements of sensationalist reporting often attributed to narrative journalism. George Packer, a contributor for the New Yorker, explains why the story was a sticking point for Rubin. He writes:
“As soon as she heard Jackie’s astonishingly detailed account of the rape—seven men in a dark room, blood-chilling words, a shattered glass coffee table, a bottle used for penetration—Erdely became so invested in it that she never allowed herself to sustain any doubts”.
The story was investigated by The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and to RollingStone’s credit, they published the report’s findings to their website, with a message from the editor.
The report isn’t a blame game, rather it shows the problematic nature of reporting on rape cases, and also provides useful tips for journalists interested in writing complex stories.
With all these ethical questions in mind, I spoke with Russian-born Israeli-Australian author and editor Lee Kofman to learn more about writing true stories.
Lee Kofman on why finds creative nonfiction difficult to write
On recreating dialogue
How to use fictional devices ethically
(Featured Image: Tom Wolfe, Flickr)
(Audio Image: Lee Kofman, provided)
