Improve Your Storytelling Through Restorative Narrative

Transcription

1 Improve Your Storytelling Through Restorative Narrative November 18, 2015

2 Thank You Harnisch Foundation! For funding our Webinar equipment Knight Foundation! For its support of News University

3 Today s Presenter Mallary Tenore Executive Director, Images & Voices of Hope Former Managing Editor, Poynter.org

4 Today s Agenda The harmful effects of repeated exposure to traumatic news What restorative narratives are and aren t Questions to ask when telling restorative narratives How research supports the need for restorative narrative

5 Images & Voices of Hope A nonprofit that strengthens the media s role as an agent of change and world benefit Facebook: Facebook.com/ivoh.org

6 If it bleeds, it leads

7 If it bleeds, it leads but it doesn t have to

8 New research suggests the need for a new narrative

9 How does repeated exposure to traumatic, sensational news affect us? Studies show that it can! Contribute significantly to daily stress! Trigger flashbacks! Encourage fear-mongering! Leave people feeling helpless and hopeless

10 How does repeated exposure to negative news affect us? When people are exposed to just three minutes of negative news first thing in the morning, they re 27% likely to report having had a bad day six to eight hours later. ~ New research from Michelle Gielan, Shawn Achor, and Arianna Huffington

11 As long as violence has not vanished from the world, there will always be enough incidents to fill the evening news. And since the human mind estimates probability by the ease with which it can recall examples, newsreaders will always perceive that they live in dangerous times. ~Steven Pinker and Andrew Mack, Slate.com

12 So, what can we do about it? Enter Restorative Narrative

13 Polling Question #1 When you hear restorative narrative, what does it make you think of?! A story about resilience and restoration! A positive puff piece! A type of story that is often overlooked by mainstream media! Advocacy

14 What is it? Restorative Narrative is a term ivoh coined to describe a genre of stories that show how people and communities are making a meaningful progression from a place of despair to a place of resilience.

15 Restorative Narratives! Capture hard truths! Highlight a meaningful progression! Are authentic! Are often sustained inquiries! Are strength-based; they speak to people s strengths and help others find strength! Reveal universal truths and awaken a sense of human connection

16 Restorative Narrative Imposters

17 Restorative Narrative Imposters! Fluffy feature stories! Stories that are inauthentic! Stories that tie everything up at the end with a pretty bow! Stories that reveal a false sense of hope! Stories that focus 90% on a tragedy & 10% on resilience! Stories that show someone seemingly doing well in the immediate aftermath of a tragedy

18 Restorative Narrative Imposters Reuters I m feeling a lot better and I m on a very straightforward path to full recovery. I know that my mom, dad, Bryan Emily, Becca, and Zach are in a much better place and that I ll be able to see them again one day. Stay strong. ~Cassidy Stay

19 Restorative Narrative Imposters

20 Restorative Narratives: Inspiration In an editorial three days after the Newtown shootings, Curtiss Clark counseled residents not to conform to the legions of journalists who had arrived in caravans of satellite trucks as if drawn by some dark star of calamity. He assured readers that Newtown (which Brian Williams called the saddest place on earth ) had always been a place of civic action and responsibility. That story, he wrote, won t change.

21 What the media does well (and not so well) in a tragedy s aftermath

22 Polling Question #2 Have you told Restorative Narratives about your community and/or the people in it?! Yes, in the past! I try to, but sometimes run into obstacles! They re not really part of my coverage! I want to start telling more of them

23 Restorative Narrative Examples This NPR story profiles women who developed a greater sense of their own strength, heightened spirituality, and a stronger sense of new possibilities.

24 Restorative Narrative Examples

25 Restorative Narrative Examples We wanted to make sure that the sum total of our project is not focused only on the tragedy, said Jon Funabiki, leader of the project. We didn t want to diminish the significance of the disaster and everything that they have lost, but we didn t want to be stuck there either.

26 Restorative Narrative Examples A Prayer for Winton Terrace, by Elissa Yancey

27 Restorative Narrative Examples As I wrote and re-wrote, edited and re-edited the five-part multi-media series about LaMonica and Winton Terrace, I kept considering what elements made her story restorative. That restorative lens informed how I shaped the narrative, how I chose details and quotes. It offered me a framework upon which to hang the story of LaMonica s life. ~Elissa Yancey

28 Restorative Narratives

29 Restorative Narratives As a storyteller, I m drawn to darkness. Restorative Narrative, for me, is about finding the flickers of light in the dark. ~Alex Tizon, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist

30 Restorative Narratives

31 Questions to ask when telling Restorative Narratives! How does this narrative move the storyline from what happened to show what s possible?! How am I feeling and reacting while reporting and telling this story?! Am I trying too hard to fit this story into the Restorative Narrative framework?! How might this story affect the people and communities involved?

32 Questions to ask when telling Restorative Narratives! Why am I telling this story?! What s the best way to tell it?! Is it too soon to tell it?! Do I know enough about the tragedy/issue that occurred in order to tell restorative narratives that emerged from it?! Am I confident about the authenticity of this story?

33 Polling Question #3 What do you see as the biggest obstacle to telling Restorative Narratives?! Not enough time and resources! Not enough buy-in from my editors! Uncertainty about how to tell these narratives! Fear that the narratives will turn out to be puff pieces

34 The case for Restorative Narrative a form of transformative journalism Transformative journalism -- an activating and engaging approach to covering news. It seeks to inform the public while providing the necessary tools to create forward progress. ~Michelle Gielan

35 Transformative Journalism " Restorative Narrative " Solutions Journalism " Constructive Journalism " Peace Journalism

36 Transformative Journalism When people are exposed to just three minutes of negative news first thing in the morning, they re 27% likely to report having had a bad day six to eight hours later. By contrast, people exposed to transformative news for just three minutes in the morning are 85% likely to report having had a happy day six to eight hours later. ~Research from Michelle Gilean, Shawn Achor & Arianna Huffington

37 Transformative Journalism Positive content is more viral than negative content, emotional content reaches more people, and people prefer sharing practical, useful content. Of the three dimensions, a news story s positivity was most predictive of sharing behavior. Highly positive, emotional content was more likely to be shared and go viral. ~UPenn study

38 Restorative Narrative: Impact

39 Restorative Narrative: Impact The response has been overwhelming in Winton Terrace and in the Greater Cincinnati community. Readers told me they ve been inspired by the stories that the narrative gives them hope. ~Elissa Yancey

40 Restorative Narrative: Impact

41 Restorative Narrative: Impact Resilience is incredibly important in storytelling because it s one way to show that behaviors matter, and behavior mattering is at the core of having optimism. When we have a resilient mindset, which is so deeply connected with an optimistic mindset, we overall believe that good things can happen. ~Michelle Gielan

42 Restorative Narrative: Impact

43 Restorative Narrative: Impact The idea that we can experience posttraumatic growth from other people s stories is not wishful thinking. New research shows that people can find meaning in, and experience personal growth from, the traumatic experiences of others. Psychologists call this vicarious resilience and vicarious growth. ~Kelly McGonigal

44 Restorative Narrative s Impact How do you catch resilience and growth from another person s suffering, instead of only sympathetic distress? The most important factor seems to be a genuine empathy. You must be willing to feel their distress and imagine yourself in their experience. You also must be able to see their strength alongside their suffering. The process of learning and growing from another person s suffering seems to require being affected by that suffering. It is not about passively witnessing resilience in another. It is about allowing yourself to be touched by their suffering and their strength. ~Kelly McGonigal

45 Polling Question #4 What interests you most about this genre?! The opportunity to balance out the types of stories I tell! The opportunity to have a meaningful impact on people and communities! The opportunity to improve media coverage by making it more holistic

46 #hashtag In Summary The Restorative Narrative genre is about taking a more holistic approach to coverage and acknowledging that we can improve media coverage by balancing stories of trauma, tragedy, problems, and crimes with stories of resilience, recovery, and restoration.

47 Want to learn more? Website: ivoh.org

48 Thank You We ll be going to questions shortly We want to tell you about some other training

49 Webinar Replay Registration gives you access to the replay! Available two days after the live Webinar! Access it anytime

50 Upcoming Webinars How to Use Housing Data on Your Beat November 19 Livestreaming the News: Replacing the Satellite Truck with a Cellphone December 9 Covering the U.S. Visa System and its Flaws January 13

51 Questions? Fire Away! Use the special Q&A pod to submit questions! Questions are not posted to the public

52 Thank You for Attending Remember to visit Poynter s NewsU Journalism Training. Anytime. Anywhere. For Anybody.