Nothing but the facts?: What journalists talk about when they talk about storytelling and truth-finding

J.L.J. Boesman; I.C. Costera-Meijer

Nothing but the facts? What journalists talk about when they talk about storytelling and truth-finding

J.L.J. Boesman
, I.C. Costera-Meijer

Research output: Contribution to Conference › Paper › Academic

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand how journalists deal with storytelling and truth-finding in their
daily news practice. While storytelling is usually studied through texts, we approached it from
a practice perspective, combining data from three ethnographic studies in which 67 journalists
from the Low Countries were extensively interviewed. Because of the emphasis journalists
place on “finding out the truth” in public discourses, it is tempting for academics to present
them as naive truth-seekers. However, by means of an interpretative repertoire analysis of
their “practice” discourses, we seek to enlarge the discursive space to talk about the supposed
tension between story and reality. Although departing from the idea that all news making is
storytelling, the findings reveal that news making and storytelling are seen as distinct – and
sometimes opposing – practices by journalists, distinctively practiced in the preparation and
presentation of news stories. These practices serve as the organizing framework around which
seven distinct storytelling repertoires are organized.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - 24 May 2018
Event	International Communication Association - Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Duration: 24 May 2018 → 28 May 2018

Conference

Conference	International Communication Association
Country/Territory	Czech Republic
City	Prague
Period	24/05/18 → 28/05/18

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

@conference{1572df97ce8a4ea78baad0316dadfeb3,

title = "Nothing but the facts?: What journalists talk about when they talk about storytelling and truth-finding",

abstract = "This paper seeks to understand how journalists deal with storytelling and truth-finding in their daily news practice. While storytelling is usually studied through texts, we approached it from a practice perspective, combining data from three ethnographic studies in which 67 journalists from the Low Countries were extensively interviewed. Because of the emphasis journalists place on “finding out the truth” in public discourses, it is tempting for academics to present them as naive truth-seekers. However, by means of an interpretative repertoire analysis of their “practice” discourses, we seek to enlarge the discursive space to talk about the supposed tension between story and reality. Although departing from the idea that all news making is storytelling, the findings reveal that news making and storytelling are seen as distinct – and sometimes opposing – practices by journalists, distinctively practiced in the preparation and presentation of news stories. These practices serve as the organizing framework around which seven distinct storytelling repertoires are organized.",

author = "J.L.J. Boesman and I.C. Costera-Meijer",

year = "2018",

month = may,

day = "24",

language = "English",

note = "International Communication Association ; Conference date: 24-05-2018 Through 28-05-2018",

}

TY - CONF

T1 - Nothing but the facts?

T2 - International Communication Association

AU - Boesman, J.L.J.

AU - Costera-Meijer, I.C.

PY - 2018/5/24

Y1 - 2018/5/24

N2 - This paper seeks to understand how journalists deal with storytelling and truth-finding in their daily news practice. While storytelling is usually studied through texts, we approached it from a practice perspective, combining data from three ethnographic studies in which 67 journalists from the Low Countries were extensively interviewed. Because of the emphasis journalists place on “finding out the truth” in public discourses, it is tempting for academics to present them as naive truth-seekers. However, by means of an interpretative repertoire analysis of their “practice” discourses, we seek to enlarge the discursive space to talk about the supposed tension between story and reality. Although departing from the idea that all news making is storytelling, the findings reveal that news making and storytelling are seen as distinct – and sometimes opposing – practices by journalists, distinctively practiced in the preparation and presentation of news stories. These practices serve as the organizing framework around which seven distinct storytelling repertoires are organized.

AB - This paper seeks to understand how journalists deal with storytelling and truth-finding in their daily news practice. While storytelling is usually studied through texts, we approached it from a practice perspective, combining data from three ethnographic studies in which 67 journalists from the Low Countries were extensively interviewed. Because of the emphasis journalists place on “finding out the truth” in public discourses, it is tempting for academics to present them as naive truth-seekers. However, by means of an interpretative repertoire analysis of their “practice” discourses, we seek to enlarge the discursive space to talk about the supposed tension between story and reality. Although departing from the idea that all news making is storytelling, the findings reveal that news making and storytelling are seen as distinct – and sometimes opposing – practices by journalists, distinctively practiced in the preparation and presentation of news stories. These practices serve as the organizing framework around which seven distinct storytelling repertoires are organized.

M3 - Paper

Y2 - 24 May 2018 through 28 May 2018