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Harvey Smith on environmental storytelling and embedding narrative: "It has to be possible to miss some things to make finding them meaningful"

Harvey Smith on environmental storytelling and embedding narrative: "It has to be possible to miss some things to make finding them meaningful"

In a bit of serendipitous surfing last fall, I stumbled onto “What Happened Here?” a presentation by Harvey Smith and Matthias Worch at the 2010 Game Developers Conference in San…
January 14, 2011

What we’re watching: newspapers go documentary

It used to be that long-form newspaper narratives were, well, printed on newspaper. These days, long-form is taking on another meaning. Our latest installment of “what we’re watching” includes two…
January 12, 2011

Narrative on deadline: stories on the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords

Doing narrative stories on the heels of breaking news generally precludes the kind of lyricism often associated with the best examples of the form. Yet it can be a good…
January 10, 2011
Kathleen Gallagher and Mark Johnson on medical reporting, the future of genetics, and how to keep your story going in the event you get hit by a beer truck

Kathleen Gallagher and Mark Johnson on medical reporting, the future of genetics, and how to keep your story going in the event you get hit by a beer truck

We talked this week with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Kathleen Gallagher and Mark Johnson about their recent project “One in a Billion,” our latest Notable Narrative. The three-day serial tells…
January 7, 2011
"One in a Billion": a narrative window into the future of medicine

"One in a Billion": a narrative window into the future of medicine

Our latest Notable Narrative, “One in a Billion: A boy's life, a medical mystery,” tells the story of Nicholas Volker, a 4-year-old boy who has made more than 100 trips…
January 5, 2011
Nonny de la Peña on "Gone Gitmo," Stroome and the future of interactive storytelling

Nonny de la Peña on "Gone Gitmo," Stroome and the future of interactive storytelling

I recently talked about journalism and storytelling with Nonny de la Peña, who is a senior research fellow in immersive journalism at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications…
January 3, 2011

Roy Wenzl on abuse narratives and victims' voices: "With a story like this, you just need to say what happened"

We talked last week with Roy Wenzl, who wrote “Promise Not To Tell,” our last Notable Narrative for 2010. A reporter with The Wichita Eagle, Wenzl has a few other…
December 22, 2010
Telling their story, twins turn horror into hope for a different life

Telling their story, twins turn horror into hope for a different life

In our latest Notable Narrative, “Promise Not To Tell,” we meet Kellie and Kathie Henderson, two girls raped day after day by their brother, and later their father, for nearly a…
December 20, 2010

Public Radio International's Lisa Mullins on interviewing for story

Lisa Mullins, chief anchor and senior producer for Public Radio International’s “The World,” spoke with Storyboard by phone last week about taking a narrative approach to interviews. We included some…
December 18, 2010
Interview as story: on radio, online and in print

Interview as story: on radio, online and in print

Insane Clown PosseWhether they use full-on storytelling or just crib a few literary devices, interviews have their own narrative arcs and angles. From political drama (think the Frost-Nixon standoff or…
December 16, 2010