Narratively transforms journalism into storytelling

Sit in the back of an 8:30 a.m. chemistry lecture and you’re bound to see, amidst the third-row sleepers and the pre-med students frantically scribbling notes, a dozen laptops open to scrolling screens of Buzzfeed and Thought Catalog, boasting posts as nutritionally valuable and easily digestible as a bowl of Fruit Loops.

This mindless absorption of entertainment is exactly what makes these websites -- and the countless others like them -- so incredibly successful. Their flashy images and snappy titles are pre-made and perfectly bite-sized in order to be shared on Facebook and other social media sites. They take on an air of relevancy via vague -- and often humorous -- references to political happenings, current events and social trends. The average Internet user can’t be blamed for spending time on these websites instead of on information-dense news sources, especially when their “click-bait” headlines are virtually unavoidable on sidebars and newsfeeds.

But do these articles, lists and slideshows really qualify as “stories?” This is the question raised by Tufts University alumnus Noah Rosenberg, who is the founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Narratively, an innovative online platform for long-form news stories. The website, which aims to bring “untold human stories” to center stage, blatantly challenges the nature of typical highly stimulating online media by releasing only one piece per day and only posting stories that pique emotion and curiosity to bring ideas to life.

While there seems to be a dichotomy of online news platforms, of which Buzzfeed and the New York Times would mark the far ends of the spectrum, Narratively seems to evade this and serve a greater purpose by making the statement that hard-hitting journalism and important stories of humanity need not be confined to twelve-point text blocks marked with the occasional captioned photograph. Narratively aims to combat the negative connotations often associated with “news broadcasting” by utilizing the website’s clean layout and simplicity to “story tell” with videos, photos and long form writing pieces that adhere to weekly themes of personality, individuality and humanity. With Narratively, Rosenberg proves that it is not a catchy headline or colorful infographics, but rather the promise of a meaningful connection with a story, that keeps a reader truly engaged with online media.

Stories and timely news are inherently interesting, and the press should aim to integrate multimedia into their publishing in a way that makes the emotion and curiosity that are so essential to storytelling a natural part of the news narrative, without sacrificing the integrity and investigation that define journalism.