05/01/2018 globalmedianarratives: To Narrate or not to Narrate, that is the Question

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To Narrate or not to Narrate, that is the Question
The idea of what constitutes a narrative is widely debated. In previous blog posts, we have
observed many different academics’ philosophies about what is required for an event to be
considered a narrative. Once we establish what a narrative is, we can begin to determine what the
characteristics of an “unnaratable” or “disnarrated” story are. These two terms are explored in
Gerald Prince’s article, “The Disnarrated”. According to Prince, the unnaratable is; “…that which,
according to a given narrative, cannot be narrated or is not worth narrating either because it
transgresses a law (social, authorial, generic, formal) or because it defies the power of a particular
narrator (or those of any narrator) or because it falls below the so called threshold of narratability
(it is not sufficiently unusual or problematic).” (pg 1) Basically, something is unnarratable if it’s a
taboo topic that people would rather not discuss, or if it’s a non-sensational story that is so
commonplace that observing and dissecting it as a narrative would be unimportant and Follow
uninteresting.

Another related but separate concept explored by Prince is the idea of the disnarrative. Whereas Blog Archive
something is unnarratable because of its content, something is a disnarrative generally because it
simply has not happened. Disnarration is a hypothetical discourse, which allows the audience to ▼ 2011 (344)
see the explicit logic that the narrator uses to get to his/her conclusions (pg 5). Disnarratives can ► September (1)
be an important element of narratives, not only because they lead to further discussion of a ► May (42)
narrative, but also because they are commonly used ways of slowing down a narrative by opening ▼ April (62)
up an audiences eyes to possible alternatives and how these hypothetical situations may play out.
LXC 7 Fave Blog
Once a piece of work is deemed narratable, there is still the process of evaluating the news value LXC5/6
of a story and determining whether it will get news coverage in a world of limited time and LxC task: Favorite blog and
resources. In Tony Harcup and Deirdre O’Neill’s article “What is News? Galtung and Ruge Medium of Cyber Journa...
Revisited”, the process of determining news value, which is normally an objective method, is LXC 5/6 Japan Tsunami and
instead observed as a statistical formula. Based on 12 factors[i], Gatlung and Ruge determined Earthquake: Citizen Jour...
what aspects make a narrative newsworthy, and also which aspects are most likely to be focused
LxC Tasks 5+6: Internet in Latin
on once said narrative begins begin covered. While this statistical formula is not perfect at America
determining news value, it does give a formula for figuring out something that would otherwise
LxC Tasks 5+6: The Digital
be difficult to assess objectively, and for this reason it is a valuable tool in determining the news Divide and Facebook in ...
value of a story.
LxC Task 6: Citizen Journalism
during UPR strike r...
Ultimately, stories need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis in order to determine if they are
narratable or not. The Gatlung and Ruge model of determining news value is an important tool in LxC Task 5: The role of the
cyber in Latin America...
agenda-setting, but if a news outlet relied only on this method without considering all stories, it is
very possible that they will miss a story that should be covered. Knowledge of human interests LxC Week 8 & 11: Citizen
Journalism/Cyber Technolo...
and the statistical method should both be used in order to determine whether a story is a
newsworthy narrative. Whether disnarratives have a place in narratives is also open to debate. Research Topic
However, it is undeniable that disnarratives create additional discourses of a narrative and keep Research
the story it in the public spotlight for a longer period of time. Without disnarratives, a narrative is
Japan's "Nuclear Fallout"
more likely to be dry and uninteresting, leading to the undesirable “so what” response from the
audience that no narrative should create. Research Topic = The Kashmir
Conflict: Genocide an...
Research Question/Topic.
LxC Task3/4: Japanese
[i] : frequency, threshold, unambiguity, meaningfulness, consonance, unexpectedness, Textbook Controversy
continuity, composition, reference to elite nations/ people, reference to persons, LXC3/4: Haitian Massacre
reference to something negative (262-263)
LxC Task 3+4
LxC Task 2: Plane Crash
O'Neill, Deidre, Harcup, Tony. "What Is News? Galtung and Ruge Revisited." Journalism
LxC Task 1: Futbol en Espana
Studies 2.2 (2001): 261-80. Print.
LxC Task's 3 and 4: The un-
narratable in Juarez, ...
LXC 2: Interest in Politics
Prince, Gerald. “The Disnarrated”. Vol. 22. 1988. 1-8. Print
LXC 1: Ping Pong in The
Dominican Republic

Posted by ben.zupnick at 10:38 PM LxC Task 2 : Charity for Tohoku

Earthquake and Tsu...
“I’m Just not that into it: The
dis-appeal and app...

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05/01/2018 globalmedianarratives: To Narrate or not to Narrate, that is the Question

No comments: LxC Task1: 2002 FIFA World

Cup Japan/Korea
LxC Tasks 3/4: Why is
Post a Comment American football
disappeali...
LxC Task2: Is it really news if it
only talks abou...
Enter your comment...
LxC task 2: Sports receiving
special media attenti...
LxC Task1: Creation of a sports
complex in Moscow
Comment as: Unknown (Goo Sign out LxC Task 1: The impact of
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Publish Preview Notify me culture, unexpectedness, a...
To Narrate or not to Narrate,
Newer Post Home Older Post that is the Question...

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) What is Unnarratable?

Appealing and Disappealing
Narratives: Eye of the ...
Ask Me if I Care
Appealing and Disappealing
Narratives: To Each His...
Three Elements Of The
Successful Narrative
The Appeal or Disappeal of the
Bible
narratable/unnarratable
Appeal and Dis-appeal
Appealing Narratives vs Dis-
appealing Narratives
The Un-Narrative
When do narratives appeal or
disappeal?
The Ugly Duckling
What Makes Me
(un)interesting?
The Impact of Narratives
What makes a narrative?
The Unnarratable and the
Image
What makes narratives
appealing and disappealing?
The (Un)Narratable
Narratable and Unnarratable
In Response to the Disnarrated
Distinguishing Between
Narratable and
Unnarratable...
Narratable vs Unnarratable with
Internet & Industr...
Does what other people are
saying really matter to...
The Narratable and The
Unnarratable
Narratibility a Product of
"Tellability"
What Gives a Narrative
Appeal?
Narratives: Being “Forced” to
the Dis-appeal.
Unnarratable to the Narratable
The Dis/Appeal of Narratives
Narratable, Unnarratable

► March (2)
► February (197)
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► 2010 (316)

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05/01/2018 globalmedianarratives: To Narrate or not to Narrate, that is the Question
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