Adam Westbrook is concerned that journalists are not using enough storytelling to help people make sense out of the news they report.
He also comments on some online particularities (writing a lot for search engines, vs. writing less but more narrative):
Slate Magazine for some time pursued stories to appeal to search engines and to get the all-important clicks. But then they tried an experiment in pursuing long-form, original journalism, framed in high-quality storytelling. What happened? They published 33 per cent fewer stories, O’Leary reports, but saw a 40 per cent rise in traffic. A similar experiment by Gawker found original reporting got more views per article than viral rehashing.
He continues:
the only way to build an audience around your content […] is through the hot pursuit of quality over mediocrity. In taking time to craft a narrative, the way an artist crafts a painting.
It’s very true that in the online world, fast & easy is very much the default mode. But that’s not really what’s best for the reader.
You can read the rest of the article here.