They go by many names: charticles, non-narratives, storytelling devices, alternative story forms, ASFs and alts, among others. They’re also changing the ways journalists work together. Why use Alternative Story Forms? Some of the many benefits that alternative formats offer are that they:
- Provide quick facts and deep context
- Can be “bite-sized”
- Offer visual variety
- Can maintain core journalistic principles of accuracy, depth, watchdog role, etc.
- Can surprise the audience with a new approach
Taken from Beyond the Inverted Pyramid: Creating Alternative Story Forms, a self-directed course by Andy Bechtel at Poynter NewsU.
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