Current's The Pub

Podcasts are a nearly perfect vehicle for narrative storytelling. The episodic nature, the way each chapter is delivered to the listener's personal device, the inherent intimacy of audio, advertisers' interests in reaching a connected audience over several episodes, and the human nature for hearing and sharing stories all make the platform ideal for delivering narratives. But narratives are hard to find in news. We may call everything we file a "story," but it's rare that a school board meeting or anything else that happens day in and day out will have the type of beginning-middle-end arc that makes for a great story. And when you're tasked with reporting the news, but your heart — and the audience — wants narrative … what do you do? You can't try to put an arc on a story that doesn't have one — that would change the nature of the story. It's narrative bias. But it's unlikely you can just pass on covering stories that don't have a rising action and resolution. This episode is all about balance. First, co