The internet has profoundly affected how we collect and consume information; there is no debate about that. How can media companies adapt, survive and thrive in the digital age by returning to the fundamentals of the narrative?

1. The
(R)evolution
of Storytelling
Everything
old is new
again...

2. How media companies can adapt, survive
and thrive in the digital age by returning
to the fundamentals of the narrative.
T Much has been written (and tweeted and podcasted)
however about the value of that information, the nature in which it’s communicated and
who ultimately controls the message. The manner in which humans share information
remained remarkably static for thousands of years prior to the advent of the Internet. Broadcast
a window into the farthest reaches of the globe, but the nature of storytelling remained the same.
public, usually in the form of an article in the morning paper or a segment on the evening news.
They may have included commentary or simply reported facts, but the resulting piece was not
free of bias. The perspective that journalists provided was coloured by their worldview; the facts
imperialists, policy makers and academics. Audiences in this model
were passive observers; business spoke to them through ads or
viewers. Stories ended when the journalist moved on and there was
little competition for their attention outside of the boundaries of
traditional outlets.
This model is almost unrecognizable in the social era. Journalists no
longer have the luxury of gathering, and analyzing information, and
stakeholders but are faced with the monumental task of breaking
events, storytellers now face an avalanche of information from
an increasingly impatient public. They are expected to report and
analyze information simultaneously, as fast as or faster than their
often uninformed micro-blogging competitors.
The social web represents a new world order for media outlets,
journalism schools and corporations alike. It’s fraught with
questions about the form and function of “news” and it how it can
be used to deliver value to consumers in a way that is informative
and engaging. In many ways, the social web served to democratize
journalism, giving voice to huge groups of people who were
previously disenfranchised by traditional forms. It also created a
to adapt the news to technologies that are not suited to 360 storytelling and consumers were left
wanting more. They insist on receiving information in real-time, as narratives unfold, but are also
hungry for context and perspective that comes with authoritative, long form journalism.
[
2

3. For Michael De Monte, Co-Founder and CEO of ScribbleLive, the solution is simple; the
platforms and timelines may have changed but the core elements of storytelling have not.
Breaking news events always – without exception – follow a predictable pattern that De
- followed by a period of relative calm. Depending on the size and scope of the event there
can be multiple peaks of information in the arc, but it’s the valleys that are key to creating an
engaging narrative. It’s in the valleys, when the information slows, that content providers
have the opportunity to assess the information and apply perspective and insight. It’s here
where they have the opportunity to ask questions, seek context and perhaps even trigger the
next wave of information.
DeMonte,aself-taughtentrepreneurwithmorethan30yearsofexperienceincontentcreation
and new media, founded ScribbleLive in 2008 because he saw a disconnect between the
authoritative content that is synonymous with old-school journalism and the real-time social
value for followers. Like the proverbial tree in the forest, De Monte recognized that content –
even expertly-created content – is worthless without audience. He saw that media companies
needed a space where they could easily curate expert content to create an engaging narrative
that consumers follow from beginning to end. De Monte and his business partner Jonathan
Keebler set out to create a platform that allowed media companies to balance authoritative
storytelling with real-time reporting to provide readers with the context and perspective that
was missing on micro-blogging platforms.
TIME
CONTENT
[The story arc ]
THESTORYARC
3

4. Breaking
news events always
– without exception –
follow a predictable pattern
that De Monte calls the
‘Story Arc’.

5. Humans have been recording key moments in our collective histories literally since the
dawn of time. From cave drawings in prehistoric Europe to hieroglyphs in ancient Egypt
to tablets (rocks, not iPads) in ancient Greece, humans have been using technology to
enterprising storytellers got better at leveraging new technology to connect with
the early 1600s, almost 150 years after the invention the Gutenberg press. The Detroit
transatlantic cable transmissions and CBS and NBC premiered their nightly news
Each change revolutionized western culture in important ways. Prior to the advent of the
newspaper, citizens relied upon the pulpit and the town square – literal social media – to
receive news and information. Newspapers formalized professional journalism, making
it possible to share information and ideas broadly across communities. Radio made it
possible for anyone to tune in for news updates from around the western world. It was
an especially important innovation for businesses and advertisers who could now speak
directly to captive audiences, a seismic shift from easily ignorable print ads. Following
quickly on the heels of radio, television was the Web 2.0 of its time. The pioneers of
television leveraged new satellite technology to add previously unimaginable layers of
depth and complexity to storytelling creating a true “global village”; it made it possible
Each innovation made it possible for newsmakers to add insight, speed and urgency to
storytelling, but news continued to be passive. Twentieth-century media models spoke
broadcast news provided brief snapshots of ongoing news and events; newspapers and
magazines added depth and perspective at a slower rate – and producers and editors
instead to speak through media, keeping their publics at arm’s length.
And then came the Internet and so started the revolution.
With each successive innovation, enterprising
storytellers got better at leveraging new technology
to connect with wider audiences over greater distances.[
[The evolution of storytelling ]
THEEVOLUTIONOFSTORYTELLING
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6. Early Internet users could communicate via email, chat rooms and forums but there
and eventually the development of “Web 2.0”. Inside a single generation, the Internet
transformed from a place where consumers went for information to a place where they
went to engage in vibrant online communities. The launch of MySpace and LinkedIn
in 2003 allowed individuals to create their own personal brands, and allowed forward
thinking brands to engage directly with customers, but the “social web” really exploded
with the creation of Facebook in 2005. Followed closely by Twitter’s launch and Apple’s
and educational institutions –was challenged to adapt to the new world order of the
social web. Anyone with a data plan and an opinion now had the ability to build a brand;
anyone with a broadcast platform had the potential to become a media company.
De Monte has been on the cutting edge of the publishing industry for three decades;
he was an early advocate of Desktop Publishing in the early 80s and CD-ROMs in the early
90s. He understood the power of the Internet long before “Google” was a verb and as the
one-timeDirectorofOnlineProductionforCTVGlobeMedia,hewasresponsibleforshaping
the online strategy of one of Canada’s largest privately owned media conglomerates. The
man knows his business and knows that the organizations that thrive in the digital age will
events that matter to their audiences.
They do this by following the natural arc of a breaking story or event, providing real-time
updates from on-the-ground experts and then providing readers with the insights that
gives that information value. The Story Arc starts with a small piece of information; as that
information gathers momentum, storytellers start to create a cohesive narrative. As C.W
Anderson, Emily Bell and Clay Shirky from the Columbia School of Journalism say in Post-
Industrial Journalism, “content can be produced added to, altered and reused.” The arc
enter, exit and return at any point without losing perspective.
It’swell-establishedthattheInternetageisthewildwestofmasscommunications;borders
are meaningless, there’s little regulation and everyone is trying to stake their claim. De
[The value of content ]
The Story Arc starts with a small piece of information;
as that information gathers momentum, storytellers
start to create a cohesive narrative.[
THEVALUEOFCONTENT
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7. so until the story is complete.
In his defense of the medium in The Economist, Jay Rosen argues that the Internet altered
the balance between media consumers and producers. Corporations no longer have to pass
through the gates of the press; they can engage directly with their publics. In fact, according
outside of it to produce a competitive product, there is no such thing as the news industry
anymore. It is no longer strictly incumbent on news organizations to update the public on
breaking news and events; brands that curate timely, relevant content for their readers now
have the ability to transform their online platforms from simple marketing tools to engaging
media sites. Rosen also points out, however that the Internet has increased the supply of
garbage in and around storytelling. The brands and media companies that are best able to
break through the clutter are ultimately those that are able to harness the power of the social
web to provide value for their target audience. The smartest brands are those that think and
actlikemediacompaniesthemselves;theyworkwithprofessionaljournalists,subjectmatter
experts and online editors to create rich content that other outlets can syndicate as part of
a broader story, amplifying their brand value through that outlet’s network.
Contentisacommodityanditisonethatiscreatedbyindividuals.Themediacompaniesthat
are most successful are not necessarily those that are creating the largest volume content,
By doing so, publishers that previously struggled to monetize information now have value-
peg of 360 storytelling into the square hole of the social web have the ability to create robust
news platforms that provide context and value for readers; individual content creators and
subject matter experts have the ability to build their brands across multiple platforms.
TakeSuperstormSandyasanexample;newsoutletswerenotsolelyresponsibleforproviding
pull in reports from the National Weather Service and their local emergency service provider
to inform readers as they prepare for the storm to touch down; during the storm they can
draw feeds from organizations that have reporters on the ground so readers understand
which parts of their community are most heavily impacted; after the storm, they can draw
information from FEMA, the Red Cross and local authorities, giving readers the information
they need to repair and recover. By giving local residents everything they need to literally
weather the storm without ever having to leave their feed, an engaged insurance provider
changes their own narrative. They are no longer simply a service provider; they are a trusted
community partner.
Corporations no longer have to pass through the gates
of the press; they can engage directly with their publics.
[
THEVALUEOFCONTENT
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8. [Brands as storytellers ]
Storytellers don’t need to wait for a breaking
news story to connect with audiences. One
of the things that media companies can learn
from platforms like Facebook and Twitter,
is how to extract value from crowd-sourced
contentbyusingitasasignalgenerator.That
said, Twitter can be a means to an end, but
it cannot be an end in itself. It is impossible
to paint a complete picture of an event in
140 characters. Take for instance the Osama
Bin Laden Tweeter. Much has been made
about a Tweet from a civilian in Pakistan who
commented on the presence of helicopters
in Pakistani air space in the hours leading up to Osama Bin Laden’s death, with some
arguing that he broke the story. But without the additional information provided by expert
journalists and the U.S. government about the day’s events, this Tweet is as meaningless
as picture of the Tweeter’s dinner. In fact, the Tweet itself is not a story without the context
provided by sites like Mashable relating it to the event. In the new world order of the social
web, content is important, but context is the real king.
De Monte is not alone in his assertion that syndicating expertly-created content into
hold on to their audiences. According to Anderson, Bell and Shirky, “most journalists have
failedtotakeadvantageoftheexplosionofnewsworthycontentfacilitatedbythegrowth
in digital communication.” They go on to say that the most transformative aspect of the
current storytelling environment is taking advantage of new forms of collaboration; the
way stories are most reliably told is by those with a deep knowledge of the subject and a
responsiveness to audience requirements. Or, as Rosen puts it in his Economist debate,
“do what you do best and link to the rest.”
The smartest brands are those that think
and act like media companies themselves.[ BRANDSASSTORYTELLERS
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9. “
”
Media companies can break
through the chaos by returning
to the fundamental principles
of storytelling.
– MICHAEL DEMONTE
Co-Founder & CEO of ScribbleLive
“