Telling the Unknown through the Familiar: Collective Memory as Journalistic Device in a Changing Media Environment

Abstract

Journalists are often faced with telling news of the unusual and unexpected, yet they must report on tight deadlines with little information. One device that journalists can draw on to get their job done is collective memory of society’s revered events and people. Collective memory allows news to gain a semblance of the familiar — journalists are able to tell their stories in a way that seems resonant to both news organizations and news audiences. In essence, through collective memory, their version gains authority as the version.