Table Of ContentNora Berning
Narrative Means to Journalistic Ends
VS RESEARCH
Nora Berning
Narrative Means
to Journalistic Ends
A Narratological Analysis of
Selected Journalistic Reportages
With a foreword by Prof. Dr. Hans J. Kleinsteuber
VS RESEARCH
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(Institute for Journalism and Communications, University of Hamburg)
1st Edition 2011
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This thesis is dedicated to my wonderful and beloved parents,
Marie-Luise and Johannes.
Thank you for all the unconditional love that you have always given me,
for supporting me all the way since the beginning of my studies,
for being a source of motivation,
and for helping me to succeed in finding my vocation.
Foreword
Nora was one of our students in the Erasmus Mundus Master’s program on Journal-
ism and Media within Globalization. Students of this project come from all over
the world, and they have the chance to study at different universities in Europe; in
Nora’s case in Aarhus, Amsterdam and finally Hamburg. Our students are usually
experienced journalists that decide to come back to the university to obtain a second
degree. When they turn their thesis in, they oftentimes reflect the experience in their
own country – e.g. Brazil, Kenya or Indonesia – or they concentrate on transcultural
questions – e.g. Vietnamese in Germany or Britain’s perception of Poland.
Nora, however, showed an ardent interest in the relationship between journalism
and literature. The moment I accepted to supervise her thesis, she presented a
detailed concept of her scientific inquiry. Soon I realized that I can expect a truly
exceptional piece of academic work. If the reader looks at the bibliography, he or she
will find about twenty pages of references from many different countries, schools
and academic fields. Indeed, the theoretical parts of this work are based on an
extremely comprehensive extraction of the available literature on the theory of
narratology, as well as about everything that has been written in literary studies and
journalism on the essence of the reportage.
The study starts out with two fundamental questions: “Which categories of
narratological analysis are applicable to and employed predominantly in selected
journalistic reportages?” and “Which categories are constitutive of and employed
predominantly in different types of journalistic reportages?”. To find a way to an an-
swer, the author offers a three-step procedure. The first step includes the theoretical
framework. What follows is the empirical part with methodological considerations
and results of the case study, i.e., an analysis of short-listed German reportages.
Finally, the author presents her critical reflections on the results and a conclusion
that very much focuses on an outlook.
Central to the argument is the idea that different types of reportages exist, but are
limited in number when it comes to the narrative functions and structures. The au-
thor uses a clearly interdisciplinary, transgeneric approach and talks about the wider
8 Foreword
implications of the results of her empirical research. It becomes clear that Nora
Berning finds complex and illuminating answers to the leading questions of the be-
ginning and proposes to continue working along these lines. All in all, the argumen-
tation is innovative and stimulating and certainly demands further research. It paves
the way for rethinking the borderlines between journalism and literature. Last
but not least, I am sure that this book will help us to gain deeper insights into the
fascinating field of narratology.
Yes, please Nora, go on and tell us the whole story.
Hamburg, September 2010 Hans J. Kleinsteuber
Acknowledgments
To my first supervisor, Prof. Dr. Hans J. Kleinsteuber of the Department of Political
and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg, I am most grateful for providing
great optimism, willing support, and guidance that manifestly contributed to the
development of this thesis; for engaging in intellectual discussion and offering
invaluable constructive criticism throughout the course of writing; and for whose
positive, informed, and encouraging nature made the completion of this thesis
possible.
To my second supervisor, Prof. Dr. Volker Lilienthal of the Department of Jour-
nalism and Communication Studies at the University of Hamburg, I am heartily
thankful for imparting an insightful view of my work; for giving helpful comments,
suggestions, and advice on establishing the path this thesis eventually took; and for
whose encouragement and open-mindedness has been an inspiration throughout.
I also acknowledge the authors of the primary works that are central to the frame-
work and praxis of the thesis. This project would not have been possible without
their talent and captivating contributions to the field of study.
London, Ontario, September 2010 Nora Berning
Begin at the beginning … and go on till you come to the end; then stop.
Lewis Carroll
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
