Lutman: Storytelling Is a Muscle

The staff of the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation offered a terrific session on Transmedia Narrative on Tuesday. Presenters were Eric Schoenborn, Creative Director at Knight, and Nicole Chipi, Arts Program Associate. In the three main parts of their presentation, they showed examples of narratives they consider well told; described their internal creative processes for telling Knight’s own stories and how they choose which media to use; and offered advice to other grantmakers for ways to work with grantees to tell their stories effectively and to get their stories out to more people.

Knight’s own work is distinguished by its contemporary graphic design and digital smarts. It makes sense that a foundation led by a former newspaper publisher, Alberto Ibarguen, would make storytelling a priority. Also, with Knight’s current strategies focused on “transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities, and foster the arts” they’ve set out to practice what they preach. “We want to be native to the work we are trying to do,” said Eric Schoenborn.