ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the institutionalization of narrative structure and the basic lessons of storytelling. Explicit lessons of order meet new cartoonists as well. Instructors emphasize sequential arrangement as central to the art of composition. For journalists, the convention of inverted pyramid style provides some guidance. In inverted pyramid style, “who-what-when-where-why-how” (typically referred to as “the 5Ws and H”) must appear in the story’s lead. In essence, the rule of descending order places emphasis on narrative beginnings. The rules that recommend a descending order of importance provide a blueprint for effective organization. Knowing this, it becomes critical to discover the ways in which storytellers determine the relative importance of story elements. Instructional manuals explicitly state that no stable formulae of relative importance exist. Reporters took a similar stance during interviews. Lessons regarding the sequencing of violence may be implicit or indirectly conveyed. Nevertheless, these formats represent a core element within the professional socialization of media reporters and other storytellers.
