OCR
Part I. Interdisciplinary Approach to Storytelling | 33 Television at the turn of the millennium also allowed viewers to witness images of war first-hand (such as CNN’s coverage of the 1991 Gulf War in the US) (Sauerlander, 2004). Visuals can also have a strong influence on the message of narratives surrounding politicians during election periods — whether it is about scandalous, norm-breaking behavior (e.g., sexual abuse) or conforming to the norm (e.g., being portrayed as a faithful husband or a loving father). Alexander (2011) describes political election campaigns as a storytelling contest. He cites the 2008 election victory of Barack Obama as an example, which, according to Alexander, can be traced back to social media campaigning on the one hand, and to the framing narrative that presented the president as a hero who came from the depths, endured many trials and triumphed in the end. However, the narratives of the millenium characterized by mass communication in different genres and formats have been presented through the filter and interpretation of the communicator. News narratives are based on a narrative structure, and include characters and the consolidation of a state of equilibrium. In the process of news selection, the content elements that are of interest to the viewer are crucial and constitute the news value. The news value is enhanced if [...] (1) it affects many people; (2) it is timely; (3) it involves a well-known person or organisation; (4) it is about a recent event; (5) there is some disagreement or conflict between the actors; (6) there is something special about it; (7) it is related to a general topic that is well known and discussed by many people (Aczél, 2007, p. 37). The viewer feels that he or she is part of the reality and living the experience. Carey (1989/1992) argues that by receiving the news, the viewer has a ritual experience and a hunger for experiencing novel information. Besides news, the other dominant genre on television is advertising, whether for political or commercial promotion. The genres of news and advertising are also mixed in a short news block in the Hungarian public service media, in which six news items are broadcast in one minute. Although flash news is similar in form to advertising, its content contains a political narrative which is elaborated (i.e., reinforcing the original intention) in the long news blocks broadcast during prime time (Szabolcsi, 2021). News narratives tell the story of events outside their full socio-cultural context. The newscasts support the narrative of each news story with a series of powerful visuals to which the creators assign different purposes depending on the effect they wish to evoke (e.g., anxiety, admiration, contempt, or identification). Mass communication cannot objectively inform the viewer about all the events taking place in a given time period, so it is clear that it is not only the verbal and visual forms of narratives that are of interest, but also the choice of the events which are included in the public discourse through