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What is a Master Narrative? Making the case for government – the tool we have created to do things collectively – requires that we tell better stories about our shared fate and how we must work together to address new challenges and create a positive future for all. This should be the story behind the many stories we tell – about addressing our health care crisis, about creating educational opportunities, about protecting our environment, about economic prosperity. We need to tell an aspirational story about a government rededicated to the common good – a big story – to enliven and inform the myriad program and policy debates in which we find ourselves. This aspect of better storytelling – evoking the “story behind the story” has been described as identifying and utilizing “master narratives.” Definitions and discussions of “master narrative” can be found in the framing and communications fields and in journalism and storytelling practice. We believe it is worth exploring these various perspectives and understanding “master narratives” and the role they play in e ffective communications, so that we can be better storytellers about the role of government in our society. Jay Rosen is a professor of Journalism at New York University and author of PressThink, a weblog about journalism and its ordeals. Rosen defines master narratives this way:

“By master narrative I mean story that produces all the other stories; or, to put it another way, the Big Story that lends coherence and shape to all the little stories journalists tell. In the bible, the master narrative—the story that produces all the other stories—is the theme of creation and redemption, or the fall from grace and search for salvation. A master narrative is not a particular story journalists write; it is the story they are always writing when they tell the stories they typically tell . . .”

Choosing the Right Master Narrative In Wanted: Master Storytellers, Susan Nall Bales suggests that garnering public attention to many of our most pressing problems “rests on the ability of storytellers to connect the dots between past actions and present conditions in ways that make clear to the public what’s at stake—and what can be done in the future . . .” This story, “still in the making, would focus our attention on the things we must do together, because they cannot be done individually: from building roads and a reliable healthcare infrastructure to improving schools and repairing the ladder of opportunity in our society.” Bales goes on to suggest that as we seek to find the elements of this new story “We need to ask ourselves, “What is the story behind the story—the big story that we tell ourselves over and over about our experiences as Americans? How are values embedded in the commentary and how do those values either help us solve problems together, as communities or as a country, or break us down i nto individual problem-solvers, a nation of individuals loosely tied together? How can we do a better job of wresting complex issues from the experts and explaining them in simple but accurate ways to ordinary people, so they get smarter about the way things work, and become better able to resist the inevitable spin of partisan distortions?” “For too long in this country, the master narrative has been dominated by the individual on the frontier —free to protect, defend, and provide for himself and his family. Anyone not in the picture is an outsider. The bonds of community are entirely voluntary and can be relinquished at any time. The body politic is to be viewed as a constraint on individual freedoms and to be used only as a last resort. It doesn’t have to be this way. This is not the only American narrative available to us. In 1896, that most famous American chronicler of the west, Frederick Jackson Turner, pointed another equally American direction for our collective storytelling: “These slashers of the forest, these self-sufficing pioneers, raising the corn and live stock for their own need, living scattered and apart,” he wrote, “had at first small interest in town life or a share in markets… The national problem is no longer how to cut and burn away the vast screen of the dense and daunting forest; it is how to save and wisely use the remaining timber.” He ends by calling for the “revival of the old pioneer conception of the obligations and opportunities of neighborliness... In the spirit of the pion eer’s ‘house

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raising’ lies the salvation of the Republic.” Turner points the direction for a new America. “Let us see to it,” he writes, “ that the ideals of the pioneer in his log cabin shall enlarge into the spiritual life of a democracy where civic power shall dominate and utilize individual achievement for the common good.” This last quote by Turner directs us to a “master narrative” that is available to Americans and that we should evoke in our e fforts to gain support for public solutions to our most pressing challenges.

Four American Parables It is important to recognize that behind all the specific policy debates we find ourselves in lurk silent but powerful master narratives that shape public perceptions and can work both for and against the considerations we are putting forth. Robert Reich, Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley a nd former Labor Secretary, has written about four “parables” that shape American politics and public debate. In an essay titled “The Lost Art of Democratic Narrative” Reich revisits his exploration of these American parables that he began in some of his earlier books. Reich suggests that: “. . . [t]here are four essential American stories. The first two are about hope; the second two are about fear:

 The Triumphant Individual. This is the familiar tale of the little guy who works hard, takes risks, believes in himself, and eventually gains wealth, fame, and honor. It's the story of the self-made man (or, more recently, woman) who bucks the odds, spurns the naysayers, and shows what can be done with enough gumption and guts. He's instantly recognizable: plainspoken, self-reliant, and uncompromising in his ideals--the underdog who makes it through hard work and faith in himself.

 The Benevolent Community. This is the story of neighbors and friends who roll up their sleeves and pitch in for the common good. The story is captured in the iconic New England town meeting, in frontier settlers erecting one another's barns, in neighbors volunteering as firefighters and librarians, and in small towns sending their high school achievers to college and their boys off to fight foreign wars. It suffuses Norman Rockwell's paintings and Frank Capra's movies. Consider the last scene in It's a Wonderful Life, when George learns he can count on his neighbors' generosity and goodness, just as they had always counted on him.

 The Mob at the Gates. In this story, the United States is a beacon light of virtue in a world of darkness, uniquely blessed but continuously endangered by foreign menaces. Hence our endless efforts to contain the barbarism and tyranny beyond our borders. The story is found in the Whig's anti-English and pro-tariff histories of the United States, in the anti-immigration harangues of the late nineteenth century, and in World War II accounts of Nazi and Japanese barbarism. The narrative gave special force to cold war tales during the '50s of an international communist plot to undermine U.S. democracy and subsequently of "evil" empires and axes. The underlying lesson: We must maintain vigilance, lest diabolical forces overwhelm us.

 The Rot at the Top. The last story concerns the malevolence of powerful elites. It's a tale of corruption, decadence, and irresponsibility in high places--of conspiracy against the common citizen. It started with King George III, and, to this day, it shapes the way we view government--mostly with distrust. The myth has also given force to the great populist movements of U.S. history, from Andrew Jackson's attack on the Bank of the United States in the 1830s through William Jennings Bryan's prairie populism of the 1890s

Speak to these four stories and you resonate with the tales Americans have been telling each other since our founding--the two hopeful stories rendered more vivid by contrast to the two fearful ones.”

As we work to rebuild support for the public sector’s role in the challenges and opportunities of a new century, one of our tasks is to “re-balance” the first two stories – The Triumphant Individual and The Benevolent Community in a culture so dominated by stories of individualism and consumerism. How can we tell a story about government that reconnects to its common good mission – at its best, the very embodiment of a “benevolent” community? And how can we harness the power of individual initiative that hums in the heart of the “triumphant individual” and turn its energy to working with others to solve problems and create new opportunities

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for all? When we attempt to engage the public in the tough policy questions of the day and gain their support for collective , public responses we must use and tap into American Master Narratives that can move opinion and action in the right direction.

Journalistic Master Narratives Another interpretation of “master narrative” comes from the world of journalism; and it is important to recognize how journal ists deploy these narrative structures and what they do to our stories. The field of journalism tends to describe master narratives as a style of story telling or the structure of the narrative. Unfortunately, in stories about public affairs and policy debates these narrative structures themselves can shape – and often limit – public understanding about the issue being written about. Richard Harwood, founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation wrote a helpful explanation of “master narratives” fo r the Covering Communities project.i In this posting Harwood focuses on the habits and practices of journalism that can either broaden or limit public understanding of community issues. He describes master narratives as: “ . . . formulas or "scripts" that we often use when we tell stories. Master narratives embody our expectations about how things work. Typically, they're based on actual experience. However, sometimes we grow so accepting of a master narrative that we can't see other possibilities for stories.” You may recognize this challenge from the times you have been trying to tell a story about a complex policy issue and the reporter wants to tell a story of conflict – asking you “well, who is opposed to this policy; we need to get their side of the story?” We stumble upon these narrative structures too when the reporter wants to “put a face” on your story – “can you get me some clients of this program to talk to?” As we try to tell a bigger story about the public sector – one about the systems and structures we have created and must rely on, it is important to recognize that the media may be driving us to tell a story about political conflict, or individual benefit and loss. This is difficult terrain to navigate but understanding these journalistic master narratives is the first step to working around their limitations.

Harwood goes on to describe six common “journalistic” master narrative:

 Conflict Narratives. The focus is on conflict at the expense of other key issues, even when conflict is minor.

 Faux Balance. Balance is defined almost entirely as “two sides” rather than giving relative weight to many different perspectives on issues. Extreme voices are given attention at the expense of other points of view.

 Caricatures. People are assigned predictable roles as if they are stage actors: good guy vs. bad guy; money-loving developers vs. tree-hugging environmentalists, etc.

 “Gotcha”. A premium is placed on tripping up elected officials and prominent community leaders. The goal of coverage appears to be proving visible public leaders don’t care about the public. Special attention is given to moments when people contradict themselves even when these contradictions are minor or thoughtful.

 Event-Driven Coverage. Surface-level activities and events are featured prominently while more meaningful issues that lie below the surface are given short shrift.

 Feel-Good News.“Positive news” translates mostly to fluff and feel-good stories. Progress is ignored unless it can be wrapped up neatly.

Stories vs. Narratives There is a good deal of interest these days in developing more powerful and coherent narratives in support of both specific po licy goals and social change in general. “What is the Story?” seems like a common question for advocates and others seeking to communicate more effectively with a distracted public. But there is also a common conflation of “storytelling” with narrative - building. From our perspective the skills and techniques of good storytelling are indeed part of identifying, adapting and creating master narratives in support of your goals, but there are important distinctions as well. In an online essayii John Hagel (A Silicon Valley consultant) offers a useful description of the differences between stories and narratives; one that we share:

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“Stories and narratives are often used interchangeably, as synonyms. But here I will draw a crucial distinction between the two. Narratives, at least in the way I will be using them, are stories that do not end – they persist indefinitely. They invite, even demand, action by participants and they reach out to embrace as many participants as possible. They are continuously unfolding, being shaped and filled in by the participants. In this way, they amplify the dynamic component of stories, both in terms of time and scope of participation. Stories are about plots and action while narratives are about people and potential.” This sense of narratives as living things, ever evolving and being created by us gives them the power to both reveal the existing “stories behind the stories” but also the potential for all of us to work together to create new narratives that can shape th e world around us.

Conclusion A powerful aspect of strategic communications is the use of “master narratives” to help create public understanding of complex issues. Many of the elements of these hidden cultural stories are deeply imbedded in our society and shape public perceptions about our issues in ways that may be invisible to us. Some of these narratives build support for collective, public actions and others drive us toward self-interest. Some narratives focus on conflict and crisis; others evoke hope and pragmatic problem -solving. Recognizing the power of these cultural parables is an important step in being an effective communicator. Deploying them in support of a public sector rededicated to the common good is the creative task ahead.

i Covering Communities be found at: http://www.coveringcommunities.org/keyinsights/masternarrative.htm.

ii http://edgeperspectives.typepad.com/edge_perspectives/2011/05/the-pull-of-narrative-in-search-of-persistent-context.html