Digital Storytelling

Digital stories are produced and distributed by digital media. The formats of digital stories differ: short films, blog entries, forum threats, etc. can all be forms of digital stories. This entry focuses on “classical digital storytelling” (Lundby 2008: 2), which “is a workshop based practice in which people are taught to use digital media to create short audio-video stories, usually about their own lives” (Hartley and McWilliam 2009: 3). These workshops are often used (mainly by non-governmental organizations) as a strategy to empower marginalized people, hence justifying a focus on this form of digital storytelling as citizen media. Digital storytelling workshops are a widespread phenomenon and take place all over the world. This entry will discuss classical formats of digital storytelling as citizen media. Therefore, after presenting theories which conceptualize digital storytelling and empirical studies which analyze practices of digital storytelling, the empowerment character of this media practice is discussed. Finally, the entry will explore whether, and if so to what extent, might the practice of digital storytelling be treated as a form of citizen media, understood as media practices through which citizens gain a voice and experience empowerment