Enacted Journalism Takes the Stage: How Audiences Respond to Reporting-Based Theater

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn a media environment where content far exceeds what people can pay attention to, news organizations have experimented with different ways of informing and engaging audiences. This article focuses on a face-to-face endeavor we term “enacted journalism”—reporting-based live-theater performances followed by conversation. Theoretically, we draw from literature on theater, journalism, and political communication to develop the concept of “enacted journalism” and to examine its effects. Based on surveys of audiences attending performances of three plays in the U.S. (n = 279) and in-depth interviews with 13 people involved in the plays, we show that enacted journalism can inform and increase intentions to participate in civic and political activities, functions performed by traditional journalism. It also expands audience conceptions of what counts as journalism, which, as we discuss, has mixed normative implications.