This thesis examines how the methods of transmedia storytelling emerging in the entertainment industry might be used in a journalism context. Journalism is facing many crises, not the least of which is a loss of readership and perceived relevance to its public. Presented with an ever-expanding array of media with which to interact, the public is more difficult to attract to a socially relevant issue or a politically important story. Faced with similar issues, the entertainment industry has developed a means to engage with fans in a way that draws them across multiple media platforms, better captures their imagination and engages them personally into the story being told. Transmedia Storytelling lets narrative unfold on multiple lines, from varying perspectives and with the help of the fans themselves. Scholars of the methodology describe it as the art of world building.

This thesis illustrates that journalists can better engage their publics by adapting the methods of transmedia storytelling to journalism. By comparing entertainment transmedia storytelling theory and technique with examples of journalism that illustrate one or more of these techniques, this thesis explores whether journalists can reach more individuals, achieve better engagement and participation from their publics and more thoroughly communicate the complexity and context of any story.