Definition of narrative | Bee Dictionary of English

n a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
his narrative was interesting
s consisting of or characterized by the telling of a story
narrative poetry

Journalists who have resolved to tell the news through the actions, characters and motives of people have committed themselves to dealing in narrative.
The story helped build a media narrative that the Vice President was a serial exaggerator.
This perfectly matches a narrative that encompasses sadistic brutality, wild humor and, yes, a tragic vision of war and its consequences.

An L.A. antiwar protest whose reverberations were felt nationwide
On June 23, 1967, the city was rocked by a violent police response to a peaceful demonstration against the Vietnam War. It was also a major moment in a columnist's family narrative. "On the night of June 23, 1967, the meaning of 'police brutality' took on an electrifying reality for thousands of respectable middle-class residents of Los Angeles who participated in a peaceful anti-Vietnam ...
June 23, 2013 - Los Angeles Times
Ostrow: "Whodunnit?" reality TV murder-mystery game debuts on ABC
Just when the reality-TV format was getting stale, along comes the latest infusion of surreality. Or do we call it fiction? "Whodunnit?" a nine-episode summer oddity, bears scrutiny as a reworking of the genre. The concept marries reality TV to the murder-mystery party game, edits the whole mess into a narrative and invites viewers to play along.
June 23, 2013 - Denver Post
An abstract narrative pops up on Wall Street
Michael Kozlowski's "Carousel" will be on display in "Abstract Narrative." Photo: Contributed Photo Kristina Zallinger's "Flash in the Pan" will be on display in "Abstract Narrative."
June 19, 2013 - The Norwalk Citizen

Antonin Scalia in International Herald Tribune
Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that an individual right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.
Michael Hayden in USA Today
Hayden told reporters afterward that he had "a chance to lay out the narrative, the history of why the tapes were destroyed" and the process that led to that decision.
Ken Burns in Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Accompanying the numerical projections will be a discussion - a projections narrative if you will - that summarizes participants' views of the major forces shaping the outlook, discusses the sources of risk to that outlook and describes the... Ben Bernanke http://www.google.com/url?q=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Bernanke&source=dictionary&usg=AFQjCNEsTNLK-7-f3R5-thHohB-P27CEdw CBS News http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/14/business/main3499663.shtml&source=dictionary&usg=AFQjCNFQN07FP1wFMBI4liT0CwbIXSPmRg Nov 14, 2007 66564 88594 narrator What it allows the film to be is experiential," Burns said. "It's not that our narrator doesn't talk about strategy or tactics, but you're not distracted by celebrities. It's not about Roosevelt and Churchill and Stalin and Hitler. It's not...