The atoms of a story
The Atomic Table of Story Elements.
Every story is built from elements. A fact, a quote, a piece of context, a turn of voice. We mapped them like a periodic table. The elements are the craft. The chemical reaction that recombines them is HyperContent.
The table
The Atomic Table of Story Elements (journalism core).
A glimpse of a larger, still-growing table. Journalism is one of several story forms we model.
- Evidentiary
- Framing
- Illustrative
- Qualifier
- Packaging
- Service & close
- Style
- Voice
This is the journalism core. A sample of a much larger, living table we keep expanding across every story form.
The series
The chemistry, one element at a time.
We are publishing the thinking behind the table over time. The origin, the chemistry, the layers, and the forms still joining it. Subscribe and each piece lands the day it drops.
- The Table ↑
The Atomic Table of Story Elements
The journalism core, laid out like a periodic table. Tap any element to see what it is.
Explore the table ↑ - Live
Just what is a “story”?
Twenty years, a dozen newsrooms, and a lexicon that never agreed with itself.
Read it → - Next
Automated Liquid Content
The wall off-the-shelf embeddings and RAG hit, and why a story was never undifferentiated text.
- Coming
Elements, and the Reaction
Elements are only half of chemistry. The other half is the product.
- Coming
Inside the Families
A walk through the groups (Evidentiary, Framing, Voice) and what each one is for.
- Coming
Beyond the Words
The visual and interactive layers that compose the shape a story takes when it reaches a reader.
- Coming
A New Form Joins the Table
Journalism was where we started. What the table looks like as it grows.