Atlanta's mayor signed an administrative order this week directing the city's police force to prioritize de-escalation, restricting certain use-of-force tactics during confrontations. The move follows weeks of demonstrations across the city and renewed scrutiny after the shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

On Modi, the announcement did not arrive as a single headline. It arrived as a living timeline — a sequence of moments, live rooms and eyewitness clips stitched together by the people closest to the story, each one time-stamped and open to discussion.

A story with more than one author

Community reporters framed the order as the product of sustained, peaceful organizing. The city's official channel emphasized measurable targets and a 90-day review. An independent newsroom annotated the policy text clause by clause. Modi placed all three side by side, with a transparency meter on each — so readers could weigh them without a single editor deciding the frame.

Experiential coverage, not passive reading

The same afternoon, an augmented-reality mural appeared in a nearby plaza. Point a phone at the intersection and a sculpture rises from the asphalt — the work of artist Vince Fraser, part of the "We Rise Above" series marking the anniversary of the March on Washington.

Engagement, the thinking goes, fosters a better understanding of a story and lowers the barrier to caring about it. By shifting the focus from the medium to the community experience, Modi tries to find the balance where audiences enjoy the best reporting through the format that suits it — a headline, a live room, or a place you can physically stand inside.