This reminded me of a fun and amusing sci-fi short story called "The Tryouts," by Barry Longyear, about an alien culture oriented around storytelling by firelig

This reminded me of a fun and amusing sci-fi short story called "The Tryouts," by Barry Longyear, about an alien culture oriented around storytelling by firelight, which was their means of spreading news and information. The news had to be cast as a good story to be culturally acceptable and paid attention. Recommended if you can get your hands on it (I read it in an Asimov's anthology that I borrowed from a friend).