New Journalism Seminar Paper

New Journalism was a style of the 60s/70s that incorporated literary techniques that were considered unconventional in journalism at the time. The term was used by Tom Wolfe in 1973 when he published a collection of articles as “The New Journalism”. It included texts by himself, Capote, Thomson, Mailer, Didion, Christgau, Talese, and others. At the time New Journalism was vilified for being unconcerned with facts, but it has since become commonplace in various newspapers, and is now referred to as "literary journalism" or "creative non-fiction".

The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved

An American author and journalist, Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was Born in Louisville, Kentucky to a middle class family. He was imprisoned for 60 days after assisting a robbery and was consequently unable to formally finish high school. He therefore joined the United States air Force before advancing into journalism.

Although he was previously a conventional journalist, he became a part of the counter-culture with the publication of the sports article"The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" in 1970. It was an experimental piece in which he was the central figure. It was written without claims of objectivity unlike traditional news, which  tends to favour a detached tone and relies on verifiable facts and quotations. It was a form of subjective/emotional story telling and became a style that Thomson later came to represent in the 1970s. He called this brand of new journalism “Gonzo”.

Unlike traditional pieces, Gonzo articles use sarcasm, humour, exaggerations and profanities. This is because the personality of the piece is as important as the subject matter.

In an interview in the February 15 1973 issue of Rolling Stone Thomson stated that "If I'd written the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism."

The article focused less on the race and more on the celebration and supposed “depravity” that surrounded Kentucky Derby. He describes life in Derby Infield and provides a commentary on the drunkenness and lewdness of the crowd.

The piece ends with the Anagnorisis (a moment when a character makes a critical discovery), that both Thomson and Steadman are exactly the type of people they originally intended to caricature. It is claimed that the term “Gonzo” is slang for depicting the last man standing after an all night drinking binge.

Radical chic: That party at Lenny's

Tom Wolfe, born in 1931, is an American author and journalist and is well known for his influence over New Journalism. His piece “Radical chic: That party at Lenny's” ridicules celebrities and socialites adopting and promoting radical political causes, and in particular, composer Bernstein and his friends for hosting a fund-raising party for the socialist organisation, Black Panthers.

Unlike traditional news articles which focus on the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why), Wolfe's piece is vague, uses the first person narrative, and is written multiple literary devices. He also dwells on an intricately describes settings, perhaps in an attempt to make the reader feel closer to the scene. All these techniques are typical of New Journalism as they step away from the traditional rigid way of reporting stories.

According to Wolf, the aim of new journalism is to involve the reader both intellectually and emotionally. To say: "Come here! Look! This is the way people live these days! These are the things they do!"

The New Journalism

American Journalism

Journalism began in America with  the 'Penny Papers'. The papers were targeted at the working class, and funded by political parties. In the 19th Century, objectivity became a factor in journalism to due to the wire services. Objectivity became hugely profitable.  H. A. Myrick defines objectivity "As the expressing, or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations” The first new Journalism-'The Yellow Press' (late 19th century). It covered sensationalised stories and was considered “journalism without a soul”

Papers began to use emotive headlines, dramatic stories that focused on sin and sex. This was the starting point of tabloids. By the 60s, daily events began being recorded in a formulaic way, using the 5 ws (who, what where, when, why?) This new journalism was an attempt to record events mirroring  language and style of the events.

Politics/Culture:

-Great hope of JFK was destroyed in assignation
-1963- War in Vietnam
-Muhammad Ali refused to be in the army
-Baby boom after WW2 created youth culture. Voice of radical change was younger generations wishing to rebel against old conventions.
-Sexual Revolution- Introduction of the pill, and sexual freedom.
-prohibition of drugs created subcultures. LSD seen as an escape of controlling hierarchy.
-Music of the 60s attack on the norms. Drug fueled, political and anti establishment.

Existentialism:

-freedom and choice.
-Anti-establishment feeling-''There is a policeman inside your head- he must be destroyed''.
-Bad faith/ journalism questioned for objectivity
-New forms of Journalism began to emerge
-This alternative journalism was personal and expressed an individual point of view.