Gonzo journalism and ‘blog journalism’ are two siblings with the same parent – the public’s desire to be a part of the story they are reading and to share intimately the experiences of the journalist.
Hunter S Thompson and Gonzo Journalism
Courtesy of The Guardian
In an article for Rolling Stone (June 16, 1994) called He Was a Crook, Hunter S Thompson wrote:
It was the built-in blind spots of the Objective rules and dogma that allowed Nixon to slither into the White House… You had to get Subjective to see Nixon clearly, and the shock of recognition was often painful.
Gonzo journalism, through its emotive subjectivity, first-person narrative and creative enhancement of a news story, attempts to make people think for themselves by questioning the reality of what they see and read in the news.
It is a style that advocates creative excess over restraint and personal responsibility. Hunter S Thompson has written (link as above):
If the right people had been in charge of Nixon’s funeral, his casket would have been launched into one of those open-sewage canals that empty into the ocean just south of Los Angeles. He was a swine of a man…
This is an awful thing to write in a man’s obituary, whatever you may think of him personally. There are times when journalists should show restraint – something that ‘gonzo’ ignores completely.
Blog Journalism – Case Study: Nick Robinson
Courtesy of Frank Baron and The Guardian
Professional blog journalism adds the elements of restraint and personal responsibility, while maintaining the subjective, first-person narrative.
Nick Robinson, in his blog, casually puts forward his perspective and first-hand experience of events in a more balanced and appropriate way.
For instance, in At Least Gordon’s Smiling (08/10/2008), he asks: “Everyone in Westminster has noticed that he’s grown in confidence and stature during the crisis. Could he even be enjoying it?” This encourages readers to get directly involved with the discussion by answering his question. One person responds: “Of course he’s enjoying it. All we little people are suffering. Isn’t that what he lives for?”
In The Truce is Over (17/10/08), Robinson writes, “in an interview I’ve just done with the Tory leader the question he appeared to like least was the one where I pressed him to give personal credit to the prime minister for his handling of the past couple of weeks.”
Both of the above take the reader behind the story and make Robinson’s subjective, first-hand experience known without neurotic rambling or any kind of bizarre extremity.
Conclusion
I argue that gonzo journalism has largely collapsed and been replaced by its mature and post-rehab elder brother – blog journalism. There is no longer the same demand for the kind of drug-riddled, inadequate journalism of yester-year, but the benefits reaped by its experimentation have been continued by the blog into present day.
