Claire gives us the lowdown on new journalism.

2. Claire Byrne
New Journalism

3. New Journalism ≠ New Media

4. What even is it?
• Traditional journalism aims to inform readers
through unbiased facts.
• New journalism aimed to present readers a
larger “interpretive truth”.
• Creative, evocative and deeply descriptive.
• While literary journalism had been around for
some time, New Journalism was seen as an
evolution of this reporting.

5. Four Main Literary Devices:
• Third-person point of view
• Scene-by-scene narrative
• Extensive dialogue
• Recording of status-life symbols

6. “I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph.”
Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
• Founding-Father of New
Journalism
• Best known works
include The Electric Kool-
Aid Acid Test, The Black
Panther Party and The
Right Stuff.
• Known for his bad-ass
pimpin’ style; white suits,
hats, a cane.

7. “The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible.
That's not true with non-fiction.” Tom Wolfe
“There goes (VAROOM!
VAROOM!) that Kandy
Kolored
(THPHHHHHH!)
tangerine-flake streamline
baby (RAHGHHHH!)
around the bend
(BRUMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMM).”

8. “I think all novels should be journalism to start,
and if you can ascend from that plateau to some
marvelous altitude, terrific.” Tom Wolfe
• Emerged as New
Journalism's major
spokesperson and
theorist.
• The New Journalism
became the
quintessential guide to
the movement.

9. “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity
to anyone, but they've always worked for me.” Hunter S.
Thompson
• One of the most
prolific writers of the
movement.
• Best-known works
include Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas,
Fear and Loathing on
the Campaign Trail ‘72,
and Hell’s Angels: The
Strange and Terrible
Saga of the Outlaw
Motorcycle Gangs.

10. “If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else
you're going to be locked up.” Hunter S Thompson
• Fore-father of Gonzo
Journalism.
• Sub-genre which
favoured flair over fact.
• Erratic, manic style of
writing.
• The Kentucky Derby is
Decadent and Depraved first
example of Gonzo.

11. “But I'm not a saint yet. I'm an alcoholic. I'm a drug
addict. I'm homosexual. I'm a genius.” Truman Capote
• In Cold Blood, example of
early New Journalism.
• Forged a new, evocative,
multi-layered style of
crime reporting.
• Was highly controversial,
garnered much criticism
for sensationalism.

12. “Writers are always selling somebody
out.” Joan Didion
• One of the most
prominent women in
New Journalism.
• Slouching Towards
Bethlehem was a personal
exploration of
American culture in the
1960s.
• Wrote with husband
John Gregory Dunne.

13. “Writing books is the closest men ever
come to childbearing” Norman Mailer
• A two-time Pulitzer Prize
winner.
• First came to
prominence for
controversial essay White
Negros.
• Broke new ground with
award-winning Armies of
the Night.

14. The Best of the Rest…
• Gay Talese whose
features for Esquire and
The New Yorker helped
to shape modern literary
journalism.
• Michael Herr’s book
Dispatches is widely
credited as the most
accurate, articulate and
honest on the Vietnam
war.

15. The Best of the Rest…
• Nicholas Tomalin, a
distinctive outlandish, yet
deadpan style. His most
famous piece, The General
Goes Zapping Charlie Cong.
• “The only qualities
essential for real success
in journalism are rat-like
cunning, a plausible
manner, and a little
literary ability.”

16. The Publishers

17. Criticism
• Many criticised the lack
of transparency in the
work and the integrity
of the reporters writing
it.
• There is also a school of
thought against Wolfe’s
claim that New
Journalism was in fact
new at all.

18. Criticism
• Lester Markel: "factual
fictionists" performing
as sociologists and
psychoanalysts rather
than as journalists.
• Dwight McDonald: “A
bastard form, having it
both ways, exploiting
the factual authority of
journalism and the
atmospheric license of
fiction.”

19. When New Journalism got Old
• As topics like drugs, rock • The immediacy of
music, war, civil rights, television and then the
social discontent lost internet, left in-depth
relevance so too did New reporting and research
Journalism. somewhat redundant.
• Readerships dwindled
and ad space became a
commodity.

20. I ♥ NJ
• I think any factual
discrepancies are
counteracted by how
evocative the imagery is,
how rich the language is
and how ballsy the writers
are.
• War correspondents of the
New Journalism era played
a huge role in shaping
public opinion, their
influence is still evident
today.

21. If you’d rather watch the movie than
read the book…

22. …But should you care to read further
• The New Journalism by Tom
Wolfe is the best starting
point.
• Michael Shapiro’s The Curse
of Tom Wolfe and Chris
Harvey’s Tom Wolfe’s
Revenge.
• Joan Didion’s The Year of
Magical Thinking.
• Esquire and Rolling Stone
have great archives online.
• Check out Ralph Steadman’s
Gonzo Art.

23. Thank You!
Claire Byrne