The Definition Of Gonzo Journalism

The Definition Of Gonzo JournalismGonzo invigorateds media continues to be nonp aril of the around popular dashs of writing that has ever been crafted in journalism. The please that surrounds the published works of gonzo seems to be that it will al moods contort the normal structure of normal journalism. In a large majority of intelligence activity stories today, in that location is the pyramid of entropy where by the revolutionarys worthy information will be at the top with less arouse exposit going further down. In gonzo the balance went missing and an clause was delineate by what the author experienced more than what the actual bilgewater was assay to report.The gonzo journalism style has al shipway been widely accepted as existence associated with the unusual and quirky writing of Dr hunting watch S Thompson. (Wenner Seymour, 2007) Thompson became one of the most popular journalists ever thanks to writing in a simplistic style that consisted of telling a discu ssion news report by dint of the eye of the author.Despite having many differences, gonzo has long been shoved in the same pigeon-hole as the peeled journalism revolution. (Weingarten, 2005)Although the form of journalism has slipped a military position of the public eye since the finale of Thompson, Gonzo still plays a vital part in making news interesting.This is proven by how popular the works of hunter S Thompson ar today in comparison to when they were written and this shows the skill involved in creating this intricate art.All atomic number 18as of the media pee-pee, at some(prenominal) point, incorporated gonzo into their style because it keeps puff up reported beats fresh and on the integralows new angles to be determined. charm the style has remained popular, Thompson has concreted himself as the inventor and perfectionist of the gonzo craft a author to be imitated bargonly neer bettered.Gonzo journalism is one of the most entertaining forms of writing and its continuation and culture is extremely important for the futurity of journalism.1.2 Aims and ObjectivesThe special aim for this talk is to examine the origins and commentary of gonzo journalism and to understand the implications of this style of writing on journalism and fin alto acquirehery composing recommendations and conclusions.The authors own aim is to use multiple query techniques to hand an improved understanding of gonzo journalism and the implications for the use of this style.The following objectives have been structured in value for the author to be able to achieve the aims put in come break of the closet aboveThoroughly search all genuine which is related to gonzo journalism and/or hunting watch S ThompsonInvestigate the origins and description of gonzo journalismReview multiple forms of lit relating to and including the works of huntsman S ThompsonUnderstand the implications that gonzo dod within the practice of journalismExamine relevant sources o n gonzo to decree whether the style has been productive to journalismExplore what will be beneficial for gonzo journalism to continue being implicated in the future practice of journalism1.3 Methodology1.3.1 Selected method of researchThis dissertation is derived from research that has come from primary or collat whilel sources, or in some instances both of these sources. Primary research has many advantages over secondary sources as the researcher provide modify the research question to counsel on a tiny subject matter. Surveys and questionnaires be a expectant way of achieving relevant answers to a question that has not been asked out front by a secondary source. The results from the surveys and questionnaires provide the author with up-to-date findings and results that help to meet the aims of the dissertation. secondary coil sources are filmily available and take less succession and cipher to produce results that will help to meet the objectives. The majority of books and journals can be accessed through with(predicate) online academic databases such as Athens and this makes the reliability of the sources a considerable potful higher. The search functions can track down relevant sources quickly and accurately to make sure that the sources used match all the objectives.To comp allowe the objectives set out above, primary research and secondary research were both adopted. The primary research would take the form of interviews and surveys as these were the most simplistic ways to achieve the dissertation aims. tri notwithstandingary sources were gained through endless searches of the Edinburgh Napier University libraries and the online databases available to the University through Athens. Background readings and definitions on gonzo were as well as obtained from online resources such as newspapers, magazines and blogs. The origin for including secondary sources was to add extra reliability to the results as primary sources can practically have limitations.1.3.2 Limitations of research methodLimitations for this dissertation have surrounded the finale to include primary sources as ofttimes these have more disadvantages than advantages. Secondary sources were essential tho, while the death of Hunter S Thompson is highly documented, in that location are very some sources that discuss gonzo journalism and the hi flooring arsehole it. This limitation meant that more primary sources such as interviews would need to be used to gain reliable research on the authoritative definition of gonzo.Surveys and questionnaires can be invaluable sources but are time devour and provide many issues regarding the validity. There is a question over the fellowship of the respondents answers and sluice a small chance that the respondent is unaware of the subject and are guess answering.The limitations of secondary sources are mainly concerned with the inaccessibility of enough relevant sources and those sources that are show being non-academic and some raze inaccurate. Many online sources have to be double checked for validity as blogs, newspapers and magazines can sometimes be written by inexperienced authors who are not cognitionable near the subject.1.4 StructureThe dissertation shall begin with a literature polish up of gonzo(This dissertation will start out with a literature recapitulation on Enterprise Resource Planningin Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is then dedicated to a literature review on Organisational Culture.The two topics will be combined in Chapter 4, first gear in a literature review and then in ananalysis of the discussed literature. The conclusions and recommendations out of this analysisfollow in Chapter 5.)2. Literature Review2.1 Literature review Gonzo a definitionOne evidence Thompson hasnt shown up in journals oftentimes is his association with NewJournalism. In a 1989 survey of small literature about New Journalism, James Stull1 foundonly sixteen profound works that address the musi c literary genre. Since then, little has been added. NewJournalisms general omission from critical consideration in literary journals may exist simplybecause the genre is only forty years old, a baby in the eye of academia. It is also regarded assomething of a bastard child, somewhere between legend and journalism. New Journalists arenotorious for blending fact and fiction, writing through overt subjectivity, and point instigatingevents they report on. These factors make it difficult to point out exactly where journalism ends1 Stull, James N. New Journalism canvass the Critical Literature. North Dakota Quarterly 57 (1989), 164-74.2and fiction begins.While gonzo might the best genre to file Thompson under, and the most commonly utilise to do so, it seems a shame to do so. Gonzo, while an almost echoic hint atwhat to expect, is something of an Other category. Well, hes not instead this one, not quitethat oneoh, lets just toss him over there. The term also carries an implied inf eriority.Gonzo sounds unprepared, thread together, and madcap. Thompson himself has expressed anuneasiness with the term. I never really was spotlessly gentle with the leger gonzo, hesays in an interview50. It was not mine originally.Thompsons term was felon journalism. This is much more appealing than gonzo.Gonzo might as well be replaced with wacky.The realists (the safer group,headed by Wolfe) are concerned with intense observation and the accurate insurance coverage of what wasobserved. They assume there exists a conventional, shared context between the writer andreader. On the other hand, the modernists, such as Norman Mailer and Thompson, believe therecan be no single frame of reference and focus on breaking down that notion, which they see as a misguided assumption (192).2.2 Literature review the works of Hunter S. Thompson2.3 Literature review Gonzo the implications for practiceFour years after his death, Dr Hunter S. Thompson remains one of journalisms greatest cult send offs. His work created a in all new genre of journalism entitled Gonzo and his legacy still remains just as strong today as it did when he started his unique style in the 1970s.The term gonzo has more often than not been related back to Hunter S Thompson and his unique style of reporting news. The term has receive increasingly popular since the creation of gonzo journalism and was even accepted into the dictionary in 2003. The Oxford Dictionary states that gonzo is 1 of or associated with journalism of an exaggerated, subjective, and fictionalized style. 2 bizarre or crazy. The first reported case of Thompson using this style was during the time he wrote the article The Kentucky Derby which was published in June 1970. The article was originally meant to be a straight sports story that told the outcome of a race but Thompson was disgusted by the decadent and depraved way in which the advertise behaved. According to his book The Great Shark Hunt, Thompson explained that he ha d scribbled down notes of everything he had witnessed that day and then faxed them through in a random order to his editor. The outcome was an incoherent, first-person rambling about society as a whole rather than anything to do with the Kentucky Derby.Another journalist at the newspaper read over the article and told Thompson that his style was totally gonzo.1Although Hunter later confessed he had no idea what the saying meant, he kept it as his own. In interviews with numerous magazines since then, he has given a literary meaning of the word by saying that it followed William Faulkners dictum that the best fiction is more true than any kind of journalism.2In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Thompson exposit stumbling upon gonzo journalism as same(p) falling down an elevator spear and landing in a pool of mermaids.3While gonzo journalism is a popular subject in society, it is not often talked about in academic literature other than to be referenced when discussing large r movements, such as The New Journalism. (vacuum-clean, 2009)Thompson continually broke the rules throughout his career and for a long time was rejected by many publications because of his erratic style and behaviour. In the 2007 book by Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour entitled Gonzo The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson, the people closest to Thompson give interviews surrounding his controversial life. It is a account with a difference as it gives a detailed analysis of Hunters entire life by the people who knew him best the ones he grew up with and worked alongside. A opposite side to Thompson is found in this book because not all the people who are interviewed particularly like him. Ex-editors and his ex-wife tell tales of his erratic draw and drug fuelled trips that ended in him not contacting anyone for days. Editors talk rudely about Hunter being unpredictable and never on time which make him virtually unemployable. The reader gets a sense of why Thompson always freelanc ed and even when he was doing okay why he would get up and find work elsewhere. It sums up why Hunter remains as idolise as he still is today, the man lived his life exactly how he wanted to and did things his own way. In his own effective he managed to become as famed as any rock paradigm of his era and all the while by using a pen and typewriter. twist Journalist The life of Hunter S. Thompson by William McKeen is other book that underlies the reason that people are still entranced by Thompsons life and individual(prenominal) style. This book looks closely at the relationship between Hunter as a writer and his rise to becoming a cult icon. The brutal truth that Hunter would write about offended most but at the same time encapsulated a large majority of readers. McKeen analyses Thompsons cock-a-hoop boy image and reputation and ties in the facts that people tangle like they could trust Thompson because he spoke his mind and unveiled the darker side of a world people know ex ists. However, the author is quick to point out the irony of a man out of his mind on drugs public lecture about how much of a liar Nixon is and how the American dream was all a farce. The book delves into Thompsons dark and violent past with interviews from his ex-wife explaining that his temper was the reason why they were divorced. Like all the people Hunter met in life, there are always good stories and bad stories about him and Mckeen balances the two to create a book that shows both sides of Thompson. The work-aholic journalist who would give his all and even risk his own wellbeing to get a better story and the violent, drugged-up man who was shouting his head off while defecateing a shotgun. McKeens conclusions are that Hunter gave the writing world a stand-alone figure who would dare to break all the rules and take risks just for the entertainment of others. virtually of the conclusion on this analysis looks back at Thompsons book Hells Angels and how he had risked his li fe and almost paid for it by trying to get an interior story.Marc Weingartens book, The Gang that Wouldnt Write Straight, focuses on gonzo journalism as a whole genre rather than just describing the works of Hunter Thompson. Around the time that Thompson had chiselled his unique style and found an appropriate title for it, there were already authors who had shown similar signs of creativity. Tom Wolfe and older writers such as Truman Capote had already published stories that were in many ways similar to Thompsons gonzo journalism but lacked the harsh truth that only Hunter could properly tell. The book is an interesting read because much of the books focus merely on Thompson and his career before and after the creation of gonzo journalism. This book looks at seven authors that helped shape the new journalism revolution and then all(prenominal) of them brings their own memories and sights of that time into each chapter.When asked why he felt that he had become more famous out of g onzo, Hunter wrote, Wolfes problem is that he is too crusty to inscribe in his stories. The people he feels comfortable with are dull as stale dogshit, and the people who seem to fascinate him as a writer are so weird that they make him nervous. The only thing new and unusual about Wolfes journalism is that hes an abnormally good reporter.There are a lot of quirky parts to the book that make it contrastive to other gonzo pieces and another reason is that the authors give their reasons behind the stories. For Hunter, this meant going into great detail about what had kaput(p) through his head for wanting to crossroads the Hells Angels. The implications for practice today can certainly be understood from this chapter alone, as Hunter talks about his need to show the true side of human nature no matter what the outcome was to him. At the time, everyone knew the Hells Angels were no good but no-one quite knew the extent of what they were capable until Hunter had gone along and unvei led everything. In his own book Hells Angels, Thompson obviously tells the story how it was but it is fascinating getting inside the mans head to know why he wanted to report on something so dangerous. Probably another reason why Hunter remains a cult icon and gonzo journalism is still practiced today is because he constantly felt the urge to stand up to what most people would turn a blind eye to. Much like the way stories are found today, he was passionate about getting the truth and he would get involved with anyone with that information, just for the purpose of entertainment. Weingarten concludes that Hunters success was because he was truly different from other investigative journalists at the time because once he had locked in on a story it would consume him. That would be to the point where he would take unnecessary risks and ask questions to people who anyone else would leave well alone. Hunter got away from the Hells Angels with a severe beating but the legacy of that story remains Thompsons most hard-hitting gonzo classic.Steven Hoovers journal article, Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism a guide to the research, is essential for being able to find the best materials that are most relevant to researching and writing any articles on Thompsons work. As the article points out, While Gonzo seems to be a unique word at first glance, it is not as uncommon as one might imagine. Gonzo is also a surname, a Muppet, a Nipponese animation studio, and a Japanese Buddhist monk who lived in the Heian Period.The research journal offers a great deal more than any Thompson bibliography could because years of literary reviews have already been carried out on the best research material by Hoover.Hoover argues that because of technological advancements of the internet it has become increasingly difficult to get hold of Hunters older material due to search results not flagging the right results up. When trying to get hold of proper gonzo journalism, search results mor e often than not bring up journalism websites that have a Hunter S Thompson obituary instead.Hoover successfully points the way to the most stabilising resources available and gives a detailed description of the materials that are found in each of them. This proves invaluable for being able to find reliable sources that can provide academic opinions for any research articles being conducted about Thompson.In conclusion, it is a difficult task to find any academic opinion on Thompson because he was such a controversial figure. Very few academics have discussed Hunters private life and the true meanings behind gonzo journalism let alone how it has helped pave the way to journalism the way it is today. The authors who have the knowledge of Hunters career are life-long fans of his work and know a great deal about his upbringing and personality. However, it is the lack of acknowledgment surrounding Hunters involvement in forever changing the way reporters tell stories, that proves to b e challenging. There are plenty of books and journals about new journalism but these merely slideway over the facts about Hunters unusual style and concentrate on how he is the creator of gonzo journalism.I feel that the books I have read so far cover part of what I need to complete my dissertation but I will need to find other ways of analysing Hunters impact on todays society.3. Methodology4. Analysis5. Conclusions and recommendations6. Appendices7. References