Dutchproblogger.com
Ernst-Jan Pfauth of Amsterdam
Hunter S Thompson is a hero of many. The writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the most honest book about the Hell’s Angels appeals to thousands of young journalists. He invented Gonzo Journalism. A journalism genre that finds its roots in New Journalism, where the old distinctions between journalism and creative writing were blurred. Tom Wolfe and Truman Capote are two of the most famous New Journalism-writers.
Gonzo Journalism took things a little further. It’s more colorful, wilder and more extreme. As the BBC puts it: ,where Tom Wolfe politely declined an acid tab in his iconic Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Hunter S Thompson denied himself nothing. (..) The writer became the story. Structure was thrown out of the window, replaced by a shambolic, yet magical, rollercoaster ride of artless hedonism.”
So Thompson died in 2005. You’ve read all his books. What’s left? Pointless nostalgia? Or can we reinvent this genre? Give it a twist and adapt it to the digital revolution which took place? Let’s find out.
What’s there to write about?
To get an idea how we can reinvent Gonzo Journalism we should come up with some ideas for stories first. After that we can brainstorm about how we could cover these subjects in a new and rocking way. I posted the following message on Twitter yesterday:
Want to experiment with Gonzo Journalism (coined by Hunter S Thompson) and thinking about spectacular subject. Who has an idea?
Some stories that need Gonzo style reporting
Olaf Koens, a Dutch correspondent in Moscow suggested to send a reporter to war-zone, since that’s one of the subjects where Hunter S Thompson had flaws. A few hours later, he added:
Antonie Fountain from the band Little Things That Kill suggested to investigate trafficking and forced prostitution on the Red Light District.
Tom Rovers said that we should go to a music festival since most festival reports are boring and can use some Gonzo style reporting.
Twitter user Gumbah said we’ve to investigate coffeeshop suppliers by posting outside their doors. ,,Gonzo style would be to infiltrate their system,” I replied. Then he came up with the brilliant idea to start our own shop.
Journalistic talent Loek Essers has sent me a direct message with two story ideas and even mentioned who should write them. Firstly a story by Antonie van Campen about the world of the Roma in Europe and secondly Adriaan Alsema should write a Gonzo story about gang wars in Colombia.
Last but not least, Sjeltur had a gonzo tip that sounded somewhat familiar: ,,Start a political party. Make a weird movie. Get elected and become THE new politician! ”
Those ideas make a great start, what’s next?
So the idea of reinventing Gonzo Journalism has been coined, the first story ideas have been submitted, what’s next? Well, I’d say two things:
Let’s come up with even more story ideas! Let’s think about how we can use new technology for the reinvention of Gonzo! I can’t wait to see your comments and ideas and write another post about them. Gonzo style!
(Anybody who says Gonzo 2.0 must buy the other commenters a bottle of whiskey!)
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