2.4 Cultural and technological influences on literary journalism
4 min read•august 9, 2024
Literary journalism evolved with cultural shifts and tech advancements. The and sparked skepticism, leading to more investigative reporting. Journalists began questioning authority and giving voice to marginalized perspectives.
New tech like TV and the internet changed how stories were told and shared. and democratized publishing, while and podcasts opened up fresh ways to engage audiences with in-depth narratives.
Cultural Influences
Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement
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- Vietnam War sparked public skepticism of government narratives
- Journalists challenged official accounts of the conflict
- Increased focus on investigative reporting and exposing hidden truths
- Civil Rights Movement brought attention to systemic inequalities
- Literary journalists documented protests, violence, and social change
- Empowered marginalized voices and perspectives in reporting
- Both events fostered a culture of questioning authority and institutions
- Journalists adopted more critical and analytical approaches
- Readers demanded more in-depth and nuanced coverage of complex issues
Counterculture and Social Change
- of the 1960s influenced literary journalism styles
- emerged, blending literary techniques with factual reporting
- Writers like and pioneered immersive, subjective approaches
- Shift towards more personal and experiential forms of storytelling
- Journalists began inserting themselves into narratives as active participants
- Emphasis on capturing the mood and atmosphere of events, not just facts
- Exploration of alternative lifestyles and subcultures in reporting
- Coverage of hippie communities, drug culture, and social experiments
- Challenged traditional notions of objectivity in journalism
Technological Developments
Television News and Broadcast Media
- revolutionized information dissemination
- Visual medium brought events directly into people's homes
- Accelerated news cycles and demand for immediate coverage
- Broadcast journalism influenced print media techniques
- Writers adopted more concise, impactful language to compete with TV
- Increased emphasis on vivid descriptions and scene-setting in print
- Television personalities became influential figures in journalism
- Anchors like shaped public opinion and trust in media
- Blurred lines between reporting and commentary in some cases
Digital Media and Online Platforms
- Internet transformed access to and distribution of information
- Online news outlets provided 24/7 coverage and real-time updates
- Democratized publishing, allowing anyone to become a content creator
- Blogs emerged as a new form of personal journalism
- Offered unfiltered, opinionated perspectives on current events
- Challenged traditional gatekeeping roles of established media
- Online platforms enabled multimedia integration in storytelling
- Journalists could combine text, images, video, and interactive elements
- Enhanced ability to present complex narratives in engaging formats
Social Media and Citizen Journalism
- Social media platforms revolutionized information sharing
- Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram became sources of breaking news
- Enabled direct communication between journalists and audiences
- Rise of and user-generated content
- Eyewitness accounts and amateur footage became valuable news sources
- Challenged professional journalists to verify and contextualize information
- Social media amplified voices and movements
- Hashtags (BlackLivesMatter) mobilized communities and drove narratives
- Journalists adapted to cover viral stories and online phenomena
Emerging Formats
Multimedia Storytelling and Interactive Journalism
- Multimedia storytelling combined various media forms
- Integrated text, photos, videos, audio, and graphics in single narratives
- New York Times' "Snow Fall" project showcased potential of multimedia journalism
- Interactive elements engaged readers in new ways
- Data visualizations allowed exploration of complex information
- Choose-your-own-adventure style stories personalized reading experiences
- Virtual and augmented reality expanded immersive journalism
- VR documentaries transported viewers to distant locations or historical events
- AR applications added layers of information to real-world environments
Long-form Journalism and Digital Longreads
- Resurgence of in digital age
- Platforms like Medium and Longreads catered to in-depth storytelling
- Challenged notion that online readers only want short, quick content
- Digital longread format combined depth with interactive elements
- Allowed for seamless integration of multimedia within long-form articles
- Enhanced through scrollytelling techniques
- Subscription-based models supported quality long-form content
- Publications like The Atlantic and The New Yorker invested in extensive features
- Readers showed willingness to pay for well-researched, in-depth journalism
Podcasting and Audio Storytelling
- revolutionized audio journalism and storytelling
- Serial podcast popularized long-form audio narratives
- Enabled niche topics and perspectives to find dedicated audiences
- Audio format allowed for intimate, conversational storytelling
- Hosts developed personal connections with listeners
- Interviews and discussions could delve deeper into subjects
- Investigative journalism found new life in podcast format
- Shows like "In the Dark" reopened cold cases and influenced legal outcomes
- Audio documentaries explored complex issues over multiple episodes
- Podcasting lowered barriers to entry for independent journalists
- Affordable recording equipment and hosting platforms democratized audio production
- Allowed for experimentation with new narrative styles and formats
Key Terms to Review (31)
Audio storytelling: Audio storytelling is a narrative technique that uses sound, voice, and music to convey stories and engage audiences. It leverages the auditory senses to create immersive experiences, often blending personal anecdotes with factual reporting. This form of storytelling has been greatly influenced by cultural shifts and technological advancements, allowing it to thrive in various formats such as podcasts, radio documentaries, and audio essays.
Citizen journalism: Citizen journalism refers to the practice where everyday individuals report news and share information, often using digital tools and platforms. This phenomenon is driven by technological advancements that enable anyone with a smartphone or internet access to contribute to the news landscape, challenging traditional media narratives and democratizing the flow of information. It plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse, as ordinary citizens become storytellers and amplify underrepresented voices.
Civil rights movement: The civil rights movement was a social and political struggle in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans. This movement sought to secure equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, promoting social justice through peaceful protests, legal challenges, and grassroots activism. Its significance is amplified by the ways it influenced new forms of journalism and cultural expressions during this transformative era.
Counterculture Movement: The counterculture movement refers to a social and cultural phenomenon that emerged primarily in the 1960s, characterized by the rejection of mainstream societal norms and values. This movement sought to challenge conventional lifestyles, promoting alternative ways of living, political activism, and artistic expression, particularly through music, literature, and visual arts. The counterculture movement significantly influenced various forms of creative expression and was deeply intertwined with broader cultural and technological changes during its time.
Cultural Commentary: Cultural commentary refers to the critical analysis and interpretation of societal norms, values, and issues through narratives, often highlighting the complexities of human experience. It connects deeply with narrative journalism by reflecting on cultural phenomena and current events, offering insight into both historical and contemporary contexts while examining how stories shape our understanding of the world.
Cultural Criticism: Cultural criticism is an analytical approach that examines and interprets cultural artifacts, practices, and phenomena to uncover underlying social, political, and ideological meanings. This method seeks to challenge the status quo by highlighting power dynamics, cultural narratives, and the impact of societal norms on individuals and communities. In relation to literary journalism, cultural criticism plays a crucial role in understanding how culture and technology shape narrative forms and journalistic practices.
Digital longreads: Digital longreads are in-depth, lengthy articles published online that focus on storytelling, often combining narrative techniques with research and analysis. These pieces utilize the unique features of digital platforms, such as multimedia elements and hypertext links, to enhance the reading experience and engage audiences on a deeper level.
Digital media: Digital media refers to content that is created, shared, and consumed in a digital format, utilizing electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets. This form of media encompasses a wide range of formats including text, audio, video, and interactive content, allowing for a more dynamic and engaging storytelling experience. The rise of digital media has significantly transformed how narratives are presented and accessed in contemporary society.
Gonzo journalism: Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that blends facts with fiction, often featuring the journalist as an active participant in the story. It breaks away from traditional journalism's objectivity, allowing for a more immersive and subjective narrative that captures the emotional truth of events.
Hunter S. Thompson: Hunter S. Thompson was an influential American journalist and author known for pioneering the style of gonzo journalism, which blends facts with fiction to provide a more immersive narrative experience. His work captured the spirit of the 1960s and 1970s, reflecting social upheaval, countercultural movements, and the disillusionment with traditional journalism.
Immersion journalism: Immersion journalism is a style of reporting where the journalist becomes fully involved in the environment and experiences they are covering, often participating in the daily lives of the subjects. This approach allows for deeper storytelling by providing first-hand accounts and rich detail that go beyond traditional reporting methods, making it essential in narrative journalism. By prioritizing personal experience and engagement, immersion journalism enhances the connection between the reader and the story, making it a powerful tool in modern media.
Interactive journalism: Interactive journalism is a form of journalism that combines traditional reporting with digital tools and platforms to engage audiences in a more participatory way. This approach allows for the integration of multimedia elements, audience feedback, and real-time updates, creating a dynamic storytelling experience that can enhance the depth and impact of the reported narrative.
Journalistic objectivity: Journalistic objectivity refers to the practice of journalists reporting news in an impartial, balanced, and fair manner without letting personal biases or opinions interfere. This approach is critical for maintaining credibility and trust with the audience, as it aims to present facts accurately while allowing readers to form their own opinions. Objectivity fosters a space where diverse perspectives can coexist, making it essential for both traditional journalism and literary journalism, especially during times of social and cultural upheaval.
Long-form journalism: Long-form journalism is an in-depth storytelling format that typically exceeds 1,500 words, offering comprehensive narratives on complex topics, issues, or events. This style emphasizes thorough research, detailed reporting, and immersive storytelling techniques, engaging readers in a way that shorter pieces often cannot. By providing context and exploring multiple facets of a subject, long-form journalism plays a crucial role in enriching the media landscape and fostering informed public discourse.
Longform journalism: Longform journalism is a style of writing that focuses on in-depth storytelling, allowing journalists to explore complex topics in a detailed and nuanced way. This format often combines thorough research, extensive interviews, and a narrative structure that keeps readers engaged over longer articles, as opposed to traditional short news pieces. It has evolved through the integration of cultural shifts and technological advances, enabling more experimental approaches to storytelling.
Media theory: Media theory is a framework for understanding how various forms of media influence society, culture, and communication practices. It examines the relationship between media, the audience, and the context in which media is produced and consumed, shedding light on how media shapes public perception and narrative construction.
Modernism: Modernism is a broad cultural, artistic, and literary movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by a break from traditional forms and a search for new ways of expression. This movement arose in response to the rapid changes in society, technology, and culture, leading to innovative approaches in literature that reflected the complexities of modern life. Modernism often emphasized subjectivity, fragmentation, and a focus on the inner self, which made it highly influential in shaping literary journalism.
Multimedia storytelling: Multimedia storytelling combines various forms of media—such as text, audio, images, and video—to create a rich narrative experience that engages audiences in multiple ways. This approach enhances the traditional storytelling methods by utilizing technology to present stories in a more interactive and immersive manner, which is essential for capturing attention in today's fast-paced media landscape.
Narrative nonfiction: Narrative nonfiction is a genre of writing that combines factual reporting with storytelling techniques, allowing writers to present true events in a compelling and engaging manner. This genre often employs elements such as character development, plot structure, and vivid descriptions to create a narrative that feels as immersive as fiction while remaining grounded in reality. It allows for deeper exploration of real-life experiences, making it a powerful tool for journalists and authors alike.
New Journalism: New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, characterized by its use of literary techniques to tell true stories. This approach blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction, allowing writers to create vivid narratives that engage readers on an emotional level while still adhering to factual accuracy. The style transformed how stories are reported, emphasizing narrative structures and character development, leading to a more immersive reading experience.
Online platforms: Online platforms are digital spaces that facilitate the creation, sharing, and consumption of content, enabling interactions among users and providing various services. These platforms play a significant role in shaping how information is disseminated and consumed, particularly in the context of literary journalism, where they allow for diverse storytelling approaches and audience engagement.
Podcasting: Podcasting is a digital medium that allows users to create, distribute, and consume audio content through downloadable episodes or streaming. This format has revolutionized storytelling by enabling diverse voices and narratives to reach a global audience, making it easier for listeners to engage with a variety of topics on their own schedule.
Postmodernism: Postmodernism is a broad intellectual stance or mode of discourse that emerged in the mid-20th century, characterized by a general skepticism toward grand narratives and ideologies. This approach often embraces irony, playfulness, and a blending of genres, reflecting the complexities and contradictions of contemporary society. In literary journalism, postmodernism influences how stories are told, blurring the lines between fact and fiction, and challenging traditional narrative structures.
Reader engagement: Reader engagement refers to the connection and involvement that a reader feels towards a narrative, which significantly enhances their experience and understanding of the story. This connection is essential in creating immersive journalistic narratives that resonate with audiences, often leading them to reflect on the themes presented. The effectiveness of storytelling techniques, cultural context, and editing choices all contribute to fostering this vital relationship between the reader and the narrative.
Social media: Social media refers to digital platforms and technologies that facilitate the creation, sharing, and exchange of content among users. These platforms have transformed how information is disseminated, allowing for immediate communication and engagement, and influencing various forms of journalism, including literary journalism, by enabling real-time feedback and interaction.
Social realism: Social realism is a literary and artistic movement that aims to depict everyday life and the struggles of ordinary people, often highlighting social issues and injustices. This movement emerged as a response to the idealism of previous artistic forms, focusing instead on the harsh realities of life in urban settings, particularly during times of economic hardship or political turmoil.
Subjectivity: Subjectivity refers to the way personal feelings, opinions, and experiences shape an individual's perspective. In narrative journalism, this concept is vital as it helps convey the emotional truth of a story while reflecting the writer's viewpoint, allowing for a more immersive experience that contrasts with strictly factual reporting.
Television news: Television news is a form of broadcast journalism that delivers news stories and current events through visual and audio formats. It combines storytelling with visual elements, engaging viewers with live reports, interviews, and news footage, making it a significant medium for informing the public about local, national, and global issues. This format has been shaped by cultural and technological changes, influencing how stories are presented and consumed.
Tom Wolfe: Tom Wolfe was a prominent American author and journalist, best known for pioneering the genre of New Journalism in the 1960s and 1970s. His innovative narrative techniques transformed traditional journalism by incorporating literary elements and personal perspectives, shaping the landscape of narrative journalism today.
Vietnam War: The Vietnam War was a prolonged conflict that took place from the late 1950s until 1975, primarily involving North Vietnam and its communist allies against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war highlighted deep divisions in American society and was a key event that influenced the New Journalism movement as writers sought to depict the complex realities of war and its effects on soldiers and civilians alike. Furthermore, it marked a significant moment in literary journalism, reflecting changing cultural perspectives and the impact of technology on how stories were told.
Walter Cronkite: Walter Cronkite was a renowned American broadcast journalist and television news anchor, widely regarded as 'the most trusted man in America' during his time. He significantly influenced the field of journalism, especially in terms of cultural and technological advancements that shaped literary journalism, by providing a model of how to blend storytelling with factual reporting.