What is Gonzo journalism?
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It was coined by Hunter S Thompson.
Traditional journalism is all about recording events, but not interfering with them, like the “prime directive” on Star Trek. A journalist at a football game for example, would stand by, noting the scores and referee calls and effort put in by players. It would be unethical for a journalist covering an event to participate in it, because the journalist would “lose objectivity” and not cover the two football teams evenly for fairly.
Gonzo journalism takes the opposite approach.
A gonzo journalist like Hunter S Thompson would want to help the reader understand what football games are like. So he would *play on a team* instead of watching, record the *feel* of playing the game and the events in the locker room. He’s tell you about the sweat of other players hitting your face, the fight the players got into at a bar, the raw emotion.
There both valid forms of journalism. Traditional journalism is detached, neutral, and clearheaded. Gonzo journalism helps you understand the human experience of the subject by being the exact opposite.
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