Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism which is written subjectively, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first person narrative. The word Gonzo was first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style. The term has since been applied to other subjective artistic endeavors.
Gonzo journalism tends to favor style over accuracy and often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic or event being covered. It disregards the 'polished' edited product favored by newspaper media and strives for the gritty factor. Use of quotations, sarcasm, humor, exaggeration, and even profanity is common. The use of Gonzo journalism suggests that journalism can be truthful without striving for objectivity and is loosely equivalent to an editorial. For an example Hunter S Thompson's fear and loathing in las Vegar. and PJo Rourke's Holidays in Hell and so on.Contemporary styles of Gonzo journalism have sprung up in the blogsphere for examples and travel journalism. Gonzo has also worked its way into cartoons targeting the 18-36 years old male demographic manifested in a character based. In factHunter Thompson's famous quote"to weired to live and too rare to die" could have been directed towards Gonzo journalism as a writing styles.In Gonzo journalism, a journalist is free to participate in events and circumstances which may themselves be considered newsworthy. A Gonzo journalist can actively participate in a political candidates campaign without making any effort to appear politically neutral or unbiased.
