Description
Literary journalism's origins can be traced to the nineteenth century, when it developed alongside the era's sentimental literature. Combining fact-based reporting with the sentimentality of popular fiction, literary journalism encouraged readers to empathize with subjects by presenting more nuanced and engaging stories than typical news coverage. While women writers were central to the formation and ongoing significance of the genre, literary journalism scholarship has largely ignored their contributions.
How the News Feels re-centers the work of a range of writers who were active from the nineteenth century until today, including Catharine Williams, Margaret Fuller, Nellie Bly, Winifred Black, Zora Neale Hurston, Joan Didion, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, and Alexis Okeowo. Offering intimate access to their subjects' thoughts, motivations, and yearnings, these journalists encouraged readers to empathize with society's outcasts, from asylum inmates and murder suspects to "fallen women" and the working poor. As this carefully researched study shows, these writers succeeded in defining and developing the genre of literary journalism, with stories that inspire action, engender empathy, and narrow the gap between writer, subject, and audience.
Author: Jonathan D. Fitzgerald
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
Published: 07/28/2023
Pages: 184
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 9.13h x 6.06w x 0.71d
ISBN13: 9781625347220
ISBN10: 1625347227
BISAC Categories:
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Journalism
- Literary Criticism | Women Authors
- Literary Criticism | American | General
About the Author
JONATHAN D. FITZGERALD is assistant professor of humanities at Regis College.