Was Mark Twain a Gonzo pioneer?

Can anyone deny that editor Julian Assange has become part of the story? Â It seems that an editor shouldn't be eligible to become the new Hunter Thompson. Â

Perhaps William L. Shirer would say that any writing that permits fictionalizing isn't journalism at all. Â If one admits that true journalism has zero tolerance for fabrications, should Fox News be permitted to refer to itself as a member of the journalism media? Â Could they claim to be purveyors of Gonzo entertainment?

In the December of 1934 issue of Esquire magazine Ernest Hemingway wrote: Â "But the bad luck for the customer is that your correspondent was a working newspaper man and as such used to envy the way columnists were allowed to write about themselves." Â Hemingway overcame that reluctance but can the Gonzo label be applied to his work? Â

The topic of what is the precise definitive definition of Gonzo and who, other than Hunter S. Thompson, can wear the mantle of Gonzo is fertile ground for a book project. Â The topic of journalistic tolerance for fictionalization belongs in the classrooms at various J-schools. Â

Stirring up something and then walking away from it worked for George W. Bush, so we'll give it a try. Â Here's a question for those scholars who like the debates about the possibility that Christopher Marlowe wrote one, some, or all of Shakespeare's plays: Â Did Mark Twain hire Ambrose Bierce to do some ghost writing work?

Sir Winston Churchill wrote: Â "Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result."

Now the disk jockey will play James Booker's 1960 piano instrumental titled "Gonzo," Jerry Lee Louis' song "I wish I was 18 again" Â (listen to the words and tell me that isn't Gonzo journalism set to music), and Ted Nugent's 1978 Double Live Gonzo album. Â

We have to go to the Hiller Aviation Museum to cover their celebration of the DC-3's seventy-fifth birthday. Â Have a "when the going gets weird; the weird turn pro" type week.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).