TY - JOUR

T1 - The Kinship of Literary Journalism and Cultural Journalism

T2 - Everyday Life, Interpretation, and Emotionality

AU - Kristensen, Nete Nørgaard

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - This exploration is a first attempt to bring together two strands of research in journalism studies––literary journalism studies and cultural journalism studies––to highlight some of the professional values and practices that literary and cultural journalists share. These include a commitment to everyday events, personal engagement, interpretation and emotions, voice, and providing cultural and aesthetic experiences. While it is important not to be blind to the differences between literary journalism and cultural journalism, it is also important to highlight their commonalities, because other forms of Western journalism, such as news reporting and political journalism, currently appear to be adopting features that literary and cultural journalism have in common. This suggests that while literary and cultural journalism may have gained momentum, they might also be losing some of their distinctive edge. To contextualize this analysis within the broader field of journalism studies, three journalistic trends are highlighted that serve as important perspectives for clarifying the kinship and momentum of literary and cultural journalism: the media’s shift of attention from public affairs to everyday life, an interpretive turn in journalism, and a recognition of emotions as a part of journalism. The analysis suggests Denmark as a compelling geographic context for studying the links between literary journalism and cultural journalism because this Nordic country has recently seen media initiatives specifically encouraging literary approaches to cultural reporting.

AB - This exploration is a first attempt to bring together two strands of research in journalism studies––literary journalism studies and cultural journalism studies––to highlight some of the professional values and practices that literary and cultural journalists share. These include a commitment to everyday events, personal engagement, interpretation and emotions, voice, and providing cultural and aesthetic experiences. While it is important not to be blind to the differences between literary journalism and cultural journalism, it is also important to highlight their commonalities, because other forms of Western journalism, such as news reporting and political journalism, currently appear to be adopting features that literary and cultural journalism have in common. This suggests that while literary and cultural journalism may have gained momentum, they might also be losing some of their distinctive edge. To contextualize this analysis within the broader field of journalism studies, three journalistic trends are highlighted that serve as important perspectives for clarifying the kinship and momentum of literary and cultural journalism: the media’s shift of attention from public affairs to everyday life, an interpretive turn in journalism, and a recognition of emotions as a part of journalism. The analysis suggests Denmark as a compelling geographic context for studying the links between literary journalism and cultural journalism because this Nordic country has recently seen media initiatives specifically encouraging literary approaches to cultural reporting.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 14

SP - 10

EP - 31

JO - Literary Journalism Studies

JF - Literary Journalism Studies

SN - 1944-897X

IS - 1

ER -