Journalism vs. Literature
Imagine that you've just witnessed the best music concert ever. On the drive home you can still imagine yourself in your seat, watching as the musicians put on a great show.
You run into your friends the next day. How will you describe what you experienced? Will you give them "just the facts," or will you weave a wonderful tale, full of suspense and good humor that all audiences love?
Either way, you're writing journalism. Our text tells us that journalism is bringing the news of the day to an audience (Chapter 1). You're certainly doing that with either of these two forms of storytelling. One is straight-up journalism and the other is literary journalism, also known as creative nonfiction.
So what's the difference between journalism and literature?
Barbara Lounsberry, a literary critic who wrote The Art of Fact suggests that journalism, and more specifically literary journalism, has four characteristics:
1. It contains "documentable information taken from the real world instead of 'invented' from the writer's mind.
2. It contains exhaustive research, backed up by references in the text.
3. It contains "The scene". She stresses the importance of describing and reviving the context of events instead of the typical journalistic style of objective reporting.
4. It contains "Fine writing: a literary prose style."
Your Assignment:
First: If you need a refresher on the difference between journalism and English writing, view the powerpoint again. You can find it on the CHS Homework Board on the BBS.
Second: Choose something that happened to you in the past week and write a three- or more-paragraph story in which you "cover" it as a journalist. (A paragraph in journalism is short, generally two, sometimes three sentences long.) Write your story in the third person, as if you were writing about someone else.
Be sure to include direct quotes, and attribution for all new information.
Use what you learned in the Powerpoint. Write the story as an outside observer.
Now try to write about the same event in a brief work of literature (about the same length). Remember, strictly literary writing doesn't use attribution, doesn't worry about telling us who provided new information. But it uses plenty of description, painting pictures for the reader to see in their minds as they read.
When you finish writing both stories:
ANSWER THESE TWO QUESTIONS: How are the two pieces of writing different? How are they similar?
When writing your two pieces and when answering the questions, use what you learned in the reading above and in the Powerpoint.
Your work should be submitted on a Word document that is named your Last Name-JournLit. (Example: Mulshine-JournLit)
It should be e-mailed to me on the BBS. The subject line of the e-mail should be JournLit.
DEADLINE: Monday, Sept. 12.
Your Word doc should contain your journalistic story, your literary story and the answers to the questions. Thoughtful, comprehensive stories and answers receive the A.
