Reportage

Reportage synonym

The genre literary reportage has several synonyms. The most common ones are:

Types of reportage

Literary reportage often overlaps with other forms of creative non-fiction in the sense that these types also narrate factual events using fictional storytelling techniques and devices.

Biography

While reportage often focuses on political and social situations, it pays special attention towards describing the lives, experiences and personalities of the people involved in these situations. Hence, autobiographies, biographies and group biographies have often been described as written reportage, as they also describe real-life people but with creative storytelling techniques.²

Frank Sinatra Has a Cold (1966) is a written reportage by Gay Talese (1932-present) profiling the singer Frank Sinatra (1915-1998). In the reportage, Talese interviewed everyone in and around Sinatra's life, except Sinatra, whose excuse for not coming for the interview was that he had a cold.

Fig. 1 - Frank Sinatra in 1947, the subject of Frank Sinatra Has a Cold (1966)

Travel writing

Travel writing describes the places the writer has visited and the experiences they have had along the way in a manner that is factual, accurate and truthful but also infiltrated by vivid imagery, personal commentary and experimentation with plot structure. Hence, it can be considered a form of literary reportage.

Personal essay

Personal essays are similar to autobiographies wherein the writer informs the reader of an important lesson they learnt from a real-life experience. Hence, while personal essays are factual, they represent the writer's version of the truth. This leaves room for the writer's thoughts, feelings and interpretation of the event to allow a degree of subjectivity that is often seen in written reportages.

The White Album (1979) is a book of personal essays by Joan Didion (1934-2021) where she details her mental health struggles alongside other interactions with prominent figures involved in the murder trial of California's Tate murders in 1969.

Historical writing

Similar to travel writing, historical writing requires much in-depth research into historical events, figures and contexts. However, the way in which these historically true facts are often presented - the tone, mood and storytelling style - is dependent on the writer.

Long-form journalism

Long-form journalism and features are news articles that are longer in length compared to 'hard' news articles. As such, they usually take a deep dive into their subject matter and have more breathing space for description, commentary and character sketches. They usually have a human-interest angle to them and hence deal with the lives and experiences of real-life people.

Hiroshima (1946) narrates the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (1945) through the eyes of six survivors who were interviewed by American author John Hersey (1914-1993).

Fig. 2 - Atomic cloud over Hiroshima in 1945.

Reportage example

Here are a few notable examples of literary reportage.

In Cold Blood (1966) by Truman Capote

In Cold Blood is a true crime reportage where Capote (1924-1984) spent six years researching the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote conducted several interviews and did extensive research into the murderers, victims, investigators and other parties involved in the case.

Capote uses sophisticated language, imagery and a deep dive into the complex emotions and relationships surrounding the case, presenting it through the eyes of the murders, victims and community members.

In Cold Blood is one of the earliest examples of the reportage genre.

The Executioner’s Song (1979) by Norman Mailer (1923-2007)

The Executioner's Song is a Pulitzer Prize-winning true crime reportage that details the events surrounding the conviction of Gary Gilmore in 1997, the first person to be executed in the US following the ban on capital punishment being lifted in 1976.

The book provides a look into the mind of a murderer and the guilt, anguish and fear experienced by Gilmore prior to his execution.

The People of the Abyss (1903) by Jack London

The People of the Abyss is a reportage that provides autobiographical accounts of Jack London's (1876-1916) experiences whilst he was living in the Whitechapel district of London in 1902. London's reportage sheds light on the conditions faced by the urban working classes, who often slept on the streets or in workhouses.

London disguised himself as one of the working-class poor and therefore is the author of the reportage as well as an active participant in its contents.

Fig. 3 - Jack London, author of The People of the Abyss (1903).