THE NEWSLETTER OF THE IALJS Literary jourNAlism · REPORT FOR 2011 We are happy to be able to report that our association’s membership, as of 15 May 2011, includes a total of 117

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T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E I A L J S

LLiitteerraarryy jjoouurrNNAAlliissmmVOL 5 NO 3 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES SUMMER 2011

We just completed our annual confer-ence, IALJS-6, last month—and soare still resonant with the wonderful

energies of these yearly meetings. UniversitéLibre de Bruxelles, Manuel Couvreur, François

Heinderyckx andIsabelle Meuretwere this year’shosts, and we areall indebted tothem for theremarkable hospi-tality that theylavished on us.

The partici-pants in thisyear’s conferenceturned it intoanother occasionfor a communityof scholars to dis-

cover both the degree to which literary journal-ism is a worldwide phenomenon and the qual-ity of academic research it supports. Moreover,the IALJS-6 conference was an opportunity tobring together uniquely different experiences.

We witnessed how the voices of liter-ary journalism speak in the languages of manypeoples of the experiences of many societies. Itwas interesting to note that both the past andthe future were represented in the work of theconference participants: from the LatinAmerican nineteenth-century chronicles to thetwenty-first-century developments in theemerging literary journalism realms of film,photography and graphic nonfiction. It allshowed the ability of the genre to renew itselfand evolve, as well as the progress our learnedsociety is making in defining a true scholarlydiscipline.

On another note, the association’sannual business meeting voted to approve

amendments of our Constitution andBylaws. We now have a First and SecondVice Presidents, and we have added thechairs of the Liaison, Publicity,Conference Planning and GraduateStudents Committees have been includedin our Executive Committee. For the fulltext of our amended and approved char-ter, please see Page 23. In other news,Nancy Roberts of the University atAlbany will join founding book revieweditor Tom Connery on the staff of ourjournal, Literary Journalism Studies. Nowbook review editor elect, she will takeover at the end of this year.

So we have more hands to help,eager to contribute to the growth of an

association that was initially the dream ofthe handful of people who gatheredround our founding president, John Bak,in 2006 in Nancy, France.

Whether or not you were inBrussels this year, please make note thatour next annual meeting is in Toronto inMay 2012 atRyerson Univer-sity with BillReynolds as ourhost. We are allsure it will fol-low the path ofall our confer-ences so far, acourse of admir-able growth inboth diversity and rigor. Until then,please enjoy the newsletter and consideryour next submission to the conference orthe journal. ©

FUTURE IALJS CONFERENCE SITES The following future IALJS conventionvenues are planned. For more info,please see <www.ialjs.org>.

IIAALLJJSS--77:: Ryerson University,Toronto, Canada, 17-19 May 2012.

IIAALLJJSS--88:: University of Helsinki,Finland, 9-11 May 2013.

IIAALLJJSS--99:: American University ofParis, France,15-17 May 2014.

IIAALLJJSS--1100:: University of St.Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A orUniversity of Oslo, Norway, 7-9 May2015 (pending).

IIAALLJJSS--1111:: NU-Q, Doha, Qatar, 19-21 May 2016 (pending).

IIAALLJJSS--1122:: to be announced, 11-13 May 2017.

MEMBERSHIPREPORT FOR 2011We are happy to be able to report thatour association’s membership, as of 15May 2011, includes a total of 117members.

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PRESIDENT’SLETTER

IALJS-6 IN THEHEART OF EUROPEThe success of our annual conference in Brussels in May.By Alice Donat Trindade,Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Portugal)

WWW.IALJS.ORG

Brussels wastruly wonderful, so please

mark yourcalendar now for May 2012

in Toronto

NANCY ROBERTS

ABOVE, THE TWO NEW ASSOCIATE EDITORS OF THE IALJSJOURNAL, LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES, ARE ROBERTA AND MILES MAGUIRE, BOTH AT THE UNIVERSITYOF WISCONSIN - OSHKSOH. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH PAPER THAT MILES PRESENTED AT IALJS-6 WASAWARDED THE 2011 SUSAN L. GREENBERG RESEARCH PRIZE FOR LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES.

THE VENUE, BELOW, MOST OF THE SESSSIONS OF IALJS-6 WERE CONDUCTED

IN A BEAUTIFUL LECTURE HALLIN BUILDING “A,” ONE OF THE HISTORIC

STRUCTURES ON THE UNIVERSITÉ LIBRE DE BRUXELLES CAMPUS IN BRUSSELS.


PAGE 2 LITERARY JOURNALISM / SUMMER 2011

Inspirational. Congenial. These aremere euphemisms that don’t do justiceto the moments lived by all of the

evangelists on behalf of literary journal-ism at our 2011 annual conference. Sixyears have passed since that serendipi-tous meeting in Nancy, France—the origi-

nal spark thatignited IALJS.And all throughthe subsequentyears we havebeen witnessesto the growinginterest that aca-demics have inboth the associa-tion and, mostimportantly, lit-

erary journalismitself. This yearhas proved nodifferent. A total

of 56 persons were on the IALJS-6 pro-gram. And in an attempt to accommodatethe increasingly larger number of submis-sions and panel proposals that come ourway each year, we have had, for the sec-ond consecutive year, to program parallelpanel sessions.

As we heard underscored at ourFriday Scholar’s Breakfast— newly enti-tled “Breakfast for Your Thoughts”—IALJS offers a welcoming internationalforum of like-minded spirits. Scholarlyresearch, usually carried out in the loneli-ness of the academic world, is shared anddiscussed to the benefit of all. In fact,because it is informal in nature, with afriendly format especially intended forjunior researchers, the breakfast provided

2011 IALJS ANNUAL CONVENTION IN BELGIUMThe Université Libre de Bruxelles hosts our sixth international conference.By Isabel Soares, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Portugal)

Literary JournalismSummer 2011 Vol 5 No 3Editors: Bill Reynolds and David AbrahamsonISSN 1941-1030 (print)ISSN 1941-1049 (online)© 2011 The Newsletter of the International Associationfor Literary Journalism Studies. All rights reserved.

BRUSSELSCONFERENCE

Continued on next page

Text continues on Page 4


LITERARY JOURNALISM / SUMMER 2011 PAGE 3

ABOVE, CONFERENCE KEYNOTE JOHN PAULY IN CONVERSATION WITH NORMSIMS, WHILE THE IALJS-4 KEYNOTER RICHARD KEEBLE AND

TODD SCHACK, BELOW, SHARE A SMILING MOMENT BETWEEN SESSIONS.

ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CONFERENCE WAS THEFRIDAY MORNING GET-TOGTHER, BELOW.ENTITLED “A BREAKFAST FOR YOUR THOUGHTS,” ORGANIZED BY GRADUATE STUDENT CO-CHAIR TOBIAS EBERWEIN, MODERATED BY NORMSIMS, THE BREAKFAST WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GRAD STUDENTS TO INTERACT WITH FACULTY. TOPICS INCLUDED ASPECTS OF LITERARYJOURNALISM, AS WELL AS THE ACADEMY AS A WHOLE.

ABOVE, ISABELLE MEURET, THE CHAIR OF THE IALJS-6HOST COMMITTEE, IN CONVERSATION WITH THE ASSOCIATION’S PRESIDENT, ALICE DONATTRINDADE. THE GRACIOUSNESS AND EFFICACY WITH WHICH ISABELLE ORGANIZED EVERYELEMENT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING WAS OBVIOUS IN THE APPARENT COLLEGIALPLEASURE ENJOYED BY ALLOF THE CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS.


CONFERENCE Continued from previous page



IALJS-6 CONFERENCE Continued from previous page

TEACHING TIPS Continued from Page 28

a wonderful opportunity for graduatestudents to share their intellectual experi-ences—as well as perhaps some of theircareer-related anxieties—with more seniorresearchers and faculty. The result issomething special. If I had to stress any-thing particular that highlights theuniqueness of this session, it is this amaz-ing possibility for younger members ofthe academy who are starting theircareers to have an opportunjity to interactdirectly with the “gurus” and topresearchers in the discipline. It is clearthat this is definitely an aspect that setsIALJS conferences apart from larger andperhaps less personal academic scholarlyprofesional meetings.

As chair of the ResearchCommittee, I have the privilege of orga-nizing the research paper and work-in-progress submissions and the juryingprocess. Of course, one has to concedethat not every submission is accepted forpresentation. (Our overall acceptance ratewas 60 percent.) Nor are all of them evenlegitimate attempts at bonafide academicwork. Notwithstanding, I must admit thatI was delighted to receive submissionsfrom such improbable places as Georgia,Ghana and Iran. I think we can considerthis a marker of the success of our still-young association. It never ceases toamaze me that the word is out there—and

many people are listening to it. Being a truly international asso-

ciation, the conferences of IALJS takepride in being international in scope. Forthe first time this year there were pan-elists from Japan and Italy sharing theirknowledge with us. And, again, Latinand North America, Europe, Asia andAustralia were so well represented thatwe even had a session that explored thepossible transnational nature of literaryjournalism as a vehicle for storytellingabout the human experience.

explode before we could get everyoneout. Those kids inside had to be terri-fied!” The first sentence is useful; the sec-ond sentence is not. Although it is highlylikely that the kids would be terrified, thestatement is conjecture. It lies beyond ofthe subject’s ken and weakens the per-spective. Similarly, it is often best toreveal only as much as the subject cansee—in effect, the subject’s panorama. Itcan be tempting to explain what lies inwait behind the tree, but if the subject cannot see or sense it, the point of view willbe weakened by inserting this informa-tion. If possible, it is better to omit ordelay this revelation until the subject isconfronted by it. It is this sort of meticu-

lousness that will intensify the scene’sdrama and power. Strictly speaking, themore closely the writer can keep the nar-rative to the subject’s perspective, the bet-ter the piece will resonate with readers.

Word choice is also a keen tech-nique for developing a strong point ofview. Simply stated, employing the vocab-ulary and metaphors that are familiar tothe subject in the scene allows the readerto enter even deeper into the mindset ofthe subject and scene. For instance, devel-oping an extended metaphor in which themembers of a hunting expedition aremusicians in a rock band is far more jar-ring to the reader than portraying them asa family, a group of fellow soldiers or

even a pack of wolves. Point of view canbe a tricky endeavor, especially in nonfic-tion, but done correctly it helps to solidifythe narrative.

There are other creative writingtechniques one could employ in the class-room—such as understanding when tofinish a scene—but many of these flownaturally from the dynamic of the work-shop groups and the students’ growingconfidence in their own unique style. Assomeone once said: “Fiction writing can’tbe taught, only cultivated.” And while itis true that journalism is not fiction, asboth Hunter S. Thompson and theoristHayden White have argued, there is littledifference between the two. ©

And speaking of human experi-ence, one of the topics that stood out atthis year’s conference was, as the sessiontitle claimed, “the possibilities of personalexperience.” In a way, this said it all.IALJS-6 enriched minds with new ideasand our hearts with the warm glow of avery special collegiality.

We left the Université Libre deBruxelles and our gracious host, IsabelleMeuret, looking forward eagerly to nextyear’s meeting in Toronto. ©

BY THE CONCLUSIONOF THE TWO-AND-A-HALF-

DAY IALJS-6CONFERENCE,

IT WASCLEAR THAT

A GREATDEAL OF

BONHOMIEWAS IN THE

AIR. THEDEMEANOR

OF A GROUPPHOTO OF

MANY OF THEMEMBERS

OF THE IALJS

EXECUTIVECOMMITTEE,

PLUS A FEWHONORED

GUESTS,SEEMS TO SUPPORT

THE OBSERVATION.



President Alice Donat Trindadecalled the 2011 annual businessmeeting of the International

Association for Literary JournalismStudies to order at 3:35 p.m. and thankedIsabelle Meruet of the Université Libre deBruxelles for her extraordinarily success-ful efforts as the host of IALJS-6. In herintroductory remarks Alice also noted theincreasingly global nature of both literaryjournalism as a genre and literary journal-ism studies as a scholarly discipline.

Secretary David Abrahamsondistributed the minutes of the 2010 IALJSannual meeeting at RoehamptonUniversity in London. John Hartsockmoved the approval of the minutes, JohnBak seconded and the motion to approvecarried unanimously.

Treasurer Bill Reynolds gave anannual treasurer’s report. The currentbank balance is $32,281.26, which includes$15,000.00 in interest-bearing savingsinstruments. The association has 117members in good standing from 24 coun-tries, with 60 pecent from nations otherthan the U.S.

Research chair Isabel Soaresreported that 26 acceptances from 44 sub-missions for IALJS-6, an acceptance rateof 59 percent. She also noted that we hadsubmissions this year from Iran andGeorgia. Isabel thanked the 2011 jurymembers for their work, as well as themembers of the Greenberg Prize jury,which awarded the 2011 honor to MilesMaguire. In addition, she said that theIALJS-7 submission deadline is 1 Decem-ber 2011 and that we may experimentwith online submissions next year.

Program co-chair Rob Alexanderreported on the variety of topics exploredin the six panels programmed this yearand noted that organizing the panels intothree pairs of concurrent sessions seemedto again work well. He also suggestedthat we continue to include at least onepanel on pedagogy.

Literary Journalism Studies editorJohn Hartsock reported that the journal’sfifth issue (Vol. 3, No. 1) had been mailedprior to the conference. He said he hoped

to receive papers from IALJS-6 for consid-eration by the journal and noted thatRoberta and Miles Maguire had joined thejournal staff as associate editors.

Tom Connery, the LJS bookreview editor, reminded everyone that heis very open to suggestions for books ofand about literary journalism to review,including books in languages other thanEnglish. He also noted that NancyRoberts of the University at Albany willsucceed him at the end of 2011.

David reported that, with BillReynolds’s invaluable assistance as co-editor, the quarterly newsletter, LiteraryJournalism, continues to prosper.

Graduate Committee co-chair

Tobias Eberwein reported that the IALJS-6“Breakfast for Your Thoughts” (née“Scholars Breakfast”) was enjoyed by allattending and that he hopes to develop amailing list for the association’s graduatestudent members.

IALJS-7 Host Committee chairBill Reynolds reported that he and hisRyerson University colleagues are lookingforward to welcoming the association toToronto next year. He also said that hisadministration seems to be quite support-ive of the 17-19 May conference.

Joint programming was the nextitem on the agenda. It is clear that, inaddition to our own annual conference,jointly sponsored sessions with otherlearned societies have become an impor-tant scholarly venue for IALJS members.It was also noted that such joint program-ming contributes to IALJS’s visibility andis a steady source of new members. DavidAbrahamson summarized the two IALJS

sessions held at the Southeast Colloquiumin Columbia, South Carolina in March,while Rob Alexander recounted the suc-cessful IALJS panel at the AmericanComparative Literature Association meet-ing in Vancouver in April. Mention wasalso made of two IALJS roundtable ses-sions this August at the Association forEducation in Journalism and Mass Com-munication convention in St. Louis, Mis-souri, which Josh Roiland has organized.John Bak then outlined the IALJS seminarproposed for the biennial conference ofthe European Society for the Study ofEnglish scheduled for September 2012 inIstanbul. It was noted that particpation inESSE might alternate with AEJMC.

Under old business, John Bakreported that the scholarly anthology,Literary Journalism Across the Globe, that heand Bill Reynolds had edited from thepresentations at IALJS-1 and IALJS-2 hadjust appeared in print; it was a very wel-come announcement for the book’s con-tributors, many of whom were in atten-dance at the business meeting.

Under new business, proposedamendments to the IALJS bylaws werediscussed. These included the creation ofa new post of Second Vice President (whoautomatically succeeds to the post of FirstVice President and thence to President)and the inclusion of Liaison, Publicity,Conference Planning and GraduateStudent chairs as members of the IALJSExecutive Committee. John Hartsockmoved for adoption, Susan Greenbergseconded and the amendments wereunanimously approved.

Isabelle Meuret was given onemore warm and enthusiastic ovation forher wonderful work in hosting IALJS-6,and at 4:25 p.m., Alice called for a motionof adjournment, which was moved, sec-onded and unanimously approved. ©

Respectfully Submitted,

David Abrahamson, SecretaryInternational Association for Literary Journalism Studies

Bill Reynolds reportedthat he and

his Ryerson University colleaguesare looking forward

to welcoming IALJS next year

IALJS ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETINGMinutes from meeting held at IALJS-6 in Brussels on 13 May 2011.By David Abrahamson, Northwestern University (U.S.A.)



In China, literary reportage is a genrethat combines literature and journal-ism. Chinese historians of literary

reportage trace the history of the genreback to the end of nineteenth century andthey believe that its Chinese term, Bao Gao

Wen Xue, wastranslated fromthe Germanword Reportagein an article in1930 introduc-ing the work ofEgon ErwinKisch (1885-1948), a Czechreporter whowrote the bookSecret China(1933) after hevisited China in1932.

Though sim-ilar to literary journalism, Chinese literaryreportage is categorized as a genre of liter-ature, and it is agreed by most scholarsthat the genre serves a political end. Acritical nature is the soul of the genre.

Chinese literary reportageboomed in both the 1930s and 1980s.However, the genre has been decliningsince the 1990s. China began its conver-sion to a market economy in 1978, andwith the market economy in full swingafter 1992, a individualism and material-ism have dominated Chinese society sincethe 1990s.

Practitioners of literaryreportage, like most people in Chinesesociety, were carried away by the com-mercial tide. Concerned only with money,many began fabricating stories and writ-ing for anyone who paid them well.Though a few journals—including LiteraryReportage, Beijing Literature, ChineseWriters: Nonfiction—still publish works ofliterary reportage regularly, the genre haslost its readers and influences.

Nevertheless, while literaryreportage is declining in China today,some top newspapers are encouragingtheir reporters to experiment with a new

AROUND THEWORLD

kind of journalism that emphasizes liter-ary techniques. They do not call this kindof writing literary journalism, but in myview they are much closer to literary jour-nalism than Chinese literary reportage. Afew examples from Southern Weekly, aninfluential newspaper in China, mayshow how literary journalism has beenpracticed in China today.

Southern Weekly is a weeklynewspaper with a circulation of 1.6 mil-lion readers. Though based in Guangzhouin southern China, the newspaper targetswell-educated readers throughout theentire country. And it is important to notethat in a transitional society such asChina, the newspaper has long been rep-

resentative of media’s involvement insocial reform and social justice.

The special issue of SouthernWeekly celebrating the Chinese New Yearmay be a goodexample. It showshow the newspa-per’s literaryjournalism is pre-sented. Publishedon 3 February2011, this specialissue—entitled“In the Name ofFather”—includ-ed the storiesabout 15 fathers.Each story wastold in the firstperson by thefather’s daughteror son.

For instance,

sometime in 2010the phrase “Myfather is LiGang,” becamethe catchword onthe Internet forthe privilegespossessed by theso-called “descen-dents of govern-ment officials” inChina. The sen-tence was utteredwith completearrogance by theson of a deputydirector of thepublic securitybureau after hiscar ran into twofemale collegestudents. One student died after the caraccident, and the man was sentenced tothree years in prison and a fine of 350,000RMB (about $53,000). In the SouthernWeekly special issue, the story of the inci-dent was narrated by the sister of the stu-dent who was killed by Li Gang.

Other stories were narrated by a17-year-old Foxconn girl who jumped offher dormitory building, the son of an off-

The phrasebecame a catchword on

the Internetfor the privileged offspring of

government officials

LITERARY JOURNALISM IN CHINAA new and poignant narrative form has emerged in some Chinese newspapers.By Peiqin Chen, Shanghai International Studies University (China)


AS ONE OF THE PREMIERSCHOLARS OF LONG-FORM JOURNALISM INCHINA, PEIQIN HAS ASEMINAL ESSAY ENTITLED “MAGAZINES:AN INDUSTRY IN TRANSITION IN THESCHOLARLY ANTHOLOGY (ABOVE).


New Year. Her father gave her 500RMB(about $70) before she left. It seemed thatshe was fortunate. She found a job atFoxconn, a big company in Shenzhen insouthern China, which produces iPhones.

On 12 February 2010 she movedinto a dorm where eight girls lived. Butshe rarely saw any of her roommatesbecause they were in different depart-ments and had different working sched-ules. Her 12-hour-a-day job was to checkthe screen of iPhone, simply doing onething, looking at the screen of iPhone tocheck if there were any defects. Shechecked one iPhone every 15 seconds.

After working for more than amonth, she did not gether salary because herbank card was notready. At this point, shehad about 10 RMB (lessthan $2 dollars) withher, knowing almostnobody. She had alsolost her mobile phonetwo weeks earlierwhen it was stolenfrom the pocket of herwork clothes.

On the morning of17 March, she wasalone in her dorm, feel-ing cold and exhaust-ed, with no money, nomobile phone, nofriends. She got up andclimbed to the fourthfloor of her dormbuilding—and jumpedoff.

The story, “MyLast Castle,” was writ-ten in first person. Itbegan with : “In theeyes of most people, Idied; but in the eyes ofmy father, I am stillalive.” Then the storygoes on to narrate howher father took care ofher after she was seri-ously hurt. The story


iscial who was sentenced to death for cor-ruption, etc. Most of the fathers in the sto-ries were involved in influential eventsthat occurred in the year, but some arejust ordinary fathers whose life was dra-matically affected by the changes ofChinese society.

One story, entitled “My LastCastle,” was about a 17-year-old Foxconngirl who jumped off her dorm building.Foxconn, an electronics company whereshe worked, produces iPhone for Apple.The girl, Tian Yu, jumped off from thefourth floor of her dorm building at 7:00a.m. on 17 March 2010. She was the sec-ond of 12 workers of the company tojump off buildings from January to May

2010. Of all the 12 workers who attempt-ed suicides, 10 died. The oldest one was24 years old, but most of them wereunder 20. In less than half a year, why didso many young workers of the companycommit suicide?

The story answers the question.Tian Yu was born into a farmer’s family.She was the oldest daughter and had onesister and one younger brother. Afterjunior high school, she went to a voca-tional training school to learn accountingfor three years—but failed to get a jobafter graduation.

After staying at home with noth-ing to do for six months, she decided, likemany of her peers, to go to the city to tryto find a job. She left home a few daysbefore Chinese New Year, because thetrain tickets were cheaper at this time. Itwas also a good time to look for a jobbecause regular workers in the city oftenwent to their home villages to spend the

LITERARY JOURNALISM IN CHINA Continued from previous page

She decided,like many of her peers,

to go to thethe city to try to find

a job

ends with her father’s words, “Tian Yu, itis good to be home. We are home now.”

Like the other 14 stories, in anartful way this story provides a deeperunderstanding of present day China. It isa place where the economy is boomingand where people like Tian Yu are work-ing overtime doing dull jobs for very lowsalaries. Farmers and their rural families,being the weakest group in society, havebecome the sad victims in both theprocess of China’s modernization and inthe expansion of world capitalism. In theend, they have nothing to rely on but thetraditional Chinese values, hard workand tolerance. ©

THE FRONT OVER OF THE SPECIAL NEW YEAR’S EDITION OF SOUTHERN WEEKLY,ABOVE, INCLUDED THE ISSUE TITLE, “IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER.”



Now that we have finally emergedfrom winter, I remember the longand sunny days spent in Turin

last August, in the company of some ofthe happy few who joined the IALJSpanel organized at the biennial European

Society for theStudy of English(ESSE) conference.The panel con-vened by JohnBak and DavidAbrahamson,“History andLiterary Journ-alism,” wasdevoted to study-ing the compara-tive approachadopted by histo-rians and literaryjournalists whenreporting facts.

Both share a similar commitment to theirtasks, i.e. to give an accurate representa-tion of what actually happened. Yet whilehistorians tend to hold on to facts, devoidof their emotive power, literary journal-ists are witnesses with phenomenologicalconcerns.

It was quite a fascinating panel:I was intrigued by the diversity of worksand authors studied, and the wonderfulinsight of all the participants. We traveled

from The Congested Districts of Ireland to TheCountry Formerly Known as Great Britain,addressed muckraking journalism byAmerican social reformers and were privi-leged to hear discussions of the WilhelmGustloff maritime tragedy, the Report fromSpain written against Franco, as well as TheMaking of the Atomic Bomb and The Story of theBataan Death March. While our case studiesdiverged temporally and geographically, itcan be argued that all converged around twostatements of possible fact.

First, literary journalists tend tofocus on minor events within the largerframes of historical landmarks or, to put itdifferently, they seem to linger on facts thatwere overshadowed or even dwarfed byother major events. Literary journalists insiston investigating the experiences of minorcharacters and to expand the relevance oftheir “micro-histories.” This term comes fromItalian microstoria, which is a discipline thataims to answer big historical questions byinvestigating small locations. To some extent,it is close to the historical narratives of “his-tory from below.” Intriguingly enough, I real-ized that the microstoria school of thoughtwas born in Italy, and more precisely inTurin, with the work of two outstanding his-torians, Givovanni Levi and Carlo Ginzburg.

Second, literary journalism usuallyhas that special feel, or sensitivity, which

REFLECTIVEESSAY

A REMEMBRANCE OF IALJS/ESSE IN TURINA collection of sights—and ideas—from last summer’s seminar.By Isabelle Meuret, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)


NEW DIRECTIONS IN THEHUMANITIES MEETINGIN GRANADA, SPAINThe Ninth International Conference on NewDirections in the Humanities will be held atthe Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spainon 8-11 June 2011. Known throughout Spainand Europe for its scholarship over many cen-turies, the Universidad de Granada also bringsgreat diversity to the city and contributes toGranada's thriving student population, todaytotaling over 80,000 students. The Universityis contemporaneous with the fourteenthCentury Alhambra which overlooks the cityand the university. The conference and itscompanion journal provide spaces for dia-logue and for the generation of new knowl-edge about the nature of the humanities,building on the past traditions of the humani-ties whilst setting a renewed agenda for theirfuture. For more information, please see<http://www. humanitiesconference. com>.

CALL FROM SERIES ON LONG-FORM TEXTS A new scholarly series, “Literary Texts and thePopular Marketplace,” has been announcedby Pickering & Chatto Publishers. A call forproposals has been issued, especially formonographs and essay collections on textsfrom the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.Full details can be found at <http://www.pickeringchatto.com/series/literary_texts_and_the_popular_marketplace#top>.

GLOBAL STUDIES CONFERENCE IN RIOThe Fourth Global Studies Conference isscheduled to meet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on18-20 July 2011. The conference and theGlobal Studies Journal are devoted to map-ping and interpreting new trends and patternsin globalization. The conference serves as anopen forum for exploring globalization frommany perspectives in a wide variety of loca-tions. Along with the general themes, eachyear the conference focuses on a differentspecial topic. This year the special theme is“Latin America and Globalization: EmergingSocieties and Emancipation.” As well as animpressive line-up of international plenaryspeakers, the conference will also includenumerous paper, workshop and colloquiumpresentations by practitioners, teachers andresearchers. For more information, please see<http://www.globalstudiesconference.com>.



adds tremendous value for the reader,who can empathize with the characters.Norman Sims asked whether there existed“subtle differences between historiansand literary journalists that can be attrib-uted to an emotional attachment?” We allseemed to agree that beside their cogni-tive approach to documents, as well astheir narrativization and dramatization ofevents, literary journalists are willing toconnect with the protagonists so as toexperience the hic et nunc of their realities.The backdrop of history may be the same,but the seams sewn by historians and lit-erary journalists are probably made of dif-ferent thread: facts and objectivity for theformer; facts, but also emotion and subjec-tivity, for the latter. Suturing the past tothe present with that extra bit of soulmight be one of the distinguishing fea-tures of literary journalists’ creativity.

Enthralled by our seminar, andenthused over the perspective of a warmweekend in picturesque Turin, weenjoyed a delicious dinner on Piazza SanCarlo, a dazzlingly beautiful squaredesigned by Carlo di Castellamonte (1642-1650) and lined with princely buildings.

Turin’s architecture isimpressive. Remainsof its regal past—itwas Italy’s first capi-tal and the home ofthe House of Savoy—can be seen every-where in the city.Although it has beenknown recently for itscar industry, Turin

was first and foremost a magnet for intel-lectuals and literati: Cesare Pavese,Antonio Gramsci, Primo Levi, UmbertoEco and my favorite, Italo Calvino, allhailed or spent substantial time in thisPiedmont-ese jewel.

I did not want to leave Turinwithout visiting two of its best-knownmuseums: the Museo Nazionale del Cinemaand the Museo Egizio, with its collection ofEgyptian antiquities. Turin was the birth-place of Italian cinema before Cinecittàtook over. The museum, located in thebase of the toweringMole Antonelliana build-ing, was definitelyworth a visit. I wasenchanted by the spec-tacular extravaganza ofthe place and left reluc-tantly after a few hours.The museum is alabyrinthine walkthrough the history ofcinema, from theLumière Brothers to theHollywood studios. Thewhole place is simplymagical.

As for the Egyptianmuseum, it houses anexceptional collection of30,000 artifacts.

Needless to say that I was mesmerized bythe imposing sarcophaguses and themajestic pharaoh statues in the second-floor gallery, which I walked up anddown several times. The historical twist ofour delightful literary journalism seminarhad perhaps inevitably led me to thisjourney back in time.

Remembering Turin makes medream expectantly of our next ESSE panelin Istanbul in 2012. If there was any hintof sadness in my Turin sojourn, it wasthat I had to fly back to Belgium after afabulous week in Italy for the start of thenew academic year. The place had a spe-cial vibrancy. As a former royal city alongthe river Po, with its regal palace andprincely avenues, its many art galleries,baroque monuments and unforgettablemuseums, Turin was the perfect showcasefor our musings on literary journalism.Yes, I will certainly go back to Turin: tohave another taste of its literary and artis-tic delicacies, and to sip a delicious choco-late and cream beverage, a regional spe-cialty to be sipped at a Al Bicerin, a littlecafé that, sadly, was closed for its annualsummer vacation. ©

PREVIOUS PAGE: THE GLOWING NEIGHBORHOODOF THE UNIVERSITY OF TURIN IS DOMINATED BY THE SPIRE OF MOLE (ITALIAN FOR “SIZE”). ORIGINALLY ASYNAGOGUE, IT IS NOW ONE OF THE BEST FILMMUSEUMS IN THE WORLD.

PIAZZA SAN CARLOS ISINDISPUTABLY THE MOST ELEGANT INTURIN. IT IS DOMINATED BY ANEQUESTRIAN STATUE OF THE DUKEOF SAVOY, HEROICALLY DRAWINGHIS SWORD.

THE SHADED ARCADES OF TURIN’S VIA POHOUSE THE UNIVERSITY OF TURIN AND DELIGHTFUL CAFES, AS WELL AS NUMEROUSMULTILINGUAL USED BOOK STALLS.

REMEMBRANCE Continued from previous page



When journalists report cross-culturally—writing for anational newspaper such as an American newspaperabout another country or culture such as Germany, Saudi

Arabia or Japan—they often make use of what is here described asthe "culture peg." It is a way of making thesubject matter interesting, readable andtopically relevant to audiences who maynot be interested in overseas affairs. Theuse of the culture peg is widespread ininternational reporting, especially in fea-tures and soft news stories—a much moreprevalent form of news today thandecades ago (Patterson, 2000; Weldon,2008; Tanikawa, 2009). However, this tech-nique does not seem to be publically artic-ulated by journalists nor is it defined inexisting academic literature. The purposeof this essay is to propose and suggest adefinition for the phrase. We shall attempta ground-up construction of a theory based

partly on my own experience reporting cross-culturally as a Japancorrespondent for American newspapers and magazines, as well asyears of observing foreign reporting in theAmerican and Japanese media. This study isthought to close a hole that seems to exist inthe existing news value and newsworthi-ness studies that have been a major area ofinquiry in journalism studies. There, “news”has tended to be defined as hard news,rather than soft and feature stories and thetheme of achieving cultural relevancy whenpresenting foreign news to the audience,which journalists perceive as critical compo-nents in their stories, seems to be largelyabsent. Prevalence of this technique also reveals the reasons behindjournalism’s skewed focus on particular subjects and the resultingfamine in covering other aspects of foreign societies.The followingtext provides a working definition of “culture peg” and its sisterconcept “culture link,” as well as some concrete examples and illus-trations.

For the most part we do not first see and then define, we define first andthen see. In the great blooming, buzzing confusion of the outer world wepick out what our culture has already defined for us, and we tend to per-ceive that which we have picked out in the form stereotyped for us by ourculture. —Walter Lippmann1

This observation made by columnist Lippmann in the aftermath ofWorld War I seems to get to the heart of the questions, concerns, anddilemmas that are on the minds of journalists working in a cross cul-tural setting. Journalists reporting internationally often ask thisquestion: how can one achieve readership relevance and get people

to become interested in your foreign reports? What newsshould a foreign correspondent report for its home audienceis sometimes patently clear: wars that kill people, naturalcalamities that destroy lives and so on. The traditional hardnews categories—especially “very” hard news like the pre-ceding examples—make news selection very straightfor-ward. But when the lives abroad are not so eventful,reporters often must explore, select, ponder and find ways topackage and present the information to their home reader-ship in ways that pique their interest.

As past news values literature (Shoemaker andReese, 1996; Galtung & Ruge, 1965)2 has shown, people areinterested in reading about matters that are geographicallyand culturally close to them. The more “foreign” the subjectmatter, the less likely they are to show interest. One of theeffective ways that journalists can hope to capture readerinterest in foreign affairs is to use whatever understandingthe audience already has about that country—a popularunderstanding of certain stereotypical aspects of that culturethat are commonly already in the reader’s mind.

Lippmann also says the following: “The only feel-ing that anyone can have about an event he does not experi-

ence is the feeling aroused by his mentalimage of that event. That is why until weknow what others think they know, wecannot truly understand their acts.”3

What in the following essay is defined asthe “culture peg” is an attempt by jour-nalists to arouse that mental image peo-ple have about foreign cultures, andthereby to elicit their interest in the for-eign event or phenomenon. In so doing,journalists are in effect leveraging whatothers think they know about the culture

and/or country being reported.

THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT’S CULTURALAND EPISTEMOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

Before defining the “culture peg,” it may be useful to furtherhighlight the challenging environment that foreign corre-spondents find themselves in. Due to the cultural and episte-mological gaps between his/her environment and the read-ership’s back home, it is difficult for the correspondent tofind stories for his or her home audience. One of the onlyways to overcome this is when, as already stated, somethingextraordinary happens. For the purpose of simplicity ofargument, I will use United States newspapers as an exam-ple of the home news media that a foreign correspondent isworking for, and countries such as Saudi Arabia, Germanyand Japan as the lands from which the correspondent is

RESEARCHPERSPECTIVE

THE “CULTURE PEG” IN INTERNATIONAL REPORTINGAn exploration of the how the media shapes citizen understanding of the world. By Miki Tanikawa, Sophia University (Japan) and contributor to the International Herald Tribune


Journalists hopeto capture reader interest in

foreign subjects byusing whatever understanding the

audience already has



reporting. Much of what is happeningand making news locally in the corre-spondent’s assigned country (e.g. SaudiArabia, Germany, Japan) will mostly notmake its way into the American newspa-per he or she is working for. Americanslack an appetite for foreign news, andrecent research suggests that this isincreasingly so in the past few decades(Hoge, 1997; Arnett, 1998; Kim, 2002)/One possible exception is if the corre-spondent is reporting from a countrywith strong cultural, political or economicties to the readership’s home country. Inthis event, there is a possibility of suc-cessfully arresting reader attention(Hester, 1973).

Where an average Americannewspaper reader would take an interestin, say, an abduction of a 5-year-old girl,school teachers going on a strike orresults of a congressional election, it isunderstood that an American correspon-dent cannot write about similar, equiva-lent-scale events from Germany or Japanfor his American readership. Unless, thatis, the abduction was systematic andextensive on a scale not seen in the U.S.Or the teacher’s strike was so widespreadthat it was begining to disrupt the nation-al politics in that country. Or if, as will bediscussed at length later, there is aGerman or Japanese cultural spin to theincident. For example, bandits inGermany kidnapping a child when theycould not find the German sausages theywere planning to steal and then demand-ing sausages as ransom. Or hundreds ofright-wing Japanese teachers walking outof the classrooms because their WorldWar II war-heroes were poorly portrayedin a history textbook. In these instances,the German sausage and the Japaneseright-wing aspects function as the “cul-ture peg.” (Important caveat: There havebeen no such incidents or reports fromGermany or Japan. Some of the heuristicexamples we will use are purely fictional,and will be noted as such.)

The hurdle of finding suitabletopics being naturally higher for foreignstories, the correspondent has to search

for something truly extraordinary to passthe minimum newsworthiness threshold.In this circumstance, the 1996 study byShoemaker and Reese on news value canserve as a useful guide. It lists the follow-ing elements as criteria for newsworthi-ness: prominence/importance, humaninterest, conflict controversy, the unusual,timeliness and proximity.

If the incident is that much morepronounced, paving the way for the newsto qualify as “very” hard news—forexample, the kidnappers abducted hun-dreds of children of the rich and fa-mous—then it becomes newsworthy.Here the unusual (hundreds kidnapped)and prominence/importance (children of the

rich and famous) factors have come intoplay, and the result is to make the mattersnewsworthy.

Incidents in foreign countriesmay also warrant coverage if there is a“news peg,” a development linked to thehard news event. For example, followingthe 2008 financial crisis many internation-al news developments tied to the failureof Lehman Brothers were explored byU.S. newspapers. Similarly, both the newspeg and the conflict factor create news sto-ries out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.Interestingly, these include softer newsstories (e.g. literacy rates rising amongyoung women), where large news eventsprovide a context for traditionally lessimportant social developments.

THE CULTURE PEG EXPLAINEDSometimes, however, the hard news ele-ment is absent, and a news peg is notavailable. If the correspondent wishes to

write a feature story that, for instance,depicts the lives of the people or the soci-ety, the writer often resorts to the “culturepeg.” For example, a correspondent inSaudi Arabia chose to report on the camelbeauty pageant held in Riyadh. Please see<http://www.nytimes.com /2008/03/16/world/africa/16iht-journal.4.11147854.html?scp=1&sq=Camels%20and%20Beauty%20Pageant%20and%20virgin&st=cse>.

This story from the New YorkTimes draws readers in because the storyis “pegged” culturally with an element orasspect that readers can easily associatewith the Middle East: the camel.American readers would normally have ahard time identifying themselves withthings Middle Eastern. But “camel” is onecultural object that they can easily relateto as something from the Middle East.The correspondent plays off that pre-existing notion in people’s minds as away to connect the reader to the country-culture being reported.4 This reader pre-conception about a foreign culture, whichthe journalist attempts to engage,becomes the culture peg. The culture pegprovides a point of cultural knowledgeand connection between the reader andthe country the correspondent is report-ing from. Without it, the cultural and per-ceptional link would be absent, and suchconnectionless stories have little chanceof getting read. As was so aptly pointedout by Lippmann 90 years ago, the onlyway people will have a feeling of a matterthey do not experience is from the mentalimage they have of it, however feeble itmight be. Journalists and the news mediaattempt to provoke interest by invokingthat mental image—often a culturalstereotype—and take advantage of whatothers think they know about the subjectmatter.

Without a culture peg, writingabout a typical beauty pageant in foreigncountries would not fly for the same rea-son that American readers would not beinterested in Japanese teachers going on astrike or a 5-year-old getting abducted in

CULTURE PEG Continued from previous page

Readers weredrawn into the story because

it was aboutsomething they easily associate with

the Middle East: camels




peg plugs the hole by supplying readerswith something they are familiar with—the mental image—something they cancling to, to establish a mental connectionwith an otherwise alien subject.

This technique could well beseen as stereotyping. The culture pegrefers broadly to the use of commonlyknown cultural objects or images associ-ated with that country as a way to con-nect the audience to the target country.But it can be set at different levels and isnot necessarily a stereotype. For example,a correspondent writing a human intereststory in France might open a story with adescription of a scene at a Paris café,sprinkling words like le petite dejeuner and

café décaféiné to create an atmosphereunique to the scene. The story may havenothing to do with food or drinks. Theseword devices may also be seen as culturepegs, because they are meant to help thereaders connect with the scenes of a for-eign country in question.

So a culture peg can be the maintopic of the story, as was the case with thecamel story. Or, as in the Parisien caféscene, it can be marginal bits and piecessprinkled around to set the tone and cre-ate an image or feeling that makes read-ers think they are reading about that cul-ture.

The following story about thereal estate market in Poland would serveas another case of “sprinkling of words.”Please see <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/ 04/02/greathomesanddestina-tions/02iht-repoland.html?scp=1&sq=Poznan %20Poland&st=cse>. Early in thepiece, in the second paragraph, there is areference to “communist-era train sta-

Germany. One could, however, write astory about a beauty pageant in Riyadh ifthe journalist focused on how it defieslocal conventions: people getting upsetbecause women are exposing their bodiesand blaming American influences for it(note Shoemaker and Reese’s conflict fac-tor is also in play). One could write astory even if the pageant did not breaklocal cultural conventions. If the contest isheld with all the rigid local rules in place,having women wearing traditional robeson stage hiding all but their faces—andthus causing American readers to chuck-le—it might then become a story.

Either way, there is a use of aculture peg. There is a culture peg in thefirst instance (a beauty pageant upsettinglocals) because the reporter is playing offreaders' understanding of the Saudi orMiddle Eastern culture as being too con-servative to have a conventional beautycontest. The story plays off that readerpreconception. The second instance (apageant held in Saudi style) also pegs thestory to people's common perceptionabout the culture: that women in the Arabworld hide their bodies. And doing so—and thereby undermining the whole pointof a beauty contest in the minds of manyAmeri-cans—makes the story funny andinteresting to readers.5

One can perhaps realize herethat such an approach to topic selection,seen from a local point of view, isextremely arbitrary—and perhaps unfair.In the case of the camel story, out of thou-sands of things happening in the country,the writer chose to zero in on the camelrace only because that subject wouldclick with his audience and attract inter-est. Focusing on matters where there areculture pegs often leaves the observinglocals frustrated because of the skewedways in which they end up being por-trayed in the foreign media. Nevertheless,journalism cannot connect with reader-ship if the readers cannot establish a men-tal connection with the subject matter atthe cultural and perceptional level. Theirmental image must be invoked whenreading about cultures with which theylack first-hand experience. The culture

tions.” It is easy to imagine the writer isinserting this reference as a way to helpreaders generate an easily associatableimage. It is meant to connect the targetcountry to the readership at the mental-image level. “Communism” might be oneof the few images that readers outsideEurope can probably relate to when itcomes to an Eastern European countrylike Poland.6

Similar to the “sprinkling ofwords” or the textual use of culture pegsis the use of photos (or videos in the caseof television or the web) that symbolicallyremind readers of the culture beingreported on. For instance, if the story isabout McDonald’s expanding in China,the article might carry a photo of Chinesepeople munching on their burgers in theTiananmen Square where recognizablelandmark Chinese buildings can be seenin the background. The deliberate use insuch a photo that includes the iconicChinese-looking structures in the squareis a culture peg. What I might also call aculture peg would be when an AmericanTV reporter, for example, is reporting onsomething happening in San Francisco,say, a national political convention. Thereporter might be standing in front of theGolden Gate bridge as a way to conveythe atmosphere of being in San Francisco,even though the bridge has nothing to dowith the story. For the American audi-ence, San Francisco is not a foreign cul-ture. But it is a distinct local culture, andto the extent it is a culture that mostAmericans do not live in, the culture pegtechnique is called into use.

A SISTER CONCEPT: CULTURE LINKA concept related to the culture peg is the“culture link.” Like the culture peg, theculture link also attempts to invoke read-er interest in the country being reportedat the cultural and perceptional level andthus establishes a link to the countrywhere the readership is based. But culturelink is an element that derives not fromthe country being reported (as is the casewith culture peg) but from the country or

The use of photos can symbolically

remind readersof the culture that is being

reported on





culture where the readers are based. Forthe purpose of discussion, it might be use-ful to work out some key concepts andterminology.

The country where the foreigncorrespondent is based would hereafterbe called the target country or culture. Thecountry or culture where the correspon-dent’s readership is based would becalled the readership country or culture. Aswith the culture peg, the cultural elementused in the story arises from the targetcountry. This was the case with the afore-mentionted camel story.

The culture link does the magic ofconnecting the target country with thereadership country thus making the read-

ers feel close or familiar with the subject.But the culture link is a cultural elementthat stems from the readership countryrather than the target country. Please seethe following example: <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/glob-al/12iht-speech.html?scp=4&sq=miki%20tanikawa&st=cse>.

This is a story about howPresident Obama’s political speechesrecorded on a CD have become a millionseller in Japan. It became enormouslypopular in late 2008 and early 2009because Obama’s speeches were easy tounderstand, even for the average Japanesewho often have a hard time learningEnglish. This was a newsworthy topic fora U.S. audience. Americans would takeinterest in this foreign feature storybecause the U.S. President is the subjectin the context of a Japan story. If the onebeing portrayed was a British prime min-ister, Australian premier or a Japanese

personality, it would not have been asinteresting to U.S. readers. For an Ameri-can audience, “Obama” provides a mentallink between them and the target country,but it is an element that arises from thereadership country not the target country. This story also contains a culture peg: thatJapanese are poor English speakers. As aresult, the story plays off readers' under-standing that Japanese have difficultywith English and by extension difficultylearning the language, a point to whichmany American readers can perhapsrelate. To provide another example, astory about young people in Japan form-ing a long queue the night before thesales launch of iPad in downtown Tokyois an article with a culture link. The iPadis an American product and that enhancesreadership interest.7

The culture link can be a crucialelement even in hard news coverage.Previous newsworthiness studies haveestablished that overseas developmentswhere there is a U.S. involvement—suchas the wars in Iraq, Kosovoand Afghanistan—are highlynewsworthy for the Americanaudience (Hester, 1974; Changand Lee, 1992). While the cul-ture link concept is not identi-fied conceptually in thesestudies, one could argue thatof all the wars and militaryconflict waging in the world,those with U.S. involvement(presence of an element of“America” in the news) isnewsworthy to Americansbecause of the presence of a“culture link.” The media isselecting the news on the basisof the presence of “America”in the news.

Diagram 1 visualizesthe function the culture pegand culture link play in thereaders’ mind. The blackarrows represent the culturepegs, deriving from the targetcountry and being connectedto the readership country. The

white arrow shows the culture link aris-ing from the readership country andbeing tied to the target country. A foreigncorrespondent attempts to connect andlink the two countries— between whichthere may be a gaping cultural divide—by employing these devices from onecountry to the other and tying them tight-ly together, thus creating a solid mentalconnection in readers’ mind.8

CONCLUSIONWhen hard-news elements are absent,international reporting often demandsthat journalists be highly selective withtheir topics in order to pass readershipinterest thresholds. Due to cultural andperceptional constraints on the part ofreaders, they often find themselves navi-gating through narrow confines of topicalpossibilities. The subject choices are nar-row because the imagination of theirreadership may be relatively narrow con-cerning overseas countries and cultures.

The foreigncorrespondent attempts to

connect the twocountries, bridging what might be

a gaping cultural divide

DDiiaaggrraamm 11The culture peg and culture link explained

aa cultural divide

TTaarrggeett ccoouunnttrryy RReeaaddeerrsshhiipp

ccoouunnttrryy

TThhee bbllaacckk aarrrroowwss represent the “culture peg” deriving from the target countryand being connected to the readership country. TThhee wwhhiittee aarrrrooww shows the “culture link” arising from the readership country and being tied to the targetcountry.

A foreign correspondent attempts to connect the two countries, between whichthere is a gaping cultural divide, by stretching these devices from one country to the other, thus establishing a connection between the two.





As a result, the somewhat feeble “mentalimage” in the mind of the reader needs tobe encouraged and, if possible, mademore robust.

What I have described as the cul-ture peg and the culture link are perhapsjust two of the many possible elementsthat correspondents use to make their sto-ries readable. But it is clear that manyjournalists on foreign assignment often doresort to these techniques—and often theysucceed in capturing readership interest.However, the possibility of stereotyping,distorting images and misunderstandingof foreign cultures is high if journalistsoveruse the culture peg. It can result inover-reporting those events and develop-ments that can be culturally pegged andunder-reporting those that cannot be.Moreover, the possibility of distortion isexacerbated by the common problemassociated with international reporting.When distortions occur in internationalreporting they are generally not redressedbecause there is little pressure to correctthem (Louw, 2009).

If refined further, this prelimi-nary study on journalists’ preoccupationwith achieving cultural relevancy forreaders might contribute significantly tothe understanding of the mechanism ofmedia’s foreign reporting, as well as howunder certain circumstances this style ofreporting can warp readers’ perception ofthe world. In addition, this warping mayas a consequence result in significant dis-toritions of the reader’s understanding ofthe world. This media approach to foreignreporting, however, is likely to persistamid—and despite—the rapid progress ofglobalization in media and communica-tions. Citizens in the world are likely tocontinue to rely on the mental image ofthe outside world, an image more the cre-ation of the media than they would per-haps like to admit. ©

ENDNOTES

1. Lippmann, Walter (2004). Public Opinion.New York: Dover Publications. (Originally

published by Hartcourt, Brace andCompany, New York, 1922.)2. What Shoemaker and Reese listed as“proximity” refers to geographic proximitybut it may be interpreted to include culturalcloseness and familiarity as it also discussesa “local angle to a national story.”(1996: 111)Galtung and Ruge listed “cultural proximi-ty” as constituting newsworthiness.(1965: 67)3. Lippmann. op. cit. p. 7.4. This “pre-existing perception” seems tocoincide with what Lippmann in the earlierchapter calls the “mental image” which jour-nalists try to “arouse.” And people possessthat “mental image” when that culturalimage is “defined and picked out by yourown culture,” as noted by Lippmann (see hisfirst quote at the beginning of Chapter 1)unless one has a first-hand direct experience

with that culture. 5. The following Associated Press story per-haps comes closest to the hypothetical storyidea described here concerning a possiblebeauty contest in Saudi Arabia. See <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30605691/s>.6. One can surmise that, from a Polish pointof view, a reference to “communist era” isunnecessary because the majority of thebuildings standing today would have beenerected during the “communist era,” unlessthere was a building rush in the last 20 yearsthat eradicated the vast majority of oldbuildings in the city.7. It is often the case that the culture link ele-ment is chosen and presented as somethingpositive and comforting for the home audi-ence as is the case here.8. These two elements—culture peg and cul-ture link—sometimes work together tostrengthen the story appeal. To write aboutforeign cultures that readers generally aren’tinterested in, such as Japan, it is often notenough to have a news peg and a culturepeg. For example, if a Japan-based journalistis interested in writing about geisha (whichis itself a culture peg for overseas readers),

you not only need a news peg (a recentdevelopment linked to the subject), you needsomething more. For instance, the journalistmight find and write about an Americangeisha (which actually does exist). In thisinstance, you have a culture link (anAmerican being an actor/protagonist) aswell as a culture peg (geisha). And whenyou have both, the gravitational pull forreaders becomes stronger.

REFERENCES

Arnett, P. (1998). “The state of theAmerican newspaper: Goodbye, world.“American Journalism Review 11, pp 50-67.

Chang, T. K. & Lee, J. W. (1992).“Factors affecting gatekeepers’ selection offoreign news; A national survey of newspa-per editors.” Journalism Quarterly 69, pp 554-561.

Galtung, J. & Ruge, M. H (1965).“The structure of foreign news.” Journal ofPeace Research 2, pp 64-91.

Hoge, J. F., Jr. (1997). “ForeignNews: Who gives a damn?” ColumbiaJournalism Review 11/12, pp 48-51.

Hester, A. L. (1974). “The newsfrom Latin America via a world newsagency.” Gazette 20, pp 82-91.

Lippmann, Walter (2004). Publicopinion. New York: Dover Publications. (orig-inally published by Hartcourt, Brace andCompany, New York, 1922.)

Louw, P. Eric (2009). “Reportingforeign places.” In A. S. de Beer (ed.), Globaljournalism: topical issues and media systems.Boston: Pearson Education, pp 153-164.

Patterson, Thomas E. (2000). Doingwell and doing good: How soft news and criticaljournalism are shrinking the news audience andweakening democracy and what news outlets cando about it. Cambridge, MA: Joan ShorensteinCenter on the Press, Politics and PublicPolicy. John F. Kennedy School ofGovernment, Harvard University.

Shoemaker, Pamela J. and Reese,Stephen D. (1996). Mediating the message:Theories of influences on mass media content.New York: Longman.

Tanikawa, Miki (2009). “Growingfeature content in leading U.S. newspapers.”Journal of Liberal Arts 127, School of PoliticalScience and Economics, Waseda University,pp 43-75.

Weldon, Michele (2008). Everymannews: The changing American front page.Columbia, MI: University of Missouri Press.


Citizens’ image of the world may be created

more by the media than they are willing

to admit



Call for Submissions

Literary Journalism StudiesPublished by the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies

Literary Journalism Studies, a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the International Association forLiterary Journalism Studies (IALJS), invites submissions of scholarly articles on literary journalism, which isalso known as narrative journalism, narrative nonfiction, literary reportage, reportage literature, NewJournalism and the nonfiction novel, as well as literary nonfiction that emphasizes cultural revelation. The jour-nal is international in scope and seeks submissions on the theory, history and pedagogy of literary journalismthroughout the world. All disciplinary approaches are welcome.

To encourage an international dialogue, the journal is also willing to consider publishing short examples orexcerpts of literary journalism accompanied by a scholarly gloss about a writer not widely known outside his orher country. The example or excerpt must be translated into English. The scholarly gloss must be between 1,500and 2,500 words long and indicate why the example is important in the context of its national culture. Together,both the text and the gloss must not exceed 8,000 words in length. The contributor is responsible for obtainingall copyright permissions, including from the publisher, author and translator as necessary.

E-mail submission (as an MS Word attachment) is mandatory, and submissions should be between 4,000 and8,000 words in length, including notes. A cover page indicating the title of the paper, the author’s name andinstitutional affiliation, and contact information must accompany all submissions. The author’s name shouldnot appear on the required 250-word abstract or on the paper itself, as all submissions will be blind reviewed.All submissions must be in English and follow the Chicago Manual of Style (Humanities). Submissions will beaccepted on an ongoing basis. Contributors of articles selected for publication will receive one copy of the jour-nal. Copyright reverts to the contributor after publication with the provision that should the submission be sub-sequently republished reference is made to initial publication in Literary Journalism Studies. Please e-mailall submissions and/or related queries to:

John C. Hartsock, Ph.D.Editor, Literary Journalism StudiesDepartment of Communication StudiesState University of New York at CortlandCortland, NY 13045-0900 U.S.A.<[email protected]>

BOOK REVIEWS: The journal will include a book review section and invites short reviews of 1,000-2,000words on both the scholarship of literary journalism and recent original works of literary journalism that deservegreater recognition among scholars. Book reviews are not blind reviewed but selected by the book review editorbased on merit. Reviewers may suggest book review prospects or write the book review editors for suggestions.Usually reviewers will be responsible for obtaining their respective books. Book reviews and/or related queriesshould be e-mailed to Thomas B. Connery at <[email protected]>.





PUBLICATIONS BY IALJS MEMBERS

The work of a num-ber of the membersof our learned societyhas recentlyappeared in the pub-

lic print. For example, Isabel Soares of theUniversidade Técnica de Lisboa (Portugal)recently had a paper published in a confer-ence proceedings. the full citiation is: IsabelSoares, “The Island ofLoneliness? LiteraryJournalism from theAzorean Periphery,” inDavid Hutchison andHugh O’Donnell , eds.,Centres and Peri-pheries: Metropolitanand Non-MetropolitanJournalism in the 21st Century (Newcastleupon Tyne, U.K.: Cambridge ScholarsPublishing, 2011). The book is available at:<http://www.amazon.co.uk/Centres-Peripheries-Metropolitan-Non-metropolitan-Journalism/dp/1443826715>.

John Hartsock of the State Universityof New York - Cortland (U.S.A.) has a new

book out. A work ofnonfiction, it illuminatesthe life of an upstateNew York winery. Thefull citation is: John C.Hartsock, Seasons of aFinger Lakes Winery,(Ithaca, NY: CornellUniversity Press, 2011).

The work is available from: <http://www.amazon.com/Seasons-Finger-Lakes-Winery-Hartsock/dp/0801448816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301171745&sr=1-1>.

Rachel Davis Mersey of NorthwesternUniversity recently published a book thatexplores new definitionsof journalism. The cita-tion is Rachel DavisMersey, Can JournalismBe Saved? Rediscover-ing America’s Appetitefor News (New York:Praeger Press, 2010),available from <http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Davis-Merseyscan-Journalism-Saved/dp/B004S0JVSK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302132673&sr=1-2>.

This past March, while much of theU.S. labored under a prolongedwinter, several members of IALJS

migrated south to the balmy, palmetto-studded city of Columbia, South Carolina,where they were joined by members from

Portugal andChina for the thir-ty-sixth annualmeeting of theSoutheastColloquium, aregional confer-ence of theAssociation forEducation inJournalism andMass Communi-cation.

The School ofJournalism andMass Communi-cation at the

University of South Carolina hosted theconference, and IALJS member KathyRoberts Forde served as the tireless con-ference organizer and gracious host.Kathy also sat on a panel with otherIALJS members Calvin Hall, DougCumming and Berkley Hudson at a con-current University of South Carolina inau-gural Symposium on Media and CivilRights.

IALJS sponsored two differentpanels for the Southeast Colloquium, bothunder the banner: “Literary Journalism:The Promise and Perils of Change.” TheFriday panel, entitled “Observe andInterpret: Literary Journalism and thePolitics of Reform” featured DavidAbrahamson of Northwestern University,Aryn Bartley of Michigan State Universityand Josh Roiland of Case Western ReserveUniversity. David talked about the role ofliterary journalism in the Arab world.Aryn discussed the various ways literaryjournalists serve as “citizen witnesses” fortheir readers. And I talked about the his-tory of literary populism in the AfricanAmerican press.

The Saturday panel was entitled“A Humanizing Voice: Global

Perspectives on Literary Journalism andSocial Justice. “ It included Lisa Barr, editor-in-chief of the journal Communications andLaw, Peiqin Chen of Shanghai InternationalStudies University, Mark Massé of Ball StateUniversity and Isabel Soares of theUniversidade Técnica de Lisboa in Portugal.Lisa spoke about the political significance ofStuds Terkel’s oral histories. Peiqin gave arevealing talk about the undergroundChinese newspaper Nan Fan Zhou Mo(Southern Weekly) and its effects on socialpolicy (please see Page 10). Mark discussedthe profiles of faith activists he recounts inhis own work of literary journalism, Inspiredto Serve: Today’s Faith Activists. And Isabeltraced the struggles for human rights innineteenth-century Portuguese literary jour-nalism.

Both the Friday and Saturday pan-els attracted about a dozen audience mem-bers, and once again it is safe to say that theinternational scope of IALJS impressed con-ference attendees. There were three peoplein attendance at the conference from coun-tries other than the United States; two wereaffiliated with IALJS and by the end of theweekend we had convinced the third personto join as well.

Further support came for the studyof literary journalism came from IsabelWilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize winning journal-ist formerly of the New York Times, who gavethe conference’s keynote speech. Earlier thatweek, her book The Warmth of Other Suns:The Epic Story of America’s Great Migrationwon the National Book Critics Circle Award.Before a ballroom packed with more than200 guests, Ms. Wilkerson began her talk bysaying she was glad to see several panelsdevoted to literary journalism on the pro-gram. We were more than a little pleasedthat she then added that her book started asa work of journalism and of history, but thatit was “informed by the idea of literary jour-nalism.”

After the Friday session, weenjoyed a lovely dinner at one of Columbia’sbest restaurants, Terra, where we luxuriatedin southern hospitality and delicious region-al cuisine such as shrimp and grits and friedgreen tomatoes. ©

IALJSOUTREACH

INPRINT

IALJS/SEC IN SOUTH CAROLINAA pair of panels focusing on the promise of literary journalism.By Joshua Roiland, Case Western Reserve University (U.S.A.)



The international character of literaryjournalism was well represented atIALJS-organized sessions of the

American Comparative Literature Asso-ciation’s 2011 meeting, hosted in Vancou-ver by Simon Fraser University on March

31 to April 3.With eight

scholars fromseven differentcountries present-ing papers onFrench, Scottish,American,Turkish andBrazlian versionsof literary journal-ism, the two pan-els confirmed theCall for Papers’claim that literaryjournalism “exists

in a variety of forms depending on thecultures where it is practiced” and is“irreducible to a fixed categorization.”

Papers offered a variety of excit-ing new ways of viewing literary journal-ism in its international dimensions—forexample, as a “literature of urgency” or asa potent response to the “rhetoric ofnationalism” which often prevails in inter-national news coverage. Another partic-pant noted that it is a genre which crossesnot only geographical boundaries but alsoborders of race, gender and time.

Speakers also provided historicaland current perspectives on the literary

journalism of Brazil, Turkey and Scotland,as well as both an illuminating survey ofthe current state of the genre in Franceand the particular challenge being offeredtoday by new French publications to thehistorical prejudice that journalism can-not, in fact, be literary.

Panelists included William Dow(American University of Paris), KennethPratt (University of the West of Scotland),Norman Sims (University ofMassachusetts, Amherst), Isabelle Meuret(Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium),Ömer Özer (Anadolu University,Eskiflehir, Turkey), Vera Hanna(Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie,São Paulo, Brazil), Pascal Gin (CarletonUniversity, Ottawa) and your correson-dent from Brock University, also inCanada.

This is the second time the IALJShas organized a panel at the ACLA. The

IALJSOUTREACH

IALJS/ACLA IN VANCOUVER, B.C.Eight scholars from seven countries attested to the discipline’s international nature.By Rob Alexander, Brock University (Canada)

first was two years ago at HarvardUniversity. As in the past, participantsenjoyed the sustained discussion madepossible by the ACLA’s unique seminarstructure. It would be very easy to get lostin a conference as big as the ACLA. Thisyear upwards of 1,500 scholars participat-ed in close to 180 sessions. Those sessions,however, are structured so that partici-pants meet among themselves for twohours each day during the three days ofthe conference—or, in same cases, overtwo days. The result is a workshop-likeatmosphere in which seminar themesmay be developed, connections amongdifferent perspectives forged and scholar-ly collegiality fostered.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a num-ber of the session participants had notheard of the IALJS prior to the Call forPapers for the ACLA seminar. However,as a result of the Vancouver opportunity

to meet and interact withlike-minded colleagues,many expressed interest intaking part not only infuture IALJS sessions orga-nized through the ACLA,but also IALJS’s own annu-al conferences. ©

BEAUTIFUL VANCOUVER, ABOVE,WAS THE SETTING FOR THE IALJS SESSIONS AT ACLA. PRESENTERS, FROM LEFT, INCLUDEDÖMER ÖZER, WILLIAM DOW, ISABELLE MEURET, NORMANSIMS, VERA HANNA, PASCAL GIN, KENNETH PRATT ANDROB ALEXANDER.

PHOTO BY AMBER WORKMAN



CALL FOR PAPERSInternational Association for Literary Journalism Studies

“Literary Journalism: The Power and Promise of Story”The Seventh International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS-7)

Ryerson UniversitySchool of Journalism

Toronto, Canada

17-19 May 2012

The International Association for Literary Journalism Studies invites submissions of originalresearch papers, abstracts for research in progress and proposals for panels on Literary Journalism for the IALJS annual convention on 17-19 May 2012. The conference will be held atthe School of Journalism and Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

The conference hopes to be a forum for scholarly work of both breadth and depth in the field ofliterary journalism, and all research methodologies are welcome, as are research on all aspects ofliterary journalism and/or literary reportage. For the purpose of scholarly delineation, our definition of literary journalism is "journalism as literature" rather than "journalism aboutliterature." The association especially hopes to receive papers related to the general conferencetheme, “Literary Journalism: The Power and Promise of Story." All submissions must be in English.

The International Association for Literary Journalism Studies is a multidisciplinary learned society whose essential purpose is the encouragement and improvement of scholarly research and education in literary journalism. As an association in a relatively recently defined field ofacademic study, it is our agreed intent to be both explicitly inclusive and warmly supportive of avariety of scholarly approaches. Information on previous annual meetings can be found at http://www.ialjs.org/?page_id=33




I. GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PAPERS

Submitted research papers should not exceed 7,500 words, or about 25 double-spaced pages, plusendnotes. Please regard this as an upper limit; shorter papers are certainly welcome. Endnotesand bibliographic citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style. Papers may not besimultaneously submitted to any other conferences. Papers previously published, presented, accepted or under review are ineligible. Only one paper per author will be accepted for presentation in the conference’s research sessions, and at least one author for each paper must beat the convention in order to present the paper. If accepted, each paper presenter at a conferenceResearch Session may be allotted no more than 15 minutes. To be considered, please observe thefollowing guidelines:

(a) Submission by e-mail attachment in MS Word is required. No other format or faxesor postal mail submissions will be accepted.

(b) Include one separate title page containing title, author/s, affiliation/s, and the address, phone, fax, and e-mail of the lead author.

(c) Also include a second title page containing only the paper’s title and the paper’s abstract. The abstract should be approximately 250 words in length.

(d) Your name and affiliation should not appear anywhere in the paper [this information willonly appear on the first title page; see (b) above].

II. GUIDELINES FOR WORK-IN-PROGRESS PRESENTATIONS (ABSTRACTS)

Submitted abstracts for Work-in-Progress Sessions should not exceed 250 words. If accepted, each presenter at a conference Work-in-Progress session may be allotted no more than 10 minutes. To be considered, please observe the following guidelines:

(a) Submission by e-mail attachment using MS Word is required. No other format or faxes or postal mail submissions will be accepted.

(b) Include one separate title page containing title, author/s, affiliation/s, and the address, phone, fax and e-mail of the lead author.

(c) Also include a second page containing only the work’s title and the actual abstract of thework-in-progress. The abstract should be approximately 250 words in length.

III. GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS FOR PANELS

(a) Submission by e-mail attachment in MS Word is required. No other format or faxesor postal mail submissions will be accepted.

(b) Panel proposals should contain the panel title, possible participants and their affiliation and e-mail addresses, and a description of the panel’s subject. The description should beapproximately 250 words in length.

(c) Panels are encouraged on any topic related to the study, teaching or practice of literary journalism. See http://www.ialjs.org/?page_id=21.

CALL FOR PAPERS Continued from previous page




IV. EVALUATION CRITERIA, DEADLINES AND CONTACT INFORMATION

All research paper submissions will be evaluated on originality and importance of topic;literature review; clarity of research purpose; focus; use of original and primary sources and howthey support the paper’s purpose and conclusions; writing quality and organization; and thedegree to which the paper contributes to the study of literary journalism. Similarly, abstracts ofworks-in-progress and panel proposals will be evaluated on the degree to which they contributeto the study of literary journalism. All submissions will be blind-juried, and submissions fromstudents as well as faculty are encouraged.

Please submit research papers or abstracts of works-in-progress presentations to:

Prof. Isabel Soares, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Portugal)20122 IALJS-7 Research Chair; e-mail: <[email protected]>

Please submit proposals for panels to:

Prof. Rob Alexander, Brock University (Canada)2012 IALJS-7 Program Co-Chair; e-mail: <[email protected]>

Deadline for all submissions: No later than 1 December 2011

For more information regarding the conference or the association, please go to http://www.ialjs.org or contact:

Prof. Alice Trindade, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Portugal)IALJS President; e-mail: <[email protected]>Prof. Bill Reynolds, Ryerson University (Canada)IALJS First Vice President/Treasurer; e-mail: <[email protected]>Pof,. Norman Sims, Secretary (U.S.A.)IALJS Second Vice President; e-mail: <[email protected]>

Prof. David Abrahamson, Northwestern University (U.S.A.)Secretary; e-mail: <[email protected]>

Prof. John S. Bak, Nancy-Université (France)Founding IALJS President; e-mail: [email protected]>

CALL FOR PAPERS Continued from previous page



Please fill out form and return (by mail, fax or scanned e-mail attachment) with dues payment to address below.

Name _______________________________________________________ Title (Dr., Prof., Mr., Ms., Mrs., Miss) _____________

University_________________________________________________________________________________________________

School/Department _________________________________________________________________________________________

Work address (street, city, state/province, country) ________________________________________________________________

Home address (street, city, state/province, country) ________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone (include intl. code) Home ________________________ Work ________________________ Cell _____________________

Fax phone _____________________ E-mail address ______________________________________________________________

Area(s) of teaching/research interest ___________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Membership Categories: The annual IALJS membership coincides with the calendar year (no pro-rating is available). Membersreceive the Literary Journalism newsletter, the Literary Journalism Studies journal, all IALJS announcements and conference CFPs.

Please check category: _____ US$ 50: Regular Member (Faculty member)_____ US$ 50: Associate Member (Professional member)_____ US$ 25: Student Member (Master or Doctoral level)_____ US$ 25: Retired Faculty Member_____ US$100: Sponsoring Member (to support the IALJS general operating fund)

Please Note: Because your IALJS membership dues are apportioned to various publication accounts, as well as for operating expenses,the U.S. Postal Service requires that you sign off on this procedure. Please sign below.

Signature ____________________________________________________________ Date ______________________________

PAYMENT METHODS: PayPal/Credit Cards or Check:

1. PayPal and Credit Cards:

Payments may be made via PayPal (and credit cards). Please see “Membership Payments” at http://www.ialjs.org. Please also faxcompleted form (above) to Bill Reynolds, IALJS Treasurer, School of Journalism, Ryerson University: +01-416-979-5216.

2. Make Check Payable, in U.S. Funds only, to “IALJS”; please mail check with completed form to:

Bill Reynolds, IALJS TreasurerSchool of Journalism, Ryerson University350 Victoria StreetToronto, OntarioCANADA M5B 2K3

2011 IALJS Membership Form



INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIESCONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

(adopted 14 July 2006; latest version amended and adopted 13 May 2011)

CONSTITUTION

PreambleIn accordance with the scholarly, teaching and professional inter-ests of its founding members, a new international learned societydedicated to the study of Literary Journalism is hereby created.Article 1: Name and PurposeSection 1. The name of the organization shall be the InternationalAssociation for Literary Journalism Studies.Section 2. The purpose of the organization shall be the improve-ment of scholarly research and education in Literary Journalism.To this end, members of the Association shall undertake the fol-lowing objectives:a. To foster scholarly research and inquiry in the field of LiteraryJournalism and related areas.b. To enhance the subject matter of courses related to LiteraryJournalism and encourage the effectiveness of teaching at theundergraduate and graduate levels.c. To promote a sense of public service, professional responsibilityand freedom among practitioners of Literary Journalism andthose in academe.d. To stimulate close relationships between the researchers andteachers of these subjects and professional organizations and indi-viduals.e. To encourage the adoption and practice of high standards forscholarship and teaching of these subjects, and an adequate sys-tem of rewards and assurances for researchers and teachers tosupport such standards.f. To increase the understanding and awareness among profes-sional and academic personnel of the importance of LiteraryJournalism.g. To attract to the study of these subjects a growing number ofable students.h. To plan a program to further the improvement of and the prac-tice and advancement of Literary Journalism.Article 2: MembershipSection 1. Membership shall be by individuals and by educationalor professional organizations. Eligible individuals and organiza-tions are those concerned principally with higher-education teach-ing and/or research in those areas listed in Article 1. Section 2, and those in professional activities related to these sub-ject areas.Section 2. Membership classifications, qualifications, dues and

privileges shall be defined in the bylaws.Article 3: OfficersSection 1. The officers of the Association shall be as follows:President, First Vice President, Second Vice President,Secretary, and Treasurer. The principal officer of theAssociation shall be designated as its President and be chosenin the manner prescribed in the bylaws. The President shallperform the duties assigned to that position in the bylaws andsuch other duties as may from time to time be determined bythe Association membership.Section 2. The secondary officer of the Association shall be theFirst Vice President, who shall perform the duties requestedby the President and shall serve as President should the prin-cipal officer be absent from annual meeting or otherwiseunable to serve.Section 3. The Second Vice President, the Secretary and theTreasurer of the Association shall perform the duties assignedin the bylaws and any others requested by the President.Section 4. The officers, the Journal editor, the newsletter edi-tor, the webmaster, the elected member of the NominatingCommittee, and the research, program, membership, liaison,publicity, conference planning and graduate student chairsshall constitute the Executive Committee of the Association,which shall be vested with the authority to govern theAssociation and to direct its affairs. The President shall serveas chair of the Executive Committee. The ExecutiveCommittee shall have the power to fill vacancies pro temporein its own membership. The outgoing President shall serve asan ex-officio, non-voting member of the Executive Committeefor two years from the end of his or her term as AssociationPresident. The outgoing President shall not be counted indetermining a quorum or in polling the Executive Committeeby phone or e-mail.Article 4: DuesSection 1. The officers shall have the right to apprise the needfor operating funds, from time to time, and, upon ratificationof such proposal by a simple majority of the membership vot-ing at any annual meeting, to raise or lower annual dues as arequirement for membership in the Association.Article 5: MeetingsSection 1. Meetings shall be held as prescribed in the bylaws.




Erskine May’s Parliamentary Procedure or Robert’s Rules ofOrder will be the manual for parliamentary procedure in meet-ings of the Association.Section 5. Each regular member of the Association shall beentitled to one vote in elections, and to one vote on all issuesor proposals presented at an annual or special meeting of theAssociation.Section 6. The Executive Committee shall meet at least onceduring the annual Conference and at such other times as itsmembership shall determine. For purposes of conducting busi-ness of the Association, the President may present propositionsto the Executive Committee and poll its membership by e-mailor phone. Such balloting shall constitute performance of theadvisory function of the Executive Committee between annualmeetings.Article 3: Nominations and ElectionsSection 1. The current First Vice President, who is the incomingPresident of the Association, shall, with consultation of a two-member Nominating Committee, present a list of nominees tothe Association President prior to the annual meeting. Onemember of the Nominating Committee shall be elected at theprevious annual meeting and one shall be appointed by thePresident.Section 2. It shall be the duty of the Nominating Committee toinvite nominations and develop a slate of nominees from theAssociation’s regular membership prior to the annual meeting,to present the slate at that meeting, inviting further nomina-tions from the floor, and then to conduct the election of theofficers and Executive Committee members. Nominations tothe position of Second Vice President may be made from thefloor of the annual meeting. Upon completion of the election,the nominating committee chair shall inform members of thename of the winning candidates.Section 3. Elections shall be held every two years at the annualmeeting. Only members of the Association shall be entitled tovote in the election.Section 4. A candidate for office shall be deemed elected if heor she receives more votes than those cast for any other con-tender for the office.Section 5. Upon successful completion of an elected term ofoffice as First Vice President, the holder of that office shallautomatically succeed to, and possess all the rights andresponsibilities of, the office of President. His or her term as

Article 6: AmendmentsSection 1. This constitution and its bylaws may be amended bythe affirmative votes of two-thirds of the members participat-ing in any meeting at which a proposed amendment oramendments is or are presented for action by the members.Section 2. The President shall prepare and distribute the text ofthe proposed amendment or amendments at least two weeksbefore the meeting at which the amendment or amendments isor are presented for consideration and action.Article 7: PromulgationSection 1. This constitution and its bylaws attached shallbecome effective upon adoption by a two-thirds affirmativevote of those members voting.Article 8: DissolutionSection 1. The organization may be dissolved by a two-thirdsvote of the membership present and voting at any annualmeeting.

BYLAWS

Article 1: MembershipSection 1. Classification of membership: Regular members,who shall be faculty, staff or student members of institutionsengaged in Literary Journalism education at the college under-graduate or graduate level, or persons in related professionalactivities who have an interest in Literary Journalism teachingand/or research.Section 2. Funds of the Association shall be deposited with theAssociation Treasurer, who will provide the facilities of his orher office for their accounting. Other funds will be depositedin appropriate separate accounts.Section 3. A regular member is one whose dues are paid inadvance of the annual meeting.Section 4. Only regular members are entitled to voting rights.Article 2: MeetingsSection 1. The annual meeting of the Association shall be heldat a time and place specified by the Executive Committee.Section 2. Special meetings of the Association may be calledand held in connection with any plan or activity designed tocarry out the stated functions of the Association, upon concur-rence of a quorum of the Executive Committee.Section 3. Decisions of the Association and its ExecutiveCommittee shall be by majority vote of members present andvoting.Section 4. At the discretion of the presiding officer, either Continued on next page

CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS Continued from previous page



duties of First Vice President until the next annual Associationmeeting. The President will then name a new Second VicePresident with the advice and consent of the ExecutiveCommittee. In the event both the President and First VicePresident are unable to complete their terms, any member ofthe Executive Committee may convene a meeting of that bodyand elect Association members to serve as President and FirstVice President until the next annual meeting.Section 4. The Secretary shall take and keep the minutes of theAssociation annual meeting, all Executive Committee meet-ings and any other Association records, as well as perform anyother duties requested by the Association President.Section 5. The Treasurer shall manage the financial affairs andrecords of the Association, as well as perform any other dutiesrequested by the Association President.Section 6. The Association’s Executive Committee shall consistof the Association’s President, First Vice President, SecondVice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Journal editor, newslettereditor, webmaster, the elected member of the NominatingCommittee, and research, program, membership, liaison, pub-licity, conference planning and graduate student chairs, andthe Association’s outgoing President as an ex-officio, non-vot-ing member. Members of the Executive Committee shall beelected at an annual meeting to serve a term of two years,from the time of the election at the annual meeting until thetime of election at the annual meeting two years hence. In theevent any member of the at-large membership of the ExecutiveCommittee resigns or is unable to fulfill the functions of theoffice, the Executive Committee shall fill the vacancy until thenext annual meeting at which time an Association membershall be elected to serve the unexpired term.Section 7. A quorum at a meeting at which all members of theExecutive Committee have been invited to attend in personshall be five. For the purposes of conducting the Association’sbusiness, the President may present propositions to theExecutive Committee and poll all its members by e-mail orphone. Such balloting shall constitute performance of the advi-sory function of the Executive Committee between annualmeetings.Section 8. Any member of the Executive Committee who doesnot attend the Association convention may be removed fromoffice upon a recommendation by the Association Presidentand a majority vote of the members attending the annualmeeting. Once a position is declared vacant, the members willelect another Association member to fill that unexpired term.

President will begin the day immediately following his or herelection.Section 6. Upon successful completion of an elected term ofoffice as Second Vice President, the holder of that office shallautomatically succeed to, and possess all the rights and respon-sibilities of, the First Vice President. His or her term as First VicePresident will begin the day immediately following his or herelection.Article 4: Terms and Duties of OfficersSection 1. The President, First Vice President and Second VicePresident of the Association shall serve for two years from theday after election at the annual meeting until the election at theannual meeting two years hence. They shall not be eligible tosucceed themselves in office, although they may be re-elected tothe office after a period of two years. They shall be responsiblefor planning and carrying out a program designed to accomplishthe purposes of the Association. The Association’s Secretary,Treasurer, Journal editor, newsletter editor, webmaster, the elect-ed member of the Nominating Committee, and the research,program, membership, liaison, publicity, conference planningand graduate student chairs shall serve for two years from theday after election at the annual meeting until the election at theannual meeting two years hence. They shall be eligible to suc-ceed themselves in office.Section 2. The President of the Association shall be the ExecutiveOfficer of the Association and shall administer its affairs, withthe advice of the Executive Committee, including the appoint-ment of any necessary committees. The President shall presideat all meetings of the Association and the Executive Committee,when present. He or she shall also preserve order, enforce theConstitution and perform all duties of a presiding officer. Allcontracts entered into by the association must be signed by boththe President and the Treasurer.Section 3. It shall be the duty of the First Vice President to carryout whatever tasks may be assigned to him or her by thePresident for the purpose of accomplishing the stated objectivesof the Association. In the event of a vacancy in the office of thePresident for any reason, the First Vice President shall assumethe title and duties of that office for the unexpired term until anew President is chosen at the next regularly scheduled election.The First Vice President shall preside, in the absence of thePresident, at meetings of the Association and/or the ExecutiveCommittee. In the event the First Vice President is unable tocomplete the term of that office, or succeed to the position ofPresident, the Second Vice President shall assume the title and

CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS Continued from previous page



IALJS OFFICERS AND CHAIRS, 2010-2012PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTAl ice Donat Tr indadeUn ivers idade Técn ica de L isboaIns t i tu to Super io r de C iênc ias Soc ia is e Po l í t i casPó lo Un ivers i tá r io do A l to da A juda, Rua A lmer indo Lessa1300-663 L isboaPORTUGALw/+351-213-619-430fax/+351-213-619-442at r [email protected] t l .p t

FFIIRRSSTT VV IICCEE PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT//TTRREEAASSUURREERRBi l l Reyno ldsRyerson Un ivers i t ySchoo l o f Journa l i sm, 350 V ic to r ia S t .Toronto , Ontar io M5B 2K3CANADAw/+1-416-979-5000 x6294h/+1-416-535-0892reyno [email protected]

SSEECCOONNDD VVIICCEE PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTNorman S imsUnivers i t y o f Massachuset ts , Amhers tDepar tment o f Journa l i sm, Bar t le t t Ha l l #108Amhers t , MA 01003U.S.A.w/+1-413-545-5929h/+1-413-774-2970fax/+1-413-545-3880 s ims@journ .umass.edu

SSEECCRREETTAARRYYDav id AbrahamsonNor thwestern Un ivers i t yMed i l l Schoo l o f Journa l i sm, 1845 Sher idan Rd.Evanston, IL 60208U.S.A.w/+1-847-467-4159h/+1-847-332-2223fax/+1-847-332-1088d-abrahamson@nor thwestern .edu

CCHHAA IIRR,, RREESSEEAARRCCHH CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEIsabe l SoaresUn ivers idade Técn ica de L isboaIns t i tu to Super io r de C iênc ias Soc ia is e Po l í t i casPó lo Un ivers i tá r io do A l to da A juda, Rua A lmer indo Lessa1300-663 L isboaPORTUGALw/[email protected] t l .p t

DDEEPPUUTTYY CCHHAAIIRR,, RREESSEEAARRCCHH CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEJorge Bastos da S i l vaUn ivers idade do Por toDepar tamento de Es tudos Ang lo-Amer icanosPor to 4150-564PORTUGALw/+351-229-412-111jms i l va@let ras .up.p t

CCHHAA IIRR,, PPRROOGGRRAAMM CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEERob A lexanderBrock Un ivers i t yDepar tment o f Eng l i sh Languages and L i te ra tureSt . Ca thar ines , Ontar io L2S 3A1w/+905-688-5550 x3886CANADA

CCHHAA IIRR,, PPUUBBLLIICCIITTYY CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEENIkk i Hesse l lV ic to r ia Un ivers i t y o f Wel l ing tonSchoo l o f Eng l i sh , F i lm, Thea t re and Med ia S tud ies , PO Box 600

Wel l ing ton 6140NEW ZEALANDw/+64-4-479-7281nikk i .hesse l [email protected]

CCHHAAIIRR,, LLIIAAIISSOONN CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEIsabe l le Meure tUn ivers i té L ib re de Bruxe l lesCampus du So lbosch, ULB CP123, avenue F.D. Rooseve l t 501050 Bruxe l lesBELGIUMw/+32- (0 )2-650-4061fax/+32- (0 )2-650-2450imeure t@ulb .ac .be

CCHHAAIIRR,, EESSSSEE OORRGGAANNIIZZ IINNGG CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEJohn BakNancy-Un ivers i téCent re de Té lé-ense ignement Un ivers i ta i re (CTU)42-44, avenue de la L ibera t ion , B.P. 3397 54015 Nancy FRANCEw/+33- (0 )383-968-448 h/+33- (0 )383-261-476fax/+33- (0 )383-968-449john.bak@univ-nancy2. f r

CCOO--CCHHAA IIRRSS,, CCOONNFFEERREENNCCEE PPLLAANNNNIINNGG CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEMar ia Lass i la-Mer isa loUn ivers i t y o f Jyväsky läDepar tment o f Communica t ion40700 Jyväsky läF INLANDw/+358-50-525-5819mar ia . lass i la-mer isa lo@ik i . f i

Dav id AbrahamsonNor thwestern Un ivers i t yMed i l l Schoo l o f Journa l i sm, 1845 Sher idan Rd.Evanston, IL 60208U.S.A.w/+1-847-467-4159h/+1-847-332-2223fax/+1-847-332-1088d-abrahamson@nor thwestern .edu

CCOO--CCHHAA IIRRSS,, GGRRAADDUUAATTEE SSTTUUDDEENNTT CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEEJoshua Ro i landCase Western Reser ve Un ivers i t yWr i t ing ProgramCleve land, Oh io 44106 U.S.A.h/+1-314-550-9156josh_ro i land@hotmai l .com

Tob ias Eberwe inTechn ische Un ivers i tä t Dor tmundIns t i tu t fü r Journa l i s t i k , Emi l -F igge-St r. 50D-44227 Dor tmundGERMANYw/+49-231-755-5583tob ias .eberwe [email protected]

MMEEMMBBEERRSS,, NNOOMMIINNAATTIINNGG CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEE ( inc ludes F IRST V ICE PRESIDENT)Isabe l SoaresUn ivers idade Técn ica de L isboaIns t i tu to Super io r de C iênc ias Soc ia is e Po l í t i casPó lo Un ivers i tá r io do A l to da A juda, Rua A lmer indo Lessa1300-663 L isboaPORTUGALw/[email protected] t l .p t



IALJS OFFICERS AND CHAIRS, 20010-2012 Continued from previous page

Norman S imsUnivers i t y o f Massachuset ts , Amhers tDepar tment o f Journa l i sm, Bar t le t t Ha l l #108Amhers t , MA 01003U.S.A.w/+1-413-545-5929h/+1-413-774-2970fax/+1-413-545-3880 s ims@journ .umass.edu

WWEEBBMMAASSTTEERRNicho las Jackson205 R. St . NW, BSMTWash ington, DC 20001U.S.A.ce l l /+1-815-341-8122nicho las .b . jackson@gmai l .com

EEDDIITTOORRSS,, LLIITTEERRAARRYY JJOOUURRNNAALLIISSMM SSTTUUDDIIEESS John Har tsock (ed i to r )S ta te Un ivers i t y o f New York Co l lege a t Cor t landDepar tment o f Communica t ion S tud iesCor t land, NY 13045U.S.A.w/+1-607-753-4103h/+1-607-749-6756fax/607-753-5970har tsock j@cor t land.edu

Wi l l i am Dow (assoc ia te ed i to r )Amer ican Un ivers i t y o f Par isDepar tment o f Compara t i ve L i te ra ture , 147, rue de Grene l lePar is 75007FRANCEw/+33-1-4062-0600 ex t 718wi l l i am.dow@wanadoo. f r

Mi les Magu i re (assoc ia te ed i to r )Un ivers i t y o f Wiscons in - OshkoshDepar tment o f Journa l i smOshkosh, WI 54901U.S.A.w/+1-920-424-7148 magu i [email protected]

Rober ta Magu i re (assoc ia te ed i to r )Un ivers i t y o f Wiscons in - OshkoshUn ivers i t y Honors Program / Depar tment o f Eng l i shOshkosh, WI 54901U.S.A.w/+1-920-424-7364magui [email protected]

Jenny McKay (assoc ia te ed i to r )Un ivers i t y o f Sunder landResearch Cent re fo r Med ia and Cu l tu ra l S tud iesSunder land SR6 0DD, Scot landUNITED K INGDOMw/+44- (0 )191-515-2157jenny.mckay@sunder land.ac .uk

B i l l Reyno lds (assoc ia te ed i to r )Ryerson Un ivers i t ySchoo l o f Journa l i sm, 350 V ic to r ia S t .Toronto , Ontar io M5B 2K3CANADAw/+1-416-979-5000 x6294h/+1-416-535-0892reyno [email protected]

Thomas B. Conner y (book rev iew ed i to r )Un ivers i t y o f S t . Thomas Depar tment o f Communica t ion and Journa l i sm2115 Summit Ave.

St . Pau l , MN 55105U.S.A.w/+1-651-962-5265h/+1-651-647-0048 fax/+1-651-962-6360tbconner y@st thomas.edu

Nancy L . Rober ts (book rev iew ed i to r e lec t )Un ivers i t y a t A lbany (SUNY)Depar tment o f Communica t ionSoc ia l Sc iences 3221400 Wash ington Avenue A lbany, NY 12222w/+1-518-442-4884h/+1-518-583-8965fax/+1-518-442-3884nrober [email protected]

EEDDIITTOORRSS,, LL IITTEERRAARRYY JJOOUURRNNAALL IISSMM NNEEWWSSLLEETTTTEERRBi l l Reyno lds (co-ed i to r )Ryerson Un ivers i t ySchoo l o f Journa l i sm, 350 V ic to r ia S t .Toronto , Ontar io M5B 2K3CANADAw/+1-416-979-5000 x6294h/+1-416-535-0892reyno [email protected]

Dav id Abrahamson (co-ed i to r )Nor thwestern Un ivers i t yMed i l l Schoo l o f Journa l i sm, 1845 Sher idan Rd.Evanston, IL 60208U.S.A.w/+1-847-467-4159h/+1-847-332-2223fax/+1-847-332-1088d-abrahamson@nor thwestern .edu

MMEEMMBBEERRSS,, BBOOAARRDD OOFF AADDVVIISSOORRSS ( in progress )John Bak ( found ing pres ident )Nancy-Un ivers i téCent re de Té lé-ense ignement Un ivers i ta i re (CTU)42-44, avenue de la L ibera t ion , B.P. 3397 54015 Nancy FRANCEw/+33- (0 )383-968-448 h/+33- (0 )383-261-476fax/+33- (0 )383-968-449john.bak@univ-nancy2. f r

Susan GreenbergRoehampton Un ivers i t ySchoo l o f Ar ts , Crea t i ve Wr i t ing , Roehampton LaneLondon SW15 5SLUNITED K INGDOMw/+44-20-8392-3257 s .g [email protected] .uk

R ichard Keeb leUn ivers i t y o f L inco lnL inco ln Schoo l o f Journa l i sm, Bray ford Poo lL inco ln LN6 7TSUNITED K INGDOMw/+44- (0 )1522-886-940rkeeb le@l inco ln .ac .uk

Doug UnderwoodUnivers i t y o f Wash ingtonDepar tment o f Communica t ion , Box 353740Seat t le , WA 98195U.S.A.w/[email protected] ington.edu



Ispent five years with my young chil-dren in what I call the “mommy tun-nel” of life before I returned to univer-

sity to pursue a master’s degree in cre-ative writing. It was a demanding curricu-

lum, comprised ofa year of intenseliterary scrutiny,deconstruction,criticism and edit-ing, as well as thenever-ending writ-ing and rewritingof chapters of myown manuscript.As a former jour-

nalist and prospec-tive novelist, itcaused me to seri-ously contemplatethe fine line that

separates narrative nonfiction from cre-ative writing. The techniques I hadlearned to produce better fiction undoubt-edly improved my approach to writingnonfiction. Not all of the creative writingcurriculum translates to journalism, but ifI were asked to teach a course on the lat-ter, there are two strategies I would bor-row shamelessly from my master’s pro-gram: the small writing group and anemphasis on a meticulous point of view.

To some degree, writing narra-tive nonfiction is an exercise in vulnera-bility. The student who is cultivating thenuances of dialogue, scene setting andmetaphor is by definition taking risks thatreveal his or her individuality. A comfort-able group dynamic is, of course, a basicprecept of any writing class—the goal is

LITERARY JOURNALISMTHE NEWSLETTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIESSUMMER 2011 VOL. 5 NO. 3

to create a space in which students feelsafe reading their work. For reasons ofcamaraderie and efficiency, however, Iwould divide the class into smaller work-shop groups of no more than eight stu-dents each. Having done this, the groupswould remain constant throughout theterm, and the members would revieweach others’ material weekly. Within eachworkshop group, half of the memberswould submit copies of their work to theother members, who would be expectedto read, edit and critique the material for

the following week. In this same session,the four pieces of work that had been sub-mitted for critique the previous weekwould then be read aloud. And after eachreading, the group would begin a round-table discussion of the piece.

This approach has several advan-tages. First, it creates a secure environ-ment that allows for experimentationwithin the craft. Second, requiring fellowstudents to scrutinize the work of theircolleagues encourages them to thinkobjectively about form and content, aswell as forcing them to deconstruct and

AN EXERCISE IN VULNERABILITY It was important to design a series of courses with an explicitly cumulative structure.By Jennifer Russell, University of Warwick (United Kingdom)

edit a number of different styles on a reg-ular basis. Third, it builds the confidenceof the novice authors—sooner or later,they will trust the group to be firm butfair with their material. Fourth, the con-tract to present work for criticism is anindividual responsibility to the entiregroup, not simply to the instructor.Having a commitment to seven otherclassmates reinforces the conviction that ajournalist cannot wait for inspiration tostrike. Good work has to be written todeadlines. Ultimately, this small work-shop dynamic simultaneously not onlycultivates writers and editors, but alsofosters professional responsibility andtrust between classmates.

Largely because it continues tohaunt me whenever I write or read narra-tive nonfiction, the second technique Iwould employ in the journalism class-room is point of view. Before I took thecreative writing course, I thought I had athorough understanding of this technique.I did not. Of course, some aspects of thestrategy for developing this perspective ofnarrative must be adapted to literary jour-nalism. For instance, the student will notbe manufacturing the thought process ofher subjects. She may, however, ask a sub-ject what he was thinking at the time ofthe incident and use his response as aninterior monologue. Fine. But if she doesthis, she had better consider editing hiscomments so that they correspond to nomore than his knowledge of the exterioraction. For example, the subject might say,“I suppose I was worried the car would

TEACHINGTIPS

Group workcreates a secure environment

that allows forexperimentation within

the craft

Continued on Page 4

Documents

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE IALJS Literary jourNAlism · REPORT FOR 2011 We are happy to be able to report that our association’s membership, as of 15 May 2011, includes a total of 117