Pop journalism (German: Popjournalismus) is a form of journalism, that appeared under the influence of the American New Journalism in the mid-60s in Germany and coined the writing right down to the literature. This was most evident in

Jörg Fauser Jörg Fauser (16 July 1944 – 17 July 1987) was a German writer, poet and journalist. The influence of the American beat generation literature on his works is well known. Together with Carl Weissner and other colleagues he published several is ...

’s writing.

Definition

It is defined as follows: "pop journalism: an art of entertainment — without that invisible line, separating entertainment and arts so often from each other." Neutert not only praised the onomatopoetic "bombshell" of the little word ''pop'', but also the term’s inherent "meaning variety, non-normativity, openness."

Characteristics

It is a hybrid genre, interlinking journalistic and literary approaches, characterized by using a first-person narrative. Its style is more literary than journalistic, emphasizing "truth" over strict "facts," and

subjectivity Subjectivity in a philosophical context has to do with a lack of objective reality. Subjectivity has been given various and ambiguous definitions by differing sources as it is not often the focal point of philosophical discourse.Bykova, Marina F ...

instead of

objectivity Objectivity can refer to: * Objectivity (philosophy), the property of being independent from perception ** Objectivity (science), the goal of eliminating personal biases in the practice of science ** Journalistic objectivity, encompassing fairne ...

, aesthetic pleasure instead of sobriety. Pop journalists are not disinterested observers, but immerse themselves; they are an integral part of their reports.

Exponents

Following American formal models and blending them with the rich history of German literature, the very first exponents of pop journalism were

Uwe Nettelbeck Uwe Nettelbeck (7 August 1940 – 17 January 2007) was a German record producer, journalist and film critic. He was best known as the creator and producer of the German krautrock band Faust and changed the face of German rock music in the early ...

, Natias Neutert, and Helmut Salzinger, all living in or near

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. They first wrote for

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

, then for different newspapers and magazines including the

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

, the

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (FR) is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition (see link below) as well as an e-pa ...

Twen ''Twen'' was a West German magazine that was published from 1959 to 1971, and known for its innovative design and typography. History and profile ''Twen'' was launched in 1959 as a bimonthly magazine and the first issue appeared in April 1959. ...

, and Sounds. Their unusual articles provided a good basis for the subsequent exponents of pop journalism such as Clara Drechsler,

Diedrich Diederichsen Diedrich Diederichsen (born August 15, 1957) is a German author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is an intellectual writer at the crossroads of the arts, politics, and popular culture, pop culture. Diedrich Diederichsen was born and gre ...

, and

Jutta Koether Jutta Koether (born 1958) is a German artist, musician and critic based in New York City and Berlin

, published in Spex (magazine). In one way or another, all these writers influenced the phenomenon of pop literature. Telling examples are the bestseller Faserland by Christian Kracht.Cf. Frank Finlay: "Dann wäre Deutschland wie das Wort Neckarauen": Surface, Superficiality and Globalisation in Christian Kracht's Faserland, in: Stuart Taberner (Ed.): "German Literature in the Age of Globalisation". University of Birmingham Press, Birmingham 2004, pp. 189–208.

Definition

Characteristics

Exponents

References

Further reading