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Immersion journalism orimmersionism is a style ofjournalism similar togonzo journalism. In the style, journalists immerse themselves in a situation and with the people involved. The final product tends to focus on the experience, not the writer.
Like Gonzo, immersionism details an individual's experiences from a deeply personal perspective. An individual will choose a situation and immerse themselves in the events and people involved. Unlike Gonzo, however, it is less focused on the writer's life, and more about the writer's specific experiences. Proponents of immersion journalism claim this research strategy allows authors to describe the internal experience of external events and break away from the limiting pseudo-objectivity of traditional journalism.
Book-length examples of immersion journalism includeH.G. Bissinger'sFriday Night Lights;John Howard Griffin'sBlack Like Me;Ted Conover'sRolling Nowhere,Coyotes andNewjack: Guarding Sing Sing;Barbara Ehrenreich'sNickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (2001),Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream (2005),A.J. Jacobs'The Year of Living Biblically (2007) and Matthew Thompson'sRunning with the Blood God (2013) andMy Colombian Death (2008).
Examples of immersionist film include the documentarySuper Size Me andHeavy Metal in Baghdad andFat, Sick and Nearly Dead.
Examples of immersionist programming include the various offerings of media companyVice and segments of US public broadcasting series likeFrontline,Planet Money, andThis American Life.
Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, known by her pseudonym Nellie Bly is seen as a "pioneer" of immersion journalism.[1] Cochrane made herself the center of the story when she was admitted to a mental asylum undercover to expose the abuse of female inmates at the Women's Lunatic Asylum onBlackwell's Island. The series,Ten Days in a Mad-House, was published inNew York World in 1887. The legitimacy of her tactics as a form of credible journalism has been questioned, as she placed inTime's "Top 10 Literary Stunts"[2] which describes journalists who have "elevated the literary gimmick" of immersing themselves in atypical scenarios.
Jon Franklin earned aPulitzer Prize for an article he wrote for theEvening Sun in 1979.[3] Franklin followed a woman through her brain surgery. Unexpectedly, the woman died, and he instead focused his piece on the surgeon, Dr. Ducker.[4] The article includes the details of the doctor's emotionally draining career and the suspense of Mrs. Kelly's operation.
Immersion journalism has been criticized for being too subjective and partial to the journalist's opinion. By immersing oneself in the subject for extended periods of time, the credibility of the writer's neutrality weakens. AWashington Post seven-part article which followedVice President Quayle went under fire for its lack of neutrality.Washington City Paper editor Jack Shafter said the reporters "got way, way too close. With this kind of immersion journalism, you lose perspective, you lose sight of the goal, and you become this authorized biographer."[5]
Robin Hemley's bookA Field Guide for Immersion Writing: Memoir, Journalism, and Travel describes David Shields' bookBlack Planet which observed white fans' "fascination" with black basketball players.[1] Shield "exaggerated and conflated a few things" but was not untruthful. Hemley says that he received scathing reviews, which was a hidden success, since it proved that Shields "hit a nerve."
Practicality also becomes a central issue opposing immersion journalism. A complete work of immersion journalism has flexible deadlines, which not all news sources can afford. TheNew York Times writer Jesse McKinley spent a month working alongside actors to "expose the daily torment that is life way-way off Broadway."[6] Anne Hull of theSt. Petersburg Times worked six months following the lives of a Tampa police officer and the teen who attacked her.[4] However, many news sources value quick stories at a rapid pace to increase profits, according to theColumbia Journalism Review.[4]
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