The 'refurbished' journalism that appeals to communication students: What is literary journalism?

There are not many communication faculties around the world that offer students the opportunity to learn, in such depth, the narrative technique that Truman Capote and his legendary novel made world famous. In cold bloodLiterary journalism is a style characterized by using the tools of literary fiction to explain real events. Beyond Capote, literary journalism has had other leading ambassadors, such as Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. In Catalonia, it has resonated with writers such as Montserrat Roig. Over the last decade, the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has become the only university in the world to offer an elective course in literary journalism in journalism degrees, master's degrees, and postgraduate programs.

"Although many journalism degrees incorporate specialized content in narrative journalism, I don't know of any other that presents literary journalism the way it has been done at Bellaterra since the 1980s," says David Vidal, director of the Master's in Literary Journalism, Communication, and Humanities. He attributes this to the critical and humanistic perspective that has characterized the spirit of the UAB Faculty of Communication Sciences since its founding fifty years ago. "We conceive of journalism as a form of knowledge of a linguistic nature, as a field of mediation," he continues. "For it to be quality, journalism must be revelatory, emancipatory, and transformative."

The jump to the degree

The UAB launched the master's and postgraduate programs in literary journalism thirteen years ago. "There were years when we had twenty enrollments, but others we had eight or ten," explains Vidal. This small number of students allows them to work in a workshop format. They cover very diverse fields: from anthropology, philosophy, and communication aesthetics to narratology, rhetoric, stylistics, and the journalistic perspective. Starting in the 2022-2023 academic year, literary journalism is also part of the list of electives that third- and fourth-year journalism students can choose to take. "It's working very well: we have between 40 and 50 students per class," says Vidal, who is also a professor of the subject in the degree.

The elective was incorporated into the 2019 curriculum review at the UAB, and due to the pandemic, it took three academic years to be offered. "The goal is to consolidate a specialization program in cultural and literary journalism, with two electives that can be taken consecutively and that greatly expand our students' journalistic and cultural resources and capabilities," he says. But what do students think?

A good reception

Irina Soler is one of the students taking this course this year. "I've always loved writing in a journalistic and academic style, but I'd never tried to do it literary-wise," she confesses. Now, with her literary journalism classes, she hopes to incorporate a range of tools into her backpack so she can create everything from fictionalized reports or chronicles to simply adding touches that make her articles more dynamic to read. "It's a journalistic content more focused on details and slowness than on speed and synthesis," she explains.

Gerard Farré, another student, agrees with Irina: "I immediately saw that this type of journalism encompasses what I like most about this profession: writing. In the other subjects, we cover too much theory and it seems like we forget the essence of journalism, which is the art of writing." He explains that, in previous years, he had never heard of this style of journalism: "In a world that increasingly seeks to attract viewers by any means, I think literary journalism is a tool to return to the origins of journalism: I love being able to report without losing the beauty of the writing style."

Danae Torres, a student in the program, hasn't yet enrolled, but is considering it: "I love reading and writing, but the studies focus heavily on the audiovisual field," she reflects. She's looking for a more open, freer, and more stimulating side of journalism, and she believes she can find that in literary journalism. "I want to delve into stories, construct them, and also choose them; see any everyday scene on the street and want to write a story instantly; or meet a person who fascinates me and write a portrait. That's what literary journalism offers."