GONZO REPORTAGE IN THE CONTEMPORARY MEDIA SPACE

Abstract

In the contemporary media landscape, traditional forms of journalistic narration are undergoing significant transformation, leading to the emergence of new genres based on authorial subjectivity. One of these is gonzo journalism, which is characterized by its reliance not on neutral information delivery but on the author’s personal experience and emotional perception. Within this genre, the journalist acts not as an external observer but as a direct participant and interpreter of events. In this regard, the study of gonzo journalism from both theoretical and applied perspectives is highly relevant.

The aim of this study is to define gonzo journalism as an independent genre in modern media, to identify the prerequisites of its formation, its linguistic and stylistic features, and its manifestations in Kazakh media culture. The research employs linguistic-stylistic and comparative-descriptive methods, including an analysis of a representative corpus of texts based on the works of H. S. Thompson. In addition, gonzo journalism is compared with traditional reportage to determine its discursive and pragmatic characteristics.

During the research, the genre nature of gonzo journalism, its linguistic and stylistic features, and its function in the modern media space were analyzed. The main objectives included identifying the prerequisites for the emergence of gonzo journalism, determining its differences from traditional reportage, systematizing the linguistic and discursive features characteristic of gonzo texts, as well as describing the manifestation of gonzo elements in the Kazakhstani media.

The findings reveal that the key features of gonzo texts include first-person narration, the dominance of authorial subjectivity, expressive vocabulary, the active use of hyperbole and irony, as well as syntactic flexibility and elements of colloquial speech. The analysis demonstrates that gonzo journalism functions not only as a means of information delivery but also as a distinct form of interpreting personal experience. At the same time, the study shows that in Kazakh media space, gonzo elements appear in a fragmented manner and have not yet developed into a fully established genre.

The scientific novelty of the research lies in the systematization of the genre nature of gonzo journalism from a linguistic-stylistic perspective and its interpretation as a transformational phenomenon of modern media discourse. The theoretical significance of the study is related to clarifying the role of subjectivity in journalistic narration, while its practical value lies in the application of the findings in media text analysis, translation studies, and media education.