Gonzo journalism is a type of writing that does not claim to be fair or neutral. Instead, it often includes the reporter as part of the story, using a first-person point of view. The term "gonzo" is thought to have been first used in 1970 to describe an article about the Kentucky Derby by Hunter S. Thompson, who helped make this style famous. This style of writing is energetic and involves the author as a main character. It uses a mix of criticizing society and making fun of the writer themselves. Over time, this style has been used in other creative works besides journalism.

Gonzo journalism focuses on reporting personal feelings and experiences, unlike traditional journalism, which prefers to stay distant and use facts or quotes that others can check. It moves away from the carefully edited writing once common in newspapers and instead focuses more on the writer’s personality than the event itself. Writers often use sarcasm, humor, exaggeration, and strong language in their work.

Hunter S. Thompson, one of the early leaders in the New Journalism movement, said in a 1973 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, "If I had written the truth I knew over the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be in prison from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is very rare and dangerous in professional journalism."

Etymology

The word "gonzo" was first connected to Hunter S. Thompson by Bill Cardoso, an editor for The Boston Globe magazine, in 1970. Cardoso used the term to describe Thompson's article titled "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," which was published in the June 1970 issue of Scanlan's Monthly. He called the article "pure Gonzo journalism." This use of the word happened before the Muppet character Gonzo appeared in the 1970 film The Great Santa Claus Switch. Cardoso explained that "gonzo" was a slang term from South Boston, Ireland, used to describe the last person remaining after a long night of drinking. He also said the word might come from the Canadian French phrase "gonzeaux," meaning "shining path," though this is not certain.

Another idea is that "gonzo" was inspired by a 1960 song titled "Gonzo" by James Booker, a rhythm and blues pianist. This idea is supported by a 2007 biography of Thompson, which says the term was taken from Booker's song. However, the biography does not explain why Thompson or Cardoso chose the word. A 2013 documentary called Bayou Maharaja: The Tragic Genius of James Booker includes a statement from Thompson's literary executor, who said the song was the source of the term. According to a biography of Booker, the song's title "Gonzo" came from a character in a movie called The Pusher, which may have been influenced by a 1956 novel with the same name by Evan Hunter.

In 2025, David S. Wills, the author of High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism, studied the origins of the word "gonzo." He found that Cardoso had seen the word used in an article he edited for The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine just one week before calling Thompson's story "pure Gonzo journalism." The article was about Baba Ram Dass, a well-known figure of the counterculture movement. In the article, "gonzo" was used to describe someone who "went wild" or "lost control" after using a hallucinogenic drug called STP. The article stated that Ram Dass "smoked pot and went gonzo on STP, the most powerful hallucinogenic ever made."

Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson based his writing style on William Faulkner's idea that "fiction is often the best fact." While the events he wrote about were mostly true, he used humorous or exaggerated methods to emphasize his messages. He often wrote about the use of recreational drugs and alcohol, which gave his work a personal and expressive tone. The term "gonzo" is sometimes used in a negative way to describe journalism in Thompson's style, which is known for a writing method that feels fast and chaotic, often influenced by drug use.

In 1971, Thompson published Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which came after his earlier work about the Mint 400 race. The book features a character named Raoul Duke and his lawyer, Dr. Gonzo, with illustrations by Ralph Steadman. Although this book is widely seen as a key example of gonzo journalism, Thompson considered it a failed project. He had wanted it to be a complete, unedited record of his experiences, but he revised it five times before publishing it.

Thompson often caused events to happen himself, sometimes in playful or aggressive ways, and then wrote about what he and others did. He was known for missing deadlines, which frustrated his editors because his work was often submitted too late for editing but still on time for printing. Thompson wanted his writing to remain unchanged, in what he called its "true Gonzo" form. Historian Douglas Brinkley explained that gonzo journalism usually requires little rewriting and often includes exact quotes from interviews or phone conversations.

In an interview with The Atlantic, Thompson said, "I don't find happiness in the old way of journalism: 'I just covered the story. I just gave it a balanced view.' Objective journalism is one of the main reasons American politics has been so corrupt for so long. You can't be objective about Nixon."

Influence and legacy

Thompson believed that being completely fair and unbiased in journalism was not possible. Gonzo journalism is now an official style of writing that is similar to the New Journalism of the 1960s. This style was led mainly by Tom Wolfe and also supported by writers like Lester Bangs, George Plimpton, Terry Southern, and John Birmingham. It is considered a type of New Journalism. When asked if there was a difference between Gonzo journalism and New Journalism, Thompson said, "Yes, I think so. Unlike Tom Wolfe or Gay Talese, for example, I almost never try to recreate a story. They are both much better reporters than I am, but I do not see myself as a reporter."

In 1998, Christopher Locke said the webzine genre came from Gonzo journalism. This idea has later been connected to social media. Thompson’s influence on Gonzo journalism is seen in the website Gonzo Today. This site has a top banner created by Thompson’s longtime illustrator, Ralph Steadman, and includes rotating contributions from others, such as Thompson’s associate, poet Ron Whitehead.

It has been claimed that Thai writer Rong Wongsawan wrote in a Gonzo style. He began using this style in the 1960s while reporting from San Francisco. However, he wrote in Thai and likely developed the style on his own, without influence from Hunter S. Thompson. He used this style in his books Sattahip and Takli, which describe American soldiers and Thai bar workers during the Vietnam War. His book The Man from Bangkok: San Francisco Culture in the 60s is an English translation of a Thai book published in 1978.

The work of James O’Keefe and Jim Acosta has been compared to Gonzo journalism.

Aspects of Gonzo journalism

Jesse Jarnow explains that the main parts of Gonzo journalism are complete personal opinion and the idea of writing the first version as the final one. This idea is described by William McKeen, a journalism professor at Boston University and author of Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson, as a method where the journalist "virtually no rewriting." He notes that all steps in the reporting process are recorded, such as notes, interviews, written conversations, and telegrams. Jason Mosser explains that Gonzo journalism is special because it puts the person telling the story at the center of the story. However, Gonzo journalism still depends on being based on real facts.

Hunter S. Thompson believed in these aspects of Gonzo journalism. He also shared a similar respect for George Orwell’s idea of turning political writing into art. Thompson’s writing style used action words, metaphors, references to other things, and missing parts of sentences. Critics say these techniques were used to create feelings of sadness, shame, and hopelessness in his stories.

The Gonzo Studies Society suggests eleven features that, to different degrees, appear in Hunter S. Thompson’s Gonzo journalism.

Gonzo journalism in other countries

Millar is an example of gonzo journalism from outside the United States. It is a television news program in Uzbekistan. As of September 2025, the program has 27,500 subscribers on YouTube. Although the television program is seen as somewhat controversial because it uses dramatic and staged footage, experts in the field consider it to partially fit the category of Gonzo journalism. Experts say the program fits this category because it includes personal opinions, perspectives from those involved, and coverage of events from within the organization.

Ethical concerns

Experts are worried about Gonzo journalism because it often uses personal opinions and an unstructured method when reporting news. They are concerned this may cause differences in how journalists follow rules about honesty and fairness. Some people say this style makes journalists act like judges of what is right or wrong in the news. Critics of subjectivity in journalism argue that when reporters share their own views, readers might form their own ideas about events without agreeing on shared facts between different news sources. Supporters of objectivity believe that using facts consistently helps people, including public figures and everyday citizens, access reliable information easily, allowing them to use facts to form their own opinions.