Fredericton — Gonzo-style journalism has made it to the Picture Province only about 45 years late, and CBC New Brunswick is hitting the ground running with this “new” trend of subjective first-person narrative.
“People like to read stories where the reporter him- or herself is heavily implicated — it makes it relatable,” said a news director who wished to remain anonymous until he makes his big debut on “My CBC For Me,” the broadcaster’s new self-obsessed information-sharing platform. “So we thought we’d just publish reporters’ diaries — especially the really gripping, edgy ones. You know, like Vice does.”
The director was hunched over his Moleskine, scribbling a story about his crazy Canada Day weekend. He looked up to say, “We’re thinking our reporting will be more engaging if it’s just a narcissistic mix of Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Humans of New York — but a bit badass and still ‘journalism-ish’…like Hunter S. Thompson.”
Instead of researching stories and interviewing multiple sources to create a well-rounded picture of a real issue, online reporters will just type out their diary entries, while radio journalists will read out what happened to them, adding interesting voices to demonstrate how they felt at the time of the events. Instead of traditional photojournalism, reporters will submit selfies to go with each story.
Several reporters have already pitched stories that were pre-approved for My CBC For Me:
- “My drug-addled weekend as a groupie for I Mother Earth” by Bob Mersereau
- “That time my friends and I found some old lunchboxes” by Shane Fowler
- “My experiences at a singles mixer for potheads” by Terry Seguin
- “I went undercover at Animaritime and it was everything I thought it could be” by Julia Wright
- “Brian Gallant has a cold and here’s how that affects me” by Jacques Poitras
- “I drank only unleaded gasoline for a month and this happened” by Robert Jones
- “My story matters too — someone please listen to me” by Rachel Cave