LITERARY JOURNALISM AS A SEPARATE SCIENTIFIC METHOD: STAGES OF FORMATION

Abstract

Summary. In the contemporary post-information society, literary journalism undergoes significant transformations. The main challenges include ensuring information reliability, its optimal representation, and adaptation to the needs of different age groups of readers, which directly influences the genre features and problematic aspects of the work. The study of literary journalism is complicated by the lack of comprehensive scientific research. Domestic scholars mostly consider it a secondary discipline compared to literary studies. In the conditions of digitalization and the dominance of clickbait content, literary journalism specialists are forced to constantly seek new ways to popularize their materials. Domestic researchers L. Shutiak, O. Kharchenko, K. Silman have only partially covered certain aspects of literary journalism. In contrast, English-language scholars, particularly S.M. Zdovč, L. Gutkind, R. Nordquist, pay much more attention to this direction. The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of literary journalism, trace the stages of its cultural and historical formation, and identify the characteristic features of works by the most prominent representatives at different stages of development. Literary journalism as a genre was formed in the 20th century thanks to such outstanding authors as Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, and Tom Wolfe. However, its origins can be traced much earlier – in the works of Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain. Three main periods of its development can be distinguished: the early stage, the «new literary journalism» of the 1960s, and the period after 1970, each with unique stylistic and genre characteristics. Literary journalism continues to develop, responding to cultural, social, and technological changes. Its interdisciplinary nature represents both a challenge and potential for further research. Scholars are gradually expanding the understanding of this phenomenon, demonstrating that literary journalism goes beyond the traditional journalistic approach, approaching fiction through experimental forms and methods of textual expression.