A New Journalism icon is dead
She was one of the prominent representatives of what is called New Journalism. She was several times mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel prize in literature. American journalist and author Joan Didion is dead.
She was famous for her essays criticizing the American society and culture. She was analyzing what kept the society together and what was ripping it apart. She also published a number of novels and she wrote about sorrow missing her husband and adopted daughter.
She was among other stars in New Journalism together with Norman Mailer and Truman Capote and of course – Tom Wolfe, who in 1973 together with E.W. Johnson gave the style New Journalism a name in an anthology with just that name. New Journalism broke out of more traditional journalism by accepting a more personal approach instead of a fact-based one; it is long-form; has a literary style and was not really fitting in the printed newspapers. It was a long-form journalism for magazines like The New Yorker, Rolling Stones, Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly etc.
Didion received the National Medal of Arts in 2013 from US President Barack Obama, who described her as “one of the most celebrated American writers of her generation” and “one of our sharpest and most respected observers of American politics and culture”.
She was born in Sacramento, California in 1934, she studied at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduation in 1956, she joined Vogue Magazine which started her career as a journalist and writer.
Didion was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters “for her distinctive blend of spare, elegant prose and fierce intelligence”.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
