On the article Herodotus and the Art of Noticing by Ryszard Kapuscinski he states that there are three sources that come with reportage as derived from the first reporter, Herodotus. The first is the reporter must be well travelled, the second was other people as sources, and finally, the third source is the reporter’s homework. The use of these three sources is what makes up for good literary reportage. The article Tent City, U.S.A by George Saunders is one that has utilized these three sources extensively.
Ryszard notes that the first source, travel, is not the pleasant kind but a hard journey of discovery that requires the reporter in question to be well prepared for collecting the material that the reporter was interested in finding. In the article Tent City, U.S.A, the author extensively used the first source. First he says that the “Principle researcher would set up tent within the tent city” (Saunders, 1). This shows the hardship that the reporter went through in pursuit of the story. The conditions that the reporter faced were so difficult that sometimes using a note book to write the article proved impossible. On the occasions that the reporter could not use the note book he opted for the portable tape recorder. Even with the tape recorder, the challenging circumstances that he faced could be heard from the “a long silence, an audible exhalation, a whispered profanity” (Saunders, 1). Another factor that showed that the principal reporter showed he had difficulties in the study area was that he had been in third world countries where the challenges were as difficult but in the tent city, the fear that the reporter felt were much more in comparison.
The second source of great reportage was other people. These people included those that the reporter met in order to “get them to convey their knowledge” (Kapuscinski, 1). In the article Tent City, U.S.A, taking to other people was the main method in which the reporter got his knowledge. The primary method through which he collected information was through writing down in his note book and conducting interviews which he recorded in his portable tape recorder. Ryszard noted that Herodotus seemed to be a compassionate man who had the interest of other people at heart (Kapuscinski, 1). The principal reporter seemed to have the same compassion towards the people that he met in the Study Area. One of the things that shows that the reporter was concerned about the people that would act as his source is that upon arriving in the Study Area, he first the woman he met to construct his tent near hers. Another quality that Herodotus portrayed that was portrayed by the reporter was that he was able to make people open up to him. Soon after he arrives at the Tent City, people come to help him put up his tent and even give him advice on how to live in the tent city safely. For adequate literary reportage the reporter must portray a tireless quality. This will enable him to go the extra mile in order to get the story that is closest to the truth. The principal reporter goes the extra mile to get the story. For example he voluntarily chooses to live within the Study Area despite the fact that he is told that he is facing dangers like death and theft.
The third source that is needed for good reportage is the reporter’s homework. In order to do this, the reporter must have good investigative skill in order to get the story right (Kapuscinski, 1). First the reporter must be able to discern which story is accurate from the other. In the study are, the principal reporter had have the necessary skill in order to get the right information. First, the people that the reported had to get the information from were unreliable at best. One story that was the source of controversy was what the origin of the Study Area was. Several sources contradicted each other directly so the principal reporter had to use his investigative story to know which the most accurate story was. Another reason why the author had to have investigative skills was that the state of mind of the people he used as sources was questionable since most of them seemed to be delusional.
Ryszard notes that literary reportage can be define as the kind of journalism where a reporter expresses his own personal opinions when reporting on real life issues in a manner that seems fictional (Kapuscinski, 1). In order to perfect the act of literary reportage, the reporter must be able to understand other cultures in order to make his work worthy. The way that Saunders writes this article makes for quality literary reportage. He expresses his opinion on issues that are happening in real time. The light mood that he writes the article with is symbolic with New Journalism. The author also ensure that he gets the right information by getting involved in the other culture he is investigating so that he can get the right information. It is therefore suffice to say that the article Tent City, U.S.A by George Saunders uses characteristics of great reportage to a large extent.
References
Kapuscinski, Ryszard. 'NPQ'. Digitalnpq.org, 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
Saunders, George. 'Tent City USA'. Tentcityusa.tumblr.com, 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
