What if Hunter S. Thompson had an iPhone?

Last week, we discussed Hunter S. Thompson's "Boys on the Bus" as an example of nontraditional, first-person journalism. Thompson, of course, is best known for his book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." In that work, Thompson often finds himself asking, "What would Horatio Alger do?" Likewise, when in Vegas, many envelope-pushers now ask, "What would Hunter Thompson do?"

In honor of the late gonzo journalism pioneer, and to commemorate my trip to Vegas this weekend, I am breaking form on this blog post:

First, I am writing in the first person. (Don't worry---I am not under the influence of anything as Thompson was.)

Second, I am doing it entirely in the moment from Vegas using only my iPhone. Because the picture wouldn't upload directly, I used the Twitter link to add it in. I even had to use a small amount of HTML knowledge to break up the paragraphs. (Full disclosure: I did subsequently touch it up on my laptop in Phoenix.)

While the mobile interface on Blogger needs some work--something many media organizations are struggling with, as my future publication piece will address--it goes to show that journalism is everywhere, a statement Thompson and his attorney (Fear and Loathing joke) undoubtedly would agree with.

Even though there is something romantic about his having been a part of a unique era in journalism, it's sad to know that Thompson shot himself before the great newspaper decline and the advent of social and mobile media. One can imagine him leading the Twitter bandwagon and bringing a level of surprise spontaneity to it like no other.

Thompson would have loved the chaos of seeing traditional media squirm and struggle to adapt to their rapidly changing field, because his style was all about adaptation.

Sadly, it is not likely to soon be replicated. To quote the Rolling Stone editor in Cameron Crowe's movie "Almost Famous,": "We already have one Hunter Thompson."


Ben Sellers
North Stafford High School
Stafford, Va.