Rise And Fall Of The Personal Essay In Media Student Namecol ✓ Solved

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Analyze the development, impact, and decline of the personal essay in media by reviewing scholarly articles and reports. The sources should include discussions on the rise of confessional and personal essays, their influence on journalism and literary genres, cultural and societal shifts affecting their popularity, and perspectives on their decline. Summarize each source's main arguments, evidence, and relevance to the overall topic.

Include at least seven properly formatted references following APA style. Summarize each source with an indented paragraph, highlighting its contribution to understanding the rise and fall of personal essays in media. Discuss how each source supports or challenges the thesis, and synthesize how these perspectives contribute to a comprehensive analysis of the topic.

Sample Paper For Above instruction

The evolution of the personal essay in media has been marked by notable shifts in popularity, form, and societal perception. Initially emerging as a literary form in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, personal essays gained prominence due to their ability to portray individual experiences and insights, often resonating deeply with audiences seeking authenticity and relatability (Funk & Rollion, 2016). However, over time, their reputation shifted, influenced by cultural, technological, and editorial developments, ultimately leading to their decline in mainstream media by the late 2010s.

Almanza, Pfizer, and Mousislli (2016) analyze the surge in personal essays through the lens of internet proliferation, highlighting how blogs and amateur publishing platforms facilitated a “Dread Rise”—a term they coin to describe the spike in confessional and shock-based personal stories around 2008. They argue that this surge favored sensationalism over literary merit, devaluing the genre by prioritizing confessional shock value. Their visual data supports this view, showing a peak followed by a downward trend by late 2016, coinciding with a societal backlash against superficial confessional content. These authors contend that the overemphasis on shock and self-indulgence undermined the integrity of the literary field and contributed to the genre’s decline.

Similarly, Gordon and Arden (2014) examine how the rise of the personal essay affected various genres of writing, including fiction, poetry, and feature journalism. They observe a shift toward more informal, self-revealing content that altered traditional standards of formality and diction across media. The authors link this trend to an increase in online readership but note a sharp decline after 2016, which led publishers to reevaluate their editorial policies. Their analysis indicates that the genre’s influence was widespread but ultimately unsustainable in its confessional form, which alienated some audiences and publishers alike.

A different perspective is offered by Ma, Turoi, Cho, and Idowu (2015), who explore transformations in journalism related to personal essays. Their research highlights the cyclical nature of confessional journalism, with a rise around 2008 followed by decline nearly a decade later. They provide evidence from interviews with journalists across major U.S. media hubs, suggesting that economic motives and changing audience preferences drove the boom and bust cycle. This study underscores that while personal essays attracted audiences, they also faced criticism for lacking objectivity and contributing to the blurring of news boundaries, which further diminished their credibility in journalistic contexts.

As noted by the National Personal Essay Society (2013), the internet revolutionized the accessibility and popularity of personal essays, fostering a new generation of writers who interacted with audiences via social media, especially Twitter. The organization credits this democratization with revitalizing interest in personal storytelling but also notes the potential for self-serving narratives that stray from literary or journalistic quality. They commend the genre’s capacity to explore the human condition but caution that over-saturation and superficial confessional content eventually overwhelmed audiences, precipitating a decline.

The Funk & Rollion Old World Encyclopedia (2016) offers historical context, indicating that personal essays have been a part of media since the 1800s. It details how societal needs and taste shifts, such as the move towards more factual and objective reporting, contributed to their ebb and flow in popularity. The article notes important figures in the genre’s history and describes how the genre's credibility diminished as audiences and publishers preferred more analytical or news-oriented content, leading to a decline in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Potter et al. (2013) probe the disconnection between journalism and personal narrative, emphasizing how the rise of online platforms enabled personal essays to incorporate news and opinion elements, often blurring boundaries between fact and confessional storytelling. They observe that this was particularly prominent during the boom years and note that, over time, the saturation of personal content led to skepticism and fatigue among readers, diminishing the genre’s influence in serious journalism.

Wong (2016) presents a psychological perspective, affirming that confession is intrinsic to human nature and that the confessional personal essay offers catharsis and emotional relief. She supports the genre’s benefits but warns against overindulgence, which can lead to audience fatigue and a decline in respect for the genre. Wong posits that while confessional writing fosters connection, excessive focus on personal disclosures risks diluting the genre's literary and journalistic integrity, contributing to its decline.

In synthesizing these perspectives, it appears that the rise of the personal essay was driven by technological innovation and cultural shifts that favored authenticity and personal storytelling. However, as confessional essays became more sensationalized and self-indulgent, their reputation eroded, leading to a decline prompted by audience fatigue, shifting editorial priorities, and a desire for more objective content. The genre’s decline also reflects broader changes in media consumption, emphasizing analytical and news-based content over personal narratives. These factors collectively illustrate the complex lifecycle of personal essays within the media landscape, from ascendance to decline.

References

  • Almanza, M., Pfizer, A., & Mousislli, H. (2016). The dread rise. Journal of Journalism Studies, 7(89).
  • Gordon, F., & Arden, D. (2014). The personal era of writing fiction, nonfiction, and everything else. Indie Presses.
  • Ma, Y., Turoi, M., Cho, J., & Idowu, A. (2015). A study of media and journalism. Journal- Journal, 7(2), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.559/wjp.v5.i3.2313
  • National Personal Essay Society & Writers of Antarctica. (2013). Let us confess. Retrieved from https://being-frank-the-importance-of-the-personal-essay.pdf
  • Personal essay. (2016). The Funk & Rollion Old World Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from [URL]
  • Potter, H., Anders, D., Smith, C., Hash, M., Toppingham, P., Jacobson, Z., & Kim, S. (2013). Disconnections in journalism and the personal narrative. PLoS ONE, 5(27). https://doi.org/10.17871/journal.pone.10770
  • Wong, P. S. (2016). Love for the confessional nature. Current Literature, 12(4), 23-27. https://doi.org/10.3847/co.23.2935

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