Examining Mailer in a Time of Split-focus—or, What the Internet Cannot Do for Us

Authors

  • Tracy Dahlby University of Texas at Austin Author

Keywords:

Oswald's Tale, New Journalism, digital media, epistemology, journalism and truth, attention and distraction, American nonfiction

Abstract

Norman Mailer’s method of journalism illustrates how to extend the quality and scope of journalistic inquiry into the future of a troubled tradition. In examining Lee Harvey Oswald, Mailer produces a book that is long, intricately built and absorbing, if in places marred by familiar bits of Mailer’s hyper-rational exuberance. What is particularly noteworthy at this time of media upheaval are the tips Mailer’s method offers students and other aspiring investigators about how to extend the quality and scope of journalistic inquiry into the future of a troubled tradition.

Author Biography

  • Tracy Dahlby, University of Texas at Austin

    Tracy Dahlby is director of the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also holds the Frank A. Bennack, Jr. Chair in Journalism. A former foreign correspondent, he spent thirteen years living in Asia, where he served as Tokyo bureau chief for Newsweek and The Washington Post, respectively, and has covered stories in Japan, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. His book about Islamic fundamentalism in Southeast Asia, entitled Allah’s Torch: A Report from Behind the Scenes in Asia’s War on Terror, was published in 2005 by William Morrow.

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Published

2026-03-14

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2009): Beyond Fiction

Section

Articles