Bebe, absolutely true. When I originally studied journalism, you put all the major facts in the first few lines, kept opinions out of it, did not color or slant the report, and it was generally in depth.

Roll on to my mid 50s and back at college, I decided to do a journalism course. Obviously easy for me.

Imagin my astonishment when the professor announced that we would all be writing about ourselves. I was horrified - that is not journslism. When I informed the prof that I did not want to write about myself, he said "But everybody loves writing about themselves."

In addition, publications like The New Yorker and the San Diego Reader use creative non-fiction to tell their stories. Even the British Guardian now have 'the long read' written in that style.. Gone are style manuals like CMS and AP.

I cannot stomach reading stories that are not in reporting style. I don't want to read 60 paragraphs to get the gist of it, yet this is now what is taught in many journalist classes.

Gonzo journalism has also played a part.