In June, 1970, an American Journalist, Hunter S. Thompson teamed up with a British Cartoonist/Caricaturist to create an article on the Kentucky Derby entitled, The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved. This was an evolutionary step in literature as Thompson developed a new style of journalism that ventured somewhere between truth and fiction. Gonzo journalism would thrust the reporter into the stories themselves to the point that they became integral figures in the tale that unfolds.
This coupled with Steadman’s unique sketches depicting the inner mind of Gonzo and bringing these manic images to life, produced some of the most inspiring pieces of literature to come out of the 20th Century. It was first produced as an article in Scanlan’s Monthly.
Thompson would go on to notoriously produce, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, along with Fear and Loathing on the Campign Trail ’72 and The Curse of Lono among many more. His work is continuously referenced in books, movies and a term dubbed as “New Journalism”
So that’s where that expression came from!