In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

REPORTERS 187
(Kittler, 317), and a famous painting of Kisch depicts his upper body as
being covered with tattoos-inscribed with the world he so acutely
observes (Zimmermann, 143; Willet, 108). In order to withstand the
immediacy of multiple impressions and (as the etymology of the word
"reporter" suggests) "carry back" these impressions to the reading public,
reporters need "strength," "energy," and "courage" (Kisch, 361). For
them, surface contact with phenomena is not a lack of depth but a
cognitive advantage: "A precondition for 'prying the seed from its shell'
is the knowledge that things and institutions are superficial" (Lania,
323). Like so many other ways of moving across surfaces [see Bars,
Dancing, Gomina], the life of the "raging reporter" is a "steeplechase
through time" (a phrase that serves as the title of Kisch's second book).
Only speed can prevent the reporter from getting caught in the depths
of interpretation and experience. The process of writing down his impressions
in longhand may become too time-consuming for the reporter,
and his work therefore often depends on the interface between typist and
typewriter (Kittler, 317). [see Employees]
Admirers of the reporter are divided between those who appreciate his
style as extremely subjective and those who see it as the epitome of
objective "sobriety" (Zimmermann, 149). Both views are grounded in
the inherent ambiguity of lived experience. Insofar as the reporter refrains
from all interpretations and judgments, simply "carrying back"
impressions from his direct contact with the world, he is "objective." But
these impressions are always contingent upon the random circumstances
in which they are formed, and therefore cannot be associated with
objectivity-claims based on the belief that randomness does not exist-a
belief that derives from reflection and interpretation. [see Authenticity
vs. Artificiality] This lack of conceptual penetration in the reporter's
cognitive style results from the time-pressures of a world that seems to
be moving into the future with ever-increasing speed. [see Timepieces,
Present = Past (Eternity)] Such a world no longer functions on the basis
of ideas and values: "Those who succeed in clinging to reality manage
to survive the disappearance of ideas and values" (Kisch, 371). Since the
reporter can live only in the present, he has no time to select objects of
particular relevance for his work, and he therefore lets intuition lead him
to the (seemingly insignificant) items of interest in everyday life. Kisch
writes about deep-sea fishing, eating ham in Prague, an airplane flight
from Prague to Paris, the room where Lenin lived in Zurich, crimes in