EOTO #2 Reflection: Nellie Bly

I really enjoyed listening to all the presentations this round. I was able to learn so much about so many different topics and can connect that to the whole timeline of media we are learning about. I was very impressed with everyones topics and the way they presented them. The presentation that really stuck out to me was the women reporters. I was able to learn about so many different women who contributed to the era of radio and made it into the innovation that it was. 

I was really interested to hear how all these different women were able to coin a piece of the radio and the press and make it their thing. I think its interesting to see how they were able to contribute to such a new and upcoming invention and what they did to get to that position. 

The one reporter that really stuck to me that we heard about was Nellie Bly (1854-1922). She was known for going on undercover investigations and exposing inside jobs. Her first job was at the Pittsburgh Dispatch after she wrote a letter to the editor. He liked it so much he offered her a job as a columnist.

However she didn't want to just write about women issues so she turned to exposing unfair working conditions in a factory she pretended to work at. She exposed the unfair wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours that she experienced. Her boss got worried people would start getting upset with her column so he switched Bly to a society writer. 

In 1886, Bly was assigned a piece by the New York World about a mental asylum. It was an insiders scoop as to how the patients were being treated and what the conditions were inside the institution. She admitted herself to the hospital and acted crazy to be able to get into the place without any suspicious looks. It was called Ten Days in the Madhouse and was a six part series on her experiences. Her findings had shocked the public and quickly made her one of the most famous journalists to exist. 

Her style of reporting became a new sensation that many journalists after her would follow. They called it investigative journalism because of the very forward, hands-on approach she used. 

Bly also reach record heights in her career in 1889 when she traveled the world after being inspired by the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. Bly took the trip and set the world record for completing it in 76 days. The New York World would publish updates about her travels daily and followed her story.

She didn't hold the record for long but it got her the recognition and advanced her credibility in her journalism career. Bly continued to expose the secrets that were hidden in New York City. Things like corruption of the government, employment, and the black market for buying a child.

Bly continued to report on major happenings in America up until she came into possession of her husbands iron clad oil company and American Steel Barrel Company. While in charge of the businesses she was able to paten many inventions relating to the oil company. A lot of these inventions are still in use today and have improved the quality of oil manufacturing. 

Bly also focused on the treatment of her employees. She made sure they were being paid and not overworked. She gave them healthcare benefits and facilities for them to use. Unfortunately, she ran out of funds and both of the businesses went under. 

In her later years, Bly returned to journalism and worked for the New York Evening Journal in 1911. She continued to cover major events such as WWI in Europe and the Women's Rights Movement. She was the first women to go to Europe and report from the trenches of the war. She was constantly putting herself right in the mix of an event. Bly is considered to be one of the best reporters America has ever seen and has really set the stage for what is expected of journalists today. 

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/nellie-bly-0

https://wams.nyhistory.org/modernizing-america/modern-womanhood/nellie-bly/