Introduction To read of Nellie Bly, one would come to think the woman a pioneer in journalism; a hero for women's rights; and an American icon. These beliefs would be true if not for the fact that Bly was so much more. She was much more a woman, much more a writer, much more a hero and much more than most could ever be. Bly not only took on a world of injustice and stereotypes, but conquered it and changed the way the field of journalism works today. Elizabeth Cochran, a.k.a. Nellie Bly was the first known female reporter. Bly's life spanned Reconstruction, the Victorian and Progressive Eras, the Great War, and its aftermath (Kroeger, 1996). And, even though there remains no fully organized collection of her life's personal or …show more content…
In his column, "Quiet Observations," Erasmus Wilson portrayed the notion that women of the day were "useless outside the sphere of marriage" (Wildemuth, 1999). This infuriated Cochran, and she quickly sent a heated letter to the editor of The Dispatch, signed "Lonely Orphan Girl" (Toth, 1994). The newspaper's editor was so taken with her letter that he asked her to reveal herself, and within a week, offered her a writing position with the publication (Toth 1999). It was then, at the young age of 20, that Cochran adopted the pen name "Nellie Bly." A Star is Born: A World is Changed Bly was not content to just write columns for the Dispatch and confronted her editors about engaging in a new kind of journalism. This new type of undercover journalism, nicknamed "stunt" at the time, was risky enough for a reporter, let alone a female one. Bly's first "stunt" assignment was to disguise herself as a destitute woman and get a job at a local copper cable factory (Wildemuth 1999). Bly's illustrative descriptions of the factory's hazardous conditions not only forced the public to take interest in the workers' issues but also increased the paper's circulation. In 1887, Bly moved to New York to continue her journalistic ambitions. At first, no one wanted to hire the outspoken reporter, but Joseph Pulitzer, editor of The New York World, saw greatness within the young writer and quickly hired her. It was with his help that Bly embarked on one of her
Regardless, her writing, especially in her boom Women, Race & Class, is extremely valuable as it provides a unique perspective on women's history; a counter narrative to the typical story of white activists.
Gwen Harwood sent a hostile message to the Bulletin Newspaper in 1961. This was a protest against, what Harwood believed to be, an inherent sexism within the journalistic sphere.
Nellie is also most remembered for fostering and inspiring new roles for women during this era. Nellie’s success inspired women all over the
Barbara Charline Jordan contributed many things to help equality for African-Americans and to put an impact on society. She was a lawyer, educator, and was the first African-American women from the south to join Congress. Ever since she was in high school, Barbara had been a very talented public speaker. As a result of being such an inspirational speaker, she gave the opening speech for President Nixon impeachment hearing in 1974. Barbara’s time in Congress ended after three terms and became a professor and policy advocate.
Nellie Bly was considered the greatest female journalist of her time. Nellie Bly is important in American history because she traveled around the world, faked insanity to get into an asylum, and traveled to Mexico for many months.
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28th, 1929 in East Hampton, Long Island. Jacqueline’s mother was Janet Lee Bouvier, a highly ambitious horseback rider. Jacqueline was nicknamed "Jackie" after her father, Jack Bouvier. Young Jackie’s parents were a very well off coupled. Her father had an estimated fortune of 7 million dollars and Janet came from a wealthy family also, her father had been chairman of the board of Chase National Bank.
Gwendolyn brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas. Her family moved to Chicago during the great migration when Brooks was six weeks old. Her first poem was published when she was 13 and at the age of 17, she already had a series of poems published in the poetry column “Lights and shadows” in the Chicago defender newspaper. . After working for The NAACP, she began to write poems that focus on urban poor blacks. Those poems were later published as a collection in 1945. The collection was titled A Street in Bronzeville. A street in bronzeville received critical acclaim but it was her next work, Annie Allen, that was got her the Pulitzer Prize. She lived in Chicago until her death on December 3, 2000 at age of 83.
The lasting Influence of Nellie Bly Pinorrer of journalism, did not give up, a hero to many traits that all describe Nellie Bly. She got to this point by being brave and standing out. Nellie Bly was an awe-inspiring journalist, women's rights activist and was known for exposing the corruption in legal and social systems. Blys lasting influence made a major impact on society's view of women journalist and the legal systems. Nellie Bly was most influential when it came to journalism in American history.
Nellie Bly is the nickname of the American investigative newspaper reporter, Elizabeth Jane Cochran. Elizabeth was renowned for her reportage of social justice issues and her willingness to undertake “daredevil” undercover investigations; which famously included getting herself committed to an insane asylum so she could report on the conditions there. Elizabeth is also renowned for her travel around the world in seventy-two days.
During the 1900’s, society limited the rights of African Americans. Gwendolyn Brooks was a writer who experienced discrimination from the white population, and even African Americans who were fairer in complexion. She originally wrote about the oppression of African Americans, and their day-to-day struggles. Later on, she expanded her writings to include the struggles of African Americans everywhere. By the end of her life, she inspired thousands of young writers to write about things they’re passionate about. The impact Gwendolyn Brooks has on my life is incomparable to any other important figure I've studied. It's the steps that she took that made her a global leader and will impact my development as a global leader.
Nellie Bly, a journalist and social reformer of the late nineteenth century, sought to uncover existing corruption in social institutions through writing expose features. A feminist, social activist, and writer, Bly both contributed to and was influenced by the social and literary forces of the time period. During the late eighteen hundreds, Nellie Bly challenged social expectations of women, questioned the morality of certain social institutions, and defined a distinctive writing style by incorporating the trends of the time into her own approach. At sixteen, Nellie Bly, then named Elizabeth Jane Cochran, began her course as a feminist in 1885 by writing a letter in opposition to an article that touted the home as the proper domain for women.
At the end of August of the same year she was invited to interview with Eugenia Sheppard, women’s page editor for the Herald Tribune. She receives the job as a feature writer for Sheppard’s columns. Her feature stories were more about abortion rings and antiwar protesters rather than the fluff women were meant to write in the 1960’s (Sheehy, 3-9). Jim Bellows, editor of the Harold Tribune, wanted to see her and let her know that he liked all the gritty stuff “in the middle of all the fluff,” and that she should “keep it up.” Due to Bellows’ interest in her work she was able to explore more news stories than fluff (Sheehy, 3-9). She did an investigative piece on New York Cities maternity clinics because New York “had one of the worst records on infant mortality” (Sheehy, 8). Her piece unearthed the horrible practices of free maternity clinics for the poor. Due to her work those clinics were cleaned up and poor women were given better care. Not long after Maura was born Sheehy found out that Sheppard had entered her New York maternity story into the New York Newswomen’s Club. The story had won the best feature series of the year award and Sheehy was able to attend the awards ceremony at the Plaza Hotel (Sheehy,
Some of my classmates may remember very little from their high school career, but there is one thing I did, and learned, that still sticks with and greatly influences me. In my introductory journalism class, we were given a fairly basic assignment-research a famous journalist or publisher and present their accomplishments to the class. My teacher asked me to research Gloria Steinem, a journalist, founder of Ms. Magazine, a social and political activist, and above all, a prominent feminist. My research of Steinem quickly turned from poring over feminist articles published in the 1970’s in favor of something a bit more modern. My research led me to the very heart of the modern feminist movement. When I excitedly shared my newfound enlightenment,
“The rest of the world may sign their name in black or blue ink, but you are going to sign Kate in gold,” I muttered to myself in the mirror before my first day of high school. Since then, I’ve known that I was much more than what I had imagined. For me, I always dreamed of being a teacher or a doctor, but I allowed my curiosity to wander and I found my passion for politics. At the age of eight, I was learning and embracing what fascinated me, and was not permitting anyone to stop me. With this credo, I held my head high and became the young woman I am today. I have embraced the fact that I am a strong nonconformist, an inquisitive journalist, and Editor in Chief- or my idea of a free spirit.
As Stella continued with studies, she developed an interest in writing. She wrote articles on topical issues, posting them to the daily print press. Interestingly, many of them were published as letters to the editor. This, she did until completing her studies.