Foundational female reporters

Like many things in the nineteenth century and before, the workforce was very male dominant. As the nineteenth century ended and we into the twentieth century, the tide of equality became a reality. 

This was also true with journalism.  

In the late 1800's, there were a group of female newspaper reporters who went undercover to uncover horrible working conditions and urban illnesses. 

They were considered by many to be yellow journalists because of their covered topics and perception as females, which ended up hurting their reputation at the time. Now, we recognize and value their commitment and work to tell the truth.

One of the most well-known of these reporters was Nellie Bly who is also known as her birth name Elizabeth Cochran(e). Bly got her first journalistic job at the Pittsburgh Dispatch after the editor was impressed by her angry letter in response to a piece they ran titled "What Girls Are Good For." 

Bly received very little education, but still made an impact through her undercover reporting. Her piece called "Ten Days in a Madhouse" where she feigned insanity to be admitted into an insane asylum. She uncovered the treatment of patients that led to investigations of medical treatment.

Another one of these female reporters was Eva McDonald or also known as her writing name Eva Gay. McDonald typically wrote for the St. Paul Globe discussing labor conditions, especially those for women. 

She would go undercover into mills and factories as a ragged worker. This enabled her to fit in and relate to real people to see how they actually are. Some of the things she brought to light were crowded working environments, long hours, little light/ventilation, dangerous chemicals/machinery and sexual harassment. 

One of McDonald's first pieces was "The Toiling Women" that highlighted these issues at the Shotwell, Cherihew and Lothmann garment factory. The piece resulted in a strike by women workers shortly after its release. 

These female reporters, along with the muckrakers, were the beginnings of modern in-depth and investigative journalism that today's journalists should aspire to be.