Underestimating Women in Journalism: How Nellie Bly Cracked a Gender Barrier By Pioneering Investigative Journalism
Sadie Anderson and Elizabeth Juckem
Junior Division
Group Performance
Process Paper: 475 words
Before our research journey began, neither of us had any clue what direction our project would take us. However, one of us had an extensive knowledge and love for history. The book, “Rejected Princesses” written by Jason Porath, had listed many powerful women in history. Nellie Bly grabbed our attention, leading us both to the direction of such a powerful and courageous woman. We had researched Nellie Bly, looked at her past writing pieces and we were intrigued by her boldness. We then dove headfirst into learning about women and investigative journalism.
We began our research from the primary source, “Ten Days in a Mad House”, which was Nellie Bly’s own writing. We had read about the depths she went to, to achieve justice for the less fortunate. We then went from her book and turned to secondary sources in regards to getting a better understanding of her experiences. Websites like Chronicling America, Library of Congress, Mental Floss, and The Smithsonian, which is an online magazine, explained the environment women, similar to Nellie Bly, had to endure during this period of history.
From there, we had the task of bringing all of our vast understanding of Nellie Bly together. Initially, we had the idea of only doing Nellie Bly’s “Ten Days in a Madhouse” story and only focusing on mental health barriers. However, as we dug deeper for research, we realized Nellie Bly had broken a bigger barrier: sexism. We were shocked to discover how many conflicts Bly had faced while trying to be a successful journalist in New York in the late 1800s. Many sources had explained the harsh attitude from men that Bly endured during a time when gender discrimination was normal. Bly wanted to inspire girls to join the workforce and wanted to prove that women could do anything a man could do. Bly wanted to show her male colleagues she could write stories that are hard-hitting and powerful instead of “girly” topics.
Our main goal of this performance was achieving a good representation of a major person in history and highlighting this through oral communication. We emphasised our nonverbal communication through our costumes, props, and expressions while acting out the performance. However, the major obstacle was the strenuous task of displaying all of our knowledge under the course of ten minutes. This developed skills to be more concise with our writing and able to narrow down facts and focus on the major points instead of interesting, yet unnecessary, minor details.
Through her determination and perseverance, Nellie Bly cracked gender barriers. During a time when female voices were silenced, she contributed to the women’s suffrage movement, brought awareness and improvements to numerous social issues, and proved women are just as qualified as men. Today, as young women, our voices have become one of our strongest weapons in advocating our rights and liberties.
Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources "All the Doctors Fooled." The World [New York City], Oct. 1887, sec. 5, p. 1. Undercover Reporting , sites.dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/follow-all-doctors-fooled-they-try-explain-nellie-blys-sta y-insane-asylum-nellie-bly-new-york-world.
This article describes how the doctor diagnosed and treated meanally ill patients. Direct quotes from this newspaper were used for our script.
"Behind Asylum Bars." The World [New York City], 9 Oct. 1887, sec. 25, pp. 1-5. Undercover Reporting , dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/i-behind-asylum-bars-nellie-bly-new-york-world.
Drawings of Nellie Bly during different times of her writing career aided us visually understanding the process of going undercover for Ten Days In a Madhouse. We incorporated the drawings of her staring into the mirror and other actions into our performance.
Bly, Nellie. Around the World in Seventy-Two Days . New York City, Pictorial Weeklies, 1890.
"Around the World in Seventy-Two Days" is a primary source from Nellie Bly, in which her writing was featured throughout the performance. This helped us strengthen the performance and gave the opportunity to strengthen our performance.
Bly, Nellie. Ten days in a mad-house . Ian L. Munro, 1887.
The book, "Ten Days in a Mad-House" was a primary source of Nellie Bly's writing. The book explained the horrors and conditions of the asylum that my partner and I explained in our project.
"New York, Thursday, November 14, 1889." The World [New York City], 14 Nov. 1890, sec. 1, p. 1. Chronicling America , chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1889-11-14/ed-3/seq-1/#date1=11%2F01 %2F1889&sort=date&date2=12%2F01%2F1924&searchType=advanced&language=& sequence=0&index=3&words=Bly+Nellie&proxdistance=5&state=New+York&rows= 20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=Nellie+Bly&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&pag e=1.
The newspaper article explained what Bly wanted to accomplish and gave quotes of Bly. The newspaper gave us a sense of what was perceived of Bly's departure through a different perspective.
"Across the Continent! Nellie Bly On the Homestretch of the Great Around-the-World Race Against Time." The World [New York City], The Evening Edition ed., 25 Jan. 1890, sec. 1, p. 1. Chronicling America, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1890-01-25/ed-4/seq-4/.
The New York World evening edition's article of Nellie Bly describes Bly's trip and gives eyewitness primary sources. The article providing strong primary quotes and facts, contributed to many parts throughout the performance strengthening the topic's analysis.
"The Girl Puzzle." Pittsburgh Dispatch [Pittsburgh], 25 Jan. 1885.
"The Girl Puzzle" was Nellie Bly's first published piece and was put in the newspaper the Pittsburgh Dispatch. "The Girl Puzzle" was the first primary source we used in our performance and made a powerful statement in the context of gender barriers.
“‘The World' Their Savior." The World [New York City], 28 Oct. 1887, sec. 12, p. 1. Undercover Reporting , dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/world-their-savior-unsigned-new-york-world-0.
In another, "The World" article it describes Nellie Bly's "Ten Days in a Mad-House" experience. This article contributed the short term impact Nellie Bly had made to the Blackwell Insane Asylum with her boosting the facility's funds.
Wilson, Erasmus. "What Are Girls Good For." Pittsburgh Dispatch [Pittsburgh], 25 Jan. 1885.
Erasmus Wilson's article created the basis of the beginning of the performance. This allowed a powerful understanding in the opening of the performance.
Secondary Sources
Bradner, Liesl. "Pioneering Female Reporter Nellie Bly Went Undercover and Around the World in 72 days." History.net , Feb. 2018, www.historynet.com/nellie-bly-troublemaker.htm. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.
Historynet provided us the knowledge of the writing career of Nellie Bly. The webpage spanned from Bly's early stories of her writing to her death in 1922.
Braithwaite, Kate. #otd 1885- The Girl Puzzle is Published. WordPress , 25 Jan. 2019, WordPress.com. Accessed 25 Feb. 2020.
WordPress's article "The Girl Puzzle is Published" gave quotes that were used for character and personality in the performance.
Chen, Elaine, et al. "Mind the gap: Uncovering pay disparity in the newsroom." Voices , Asian American Journalists Association, 2017, voices.aaja.org/index/2018/8/8/pay-equity. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.
This website showed the statistics of women pay in journalism today. The authors of this website showed the salary gaps between the male and female gender and also elaborated more about the pay of women of color.
Fessenden, Marissa. "Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her Surprise, A Race." Smithsonian , Smithsonian.com, 25 Jan. 2016, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nellie-blys-record-breaking-trip-around-world- was-to-her-surprise-race-180957910/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2019.
The online magazine of the Smithsonian provided the inspiration for our costume for Nellie Bly. The picture of Nellie at the beginning is where we got our inspiration for the coat, hat and size of her suitcase for our costume. Smithsonian also provided the broad idea of Around the World in 72 Days which got the project on track for the performance.
Keyser, Hannah. "The Story That Launched Nellie Bly's Famed Journalism Career." Mental Floss , 5 May 2015, www.mentalfloss.com/article/63759/story-launched-nellie-blys-famed-journalism-care er. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.
The article from Mental Floss was the main source for our Historical Context in our performance.
Long, Tony. "Nov. 14, 1889: Around the World in Only 72 Days." Wired.com , Condé Nast., 14 Nov. 2007, www.wired.com/2007/11/dayintech-1114/. Accessed 1 Jan. 2020.
Wired.com was the provider of more in depth details for the performance. For example, giving the exact mileage of Nellie Bly's traveling and the transportation she used.
Maranzani, Barbara. "Inside Nellie Bly's 10 Days in a Madhouse." Biography.com , 12 Dec. 2018, www.biography.com/news/inside-nelly-bly-10-days-madhouse. Accessed 24 June 2019.
The source "Biography" covers the portion of our performance build-up. The source also describes the type of journalism she had done.
Panganiban, Roma. "Nellie Bly's 72-Day Trip Around the World." Mental Floss , 17 Sept. 2013, www.mentalfloss.com/article/52745/nellie-blys-72-day-trip-around-world. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.
Mental Floss again had described her story and described the heart of the story.
Pitcher, George. "The long, hard road to gender equality in journalism." Polis , 17 Sept. 2019, blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2019/09/17/the-long-hard-road-to-gender-equality-in-journalism/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020.
This website was able to give statistics about the amount of women in journalism today.
Popova, Maria. "What Girls Are Good For: 20-Year-Old Nellie Bly's 1885 Response to a Patronizing Chauvinist." brainpickings , www.brainpickings.org. Accessed 4 Mar. 2020.
For our Historical Context portion of the performance this website allowed us to include quotes and the lead-up to the story of Nellie Bly.
Roy, Katica. "There's a gender crisis in the media, and it's threatening our democracy." FastCompany.com , 9 Sept. 2019, www.fastcompany.com/90401548/theres-a-gender-crisis-in-media-and-its-threatening- our-democracy?partner=feedburner&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&ut m_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29. Accessed 1 Mar. 2020.
Katica Roy's article gave the statistics used in the performance which gave us a better understanding of journalism today.
Smith, Stephen. An Inkwell of Pennames . Xlibris Corporation.
"An Inkwell of Pen Names" gave more of an explanation to Nellie Bly's first actual writing piece "The Girl Puzzle." This source was used in the build up part of the performance that gave more emphasis to Nellie Bly's story.
Willard, Angela. "Quotabelle: Nellie Bly." Quotabelle , Quotabelle Inc., Sept. 2014, www.quotabelle.com/author/nellie-bly. Accessed Jan. 2020.
For the short and long term impact portion of our performance, Quotabelle provided a strong, powerful closing for our performance. The impact of the words were hard-hitting and gave intensity to the project. The newspaper article explained what Bly wanted to accomplish and gave quotes of Bly. The newspaper gave us a sense of what was perceived of Bly's departure through a different perspective.
Characters
NELLIE BLY: 21 year old single woman in New York and aspiring journalist Costume: Long black skirt with a ruffled high-collared shirt, checkered jacket, a vintage cap, and leather combat boots.
JOSEPH PULITZER: Nellie’s editor for Ten Days in a Madhouse and for the New York newspaper The World Costume: Brown blazer, dress shoes, black derby hat, white button up shirt, and brown checkered business pants.
JOHN COCKERILL: Nellie’s editor for Around the World in 72 Days. Costume: Brown blazer, dress shoes, black derby hat, white button up shirt, and brown checkered business pants.
NARRATOR #1
NARRATOR #2
Key: Red = direct quotes from Nellie Bly Green = setting/props Bolded = emphasised
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Good afternoon. I am Lizzie (and I am Sadie). We are performing Nellie Bly Breaks a Gender Barrier Through Investigative Journalism.
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Our thesis is, writing about social injustices in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Nellie Bly cracked a glass ceiling, a barrier for women reporters, by pioneering investigative writing and leaving a legacy of opening opportunities for women in journalism.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND/ BUILD UP:
(Sadie) NARRATOR #2: Our story begins in New York 1885. This is a time when women typically were homemakers and gender discrimination was common . There were limited opportunities for women. This gender discrimination was a barrier for women.
(Lizzie)NARRATOR #1: On January 25, 1885 a Pittsburg Dispatch Columnist published an article called “What Girls Are Good For.” In the article it said, (man’s voice and a step forward) “ Women should be able to spin, sew, cook and clean. If women were not fit to run a home, then who knew, in the future, America might need to adopt the Chinese policy of killing baby girls or selling them as slaves!” The columnist continued writing, “There is no greater abnormality than a woman in breeches , unless it is a man in petticoats .”( return to normal voice and steps back)
(Sadie) NARRATOR #2: This mindset was a barrier for women.
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: The Pittsburgh Dispatch received angry backlash from women, including an anonymous response by a “Lonely Orphan Girl,” now known as Nellie Bly .
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: A publisher in New York read Bly’s response to the sexist columnist and was impressed by her uncensored writing style. The editor in chief offered her a writing position for $5 a week. Through her writing, Nellie Bly was able to continue fighting against the gender barrier. Her first published article “The Girl Puzzle” talks about gender barriers and “social advantages afforded to boys but not girls.”
(Sadie) NELLIE: (Holds up newspaper article of “The Girl Puzzle”) “Let a youth start as errand boy and he will work his way up until he is one of the firm. Girls are just as smart, a great deal quicker to learn; why, then, can’t they not do the same? A girl was engaged to fill a position that had always been occupied by men, who received $2.00 a day . The girl, doing the same work, received $5.00 for the week .”
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Nellie Bly writes,
(Sadie) NELLIE: “Girls are just as good as boys. If girls are given the same opportunities they will thrive as much as boys.” ( puts down the newspaper)
HEART OF THE STORY: Setting: Joseph Pulitzer’s office at The World
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: In 1887, Bly crossed a gender barrier, doing investigative journalism for the newspaper, The World .
(Lizzie) JOSEPH PULITZER ( Hat on, steps forward with Nellie and shakes hand) : Welcome Bly. I’m sure you've heard the rumours around Blackwell Insane Asylum.
(Sadie) NELLIE: Well yes, of course, sir. You’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard of a place as notorious as Blackwell.
(Lizzie) JOSEPH PULITZER: I do believe exposing the truths would make for quite an interesting story, don’t you believe so?
(Sadie) NELLIE: Why yes, of course! Anything as risky and peculiar as that would have to make quite an impression. If done by the correct author, of course. ( nervously laughs )
(Lizzie) JOSEPH PULITZER: Well, I’m quite happy to hear that, for you’re the author I had in mind. You could somehow manage to trick people into believing to be mad then be admitted to the asylum. Then be enrolled as an actual patient and report the truth of what we are all but oblivious to.
(Lizzie) JOSEPH PULITZER: Ten Days. Ten Days of totally being immersed in Blackwell. You will eat, sleep, bathe and live there. Keeping track of your findings in your head, so when, after the ten days, you can write unfiltered what life is like at Blackwell. Do you think you are up for the challenge?
(Sadie) NELLIE: … Yes. I do believe it is a fine way to test my abilities and expose what needs to be discussed.
(Lizzie) JOSEPH PULITZER: Very well then. ( Hat off, steps back)
Setting: Nellie Bly’s Home
(Sadie) NELLIE: “What a difficult task, I thought, to appear before a crowd of people and convince them that I was insane. I had never been near insane people before in my life, and had not the faintest idea of what their actions were like.” (grabs hand-mirror and stares into it with wide eyes)
(Sadie) NELLIE: “So I flew to the mirror and examined my face. I remembered all I had read of the doings of crazy people, how first of all they have staring eyes, and so I opened mine as wide as possible and stared unblinkingly at my own reflection. I
assured you the sight was not reassuring, even to myself, especially in the dead of the night.” (puts the mirror down)
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Bly went to a temporary home where she pretended to have a headache that caused her to lose her memories and to have insomnia. She forced herself to stay wide awake for the entirety of the night, terrifying the other residents. The next morning the temporary home sent Bly to Bellevue Hospital. There Dr. Fitch diagnosed her as “positively demented” sentencing her to time in Blackwell. Once inside, she witnessed horrors she never could have predicted. Moldy food, freezing tubs of water to bathe in, and inhumane hostility at the hands of nurses. Nellie Bly wrote, “The attendants seemed to find amusement and pleasure in exciting the violent patients to do their worst.” “The insane asylum on Blackwell's Island is a human rat-trap. It is easy to get in, but once there, it is impossible to get out.” After her experience, she published the book Ten Days in a Madhouse .
(Lizzie)NARRATOR #1: (holds up the book Ten Days In a Madhouse ) City administrators completed their own analysis and drastic changes were made. Such as, more sessions with doctors and better administration of workers in the facility. Population numbers were set to prevent overcrowding, allowing a humane place for the mentally ill. ( Narrator #1 puts down Ten Days In a Madhouse)
(Nellie pretends to write in book Ten Days in a Madhouse) (Sadie) NELLIE : “ I am happy to be able to write, as a result of my visit to the asylum and the exposures consequent thereon, that the City Of New York has appointed $1,000,000 more per annum than ever before for the care of the insane.”
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: By breaking the gender barrier, Nellie Bly was able to expose the horrid condition of Blackwell Insane Asylum and bring justice to the mentally ill.
Setting: Nellie Bly’s home (Props: 80 Days Around the World book, and globe)
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: In 1889, The World newspaper was losing readers and needed a gripping story.
(Sadie) NELLIE: One night, I was trying to come up with another enticing writing piece that would shock the state of New York once again. I knew I was struggling with writers’ block and as I knew I was running out of semi-good ideas, I yelled out of frustration,
“I wish I was at the other end of the earth!” I realized what I said and that sparked my next great idea. My mind was immediately inspired by Jules Verne’s book 80 Days Around the World (NARRATOR #1 holds up 80 Days Around the World book) which follows a male protagonist circumnavigating the world in record breaking time. The next day, I rushed to my editor’s office knowing what I had to do.
Setting: John Cockerill’s office at The World (Globe on the table, Satchel)
(Sadie) NELLIE: Sir, I have an idea that will be the next best story in New York.
(Lizzie) JOHN COCKERILL ( Hat on ): Well, go on Bly. What is it?
(Sadie) NELLIE ( points to the globe) : I believe I shall go around the world within eighty days, traveling through multiple countries by steamboat, train, rickshaw whatever it shall take. When I achieve this, I must record these experiences and write about it for my next story.
(Lizzie) JOHN COCKERILL: Bly, that is impossible. A woman could never achieve that. That is a male reporter's job, not yours.
(Sadie) NELLIE: Sir if you please,.. “I can beat any record.”
(Lizzie) JOHN COCKERILL: Bly, it is impossible. A man could do it unaccompanied and that man would barely make it. A woman would take too long and her downfall would be her luggage. Besides, you can only speak English. Your knowledge of languages would end you within a week.
(Sadie) NELLIE: “Very well, start the man. I’ll start the same day for another newspaper and beat him!” ( slight pause) At that moment, I felt my editor cave in and allowed me to go on to write my next story.
(Sadie) NELLIE: ( picks up satchel and then holds up satchel) I had planned ahead and packed lightly. I took along a single case of luggage in which I only packed my necessities. My editors said that I should pack a revolver but I simply just responded with,( Raises satchel high in the air and then brings it to her chest) “The world’s greeting me as I greeted it.”
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1 : On November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly departed New York on the ship Augusta Victoria at 30 seconds after 9:40 p.m., immediately on time.
(Lizzie) JOHN COCKERILL: ( Hat on) : Well Bly, have a good trip. I wish you well.
(Sadie) NELLIE: Thank you sir. I know I will make it on time, just you wait. (hat off)
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Nellie Bly’s goal was to arrive back in New York, under 75 days and four hours to circumnavigate the world. However, her trip got off to a rocky start.
(Sadie) NELLIE: People on the ship doubted the strength that I would need to get around the world due to constant sea sickness, but I was back on my feet within days.
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Nellie Bly, before arriving in Southampton, had faced a hard decision that may affect her whole trip. (NARRATOR #1 holds up 80 Days Around the World book) Jules Verne, the author of 80 Days Around the World invited Bly to visit him. Nellie Bly had one chance to do this without missing her connection to London. During this encounter, Verne expressed how excited he was that a reporter was now able to make his story come alive.
(Sadie) NELLIE: I visited multiple countries and I did this with ease and on time. However, when I was asked about, “the race around the world” I responded with “a race with time.” I recorded every bit of my journey and wrote about the countries and people I saw. I was nearing the end of my trip and from ship I safely arrived in San Francisco. As I was traveling to my final destination, I constantly heard the cheers of “Hurrah for Nellie Bly!” ( puts the satchel down)
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: At 3:51 pm on January 25, 1890, only 72 days 6 hours 11 minutes and 14 seconds after she departed, Nellie Bly arrived in Jersey City with a crowd awaiting her. After traveling 24,899 miles, Bly’s editors were in shock.
(Sadie)NELLIE: Upon arriving, (take off cap) “I took off my cap, and wanted to yell with the crowd, not because I had gone around the world in seventy-two days, but because I was home again.”
SHORT AND LONG TERM IMPACT:
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Bly successfully circumnavigated the world in 72 days, breaking barriers for the world record for going around the world in the shortest amount of time. This was insignificant, however, in the greater perspective of showing that a woman could do anything a man could do.
(Sadie) NARRATOR #2 : In a time when women couldn’t vote, she wrote about social issues that changed the world. She broke stereotypical barriers by writing about the maltreatment of the mentally ill, conditions that scorned, unwed mothers endured, and she contributed to the woman’s suffrage movement. Bly believed in standing up for women’s rights. The highest level of praise a woman reporter could get was “You write like a man.” Nellie's work not only earned the respect and sometimes jealousy of her colleagues, it also inspired real reform. In fact, Joseph Pulitzer's New York newspaper The World called her "the best reporter in America and that is saying a good deal." Furthermore, The World wrote, “The American GIrl will no longer be misunderstood. She will be recognized as pushing, determined, independent, able to take care of herself alone and single-handed wherever she may go.” Nellie Bly persevered, breaking barriers by using her writing as a weapon for social justice.
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: Although Nellie Bly cracked a gender barrier, journalism today is still dominated by white men. Globally, only 26% of journalists are women. Women continue to be given more fluff topics such as art, living, and family. “The overall pay gap tells us that women earn 80 cents for every $1 white men earn.” There is still work to be done in breaking the gender barrier.
(Lizzie) NARRATOR #1: As two young teenagers growing up in the 21st century, Sadie and I continue to face gender barriers. We look to Nellie Bly’s words for inspiration:
(Sadie) NELLIE: “I've always had the feeling that nothing is impossible if one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction. If you want to do it, you can do it.”