The Best Reporter in America

Stephen F Austin State University, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Regent's Suite A and Twilight Ballroom

This research looks at the life of the infamous Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Cochran, a woman reporter in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She was one of the pioneers of “stunt” journalism, a form of reporting reliant upon thorough investigation. Her first big feat during her career was feigning insanity to be committed to a women's insane asylum in order to write an article on the terrible living conditions there. The feat for which she is best known however, was her trip around the world in less time than anyone else at the time. This research seeks to bring to light the accomplishments of Nellie Bly, “the best reporter in America.”