Biography of Nellie Bly, Investigative Journalist

The reporter known as Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, where her father was a mill owner and county judge. Her mother was from a wealthy Pittsburgh family. Pink, as she was known in childhood, was the youngest of 13 (or 15, according to other sources) of her fathers children from both of his marriages; Pink competed to keep up with her five older brothers. Fast Facts: Nellie Bly Also Known As: Elizabeth Jane Cochran (birth name), Elizabeth Cochrane (a spelling she adopted), Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (married name), Elizabeth Seaman, Nelly Bly, Pink Cochran (childhood nickname)Occupation: journalist, writerKnown For: investigative reporting and sensationalist journalism, especially her commitment to an insane asylum and her around-the-world stuntBorn: May 5, 1864 in Cochrans Mills, PennsylvaniaParents: Mary Jane Kennedy Cummings and Michael CochranDied: January 27, 1922 in New YorkSpouse: Robert Livingston Seaman (married April 5, 1895, when he was 70; millionaire industrialist)Children: none from her marriage, but adopted a child when she was 57Education: Indiana State Normal School, Indiana, Pennsylvania Blys father died when she was only six. Her fathers money was divided among the children, leaving little for Nellie Bly and her mother to live on. Her mother remarried, but her new husband, John Jackson Ford, was violent and abusive, and in 1878 she filed for divorce. The divorce was final in June of 1879. Nellie Bly briefly attended college at Indiana State Normal School, intending to prepare to be a teacher, but funds ran out in the middle of her first semester there, and she left. She had discovered both a talent and interest in writing and talked her mother into moving to Pittsburgh to look for work in that field. But she did not find anything, and the family was forced to live in slum conditions. Finding Her First Reporting Job With her already-clear experience with the necessity of a woman working and the difficulty of finding work, she read an article in the Pittsburgh Dispatch called What Girls Are Good For, which dismissed the qualifications of women workers. She wrote an angry letter to the editor as a response, signing it Lonely Orphan Girl—and the editor thought enough of her writing to offer her an opportunity to write for the paper. She wrote her first piece for the newspaper, on the status of working women in Pittsburgh, under the name Lonely Orphan Girl. When she was writing her second piece, on divorce, either she or her editor (the stories told differ) decided she needed a more appropriate pseudonym, and Nellie Bly became her nom de plume. The name was taken from the then-popular Stephen Foster tune, Nelly Bly. When Nellie Bly wrote human interest pieces exposing the conditions of poverty and discrimination in Pittsburgh, local leaders pressured her editor, George Madden, and he reassigned her to cover fashion and society—more typical womens interest articles. But those didnt hold Nellie Blys interest. Mexico Nellie Bly arranged to travel to Mexico as a reporter. She took her mother along as a chaperone, but her mother soon returned, leaving her daughter to travel unchaperoned, unusual for that time, and somewhat scandalous. Nellie Bly wrote about Mexican life, including its food and culture—but also about its poverty and the corruption of its officials. She was expelled from the country and returned to Pittsburgh, where she began reporting for the Dispatch again. She published her Mexican writings as a book, Six Months in Mexico, in 1888. But she was soon bored with that work, and quit, leaving a note for her editor, Im off for New York. Look out for me. Bly. Off for New York In New York, Nellie Bly found it difficult to find work as a newspaper reporter because she was a woman. She did some freelance writing for the Pittsburgh paper, including an article about her difficulty in finding work as a reporter. In 1887, Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World hired her, seeing her as fitting into his campaign to expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evil and abuses—part of the reformist trend in newspapers of that time. Ten Days in a Mad House For her first story, Nellie Bly had herself committed as insane. Using the name Nellie Brown, and pretending to be Spanish-speaking, she was first sent to Bellevue and then, on September 25, 1887, admitted to Blackwells Island Madhouse. After ten days, lawyers from the newspaper were able to get her released as planned. She wrote of her own experience where doctors, with little evidence, pronounced her insane and of other women who were probably just as sane as she was, but who didnt speak good English or were thought to be unfaithful. She wrote of the horrible food and living conditions, and the generally poor care. The articles were published in October 1887 and were widely reprinted across the country, making her famous. Her writings on her asylum experience were published in 1887 as Ten Days in a Mad House. She proposed a number of reforms—and, after a grand jury investigation, many of those reforms were adopted. More Investigative Reporting This was followed with investigations and exposà ©s on sweatshops, baby-buying, jails, and corruption in the legislature. She interviewed Belva Lockwood, the Woman Suffrage Party presidential candidate, and Buffalo Bill, as well as the wives of three presidents (Grant, Garfield, and Polk). She wrote about the Oneida Community, an account republished in book form. The World cover story about Nellie Bly. Bettmann  /  Getty Images Around the World Her most famous stunt, though, was her competition with the fictional Around the World in 80 Days trip of Jules Vernes character, Phileas Fogg, an idea proposed by G. W. Turner. She left from New York to sail to Europe on November 14, 1889, taking only two dresses and one bag. Traveling by many means including boat, train, horse, and rickshaw, she made it back in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds. The last leg of the trip, from San Francisco to New York, was via a special train provided by the newspaper. The World published daily reports of her progress and held a contest to guess her return time, with over a million entries. In 1890, she published about her adventure in Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. She went on a lecture tour, including a trip to Amiens, France, where she interviewed Jules Verne. The Famous Female Reporter She was, now, the most famous female reporter of her time. She quit her job, writing serial fiction for three years for another New York publication—fiction that is far from memorable. In 1893 she returned to the World. She covered the Pullman strike, with her coverage having the unusual distinction of paying attention to the conditions of the strikers lives. She interviewed Eugene Debs and Emma Goldman. Chicago, Marriage In 1895, she left New York for a job in Chicago with the Times-Herald. She only worked there for six weeks. She met Brooklyn millionaire and industrialist Robert Seaman, who was 70 to her 31 (she claimed she was 28). In just two weeks, married him. The marriage had a rocky start. His heirs—and a previous common-law wife or mistress—were opposed to the match. She went off to cover a womens suffrage convention and interview Susan B. Anthony; Seaman had her followed, but she had the man he hired arrested and then published an article about being a good husband. She wrote an article in 1896 on why women should fight in the Spanish American War—and that was the last article she wrote until 1912. Sheet music cover image of the song Nellie Blys Tour Around the World Triumphal March and Galop, with original authorship notes reading By Chas D Blake, United States, 1890. Sheridan Libraries/Levy/Gado/Getty Images Nellie Bly, Businesswoman Nellie Bly—now Elizabeth Seaman—and her husband settled down, and she took an interest in his business. He died in 1904, and she took over the Ironclad Manufacturing Co. which made enameled ironware. She expanded the American Steel Barrel Co. with a barrel that she claimed to have invented, promoting it to increase the success appreciably of her late husbands business interests. She changed the method of payment of workers from piecework to a salary and even provided recreation centers for them. Unfortunately, a few of the long term employees were caught cheating the company, and a long legal battle ensued, ending in bankruptcy, and employees sued her. Impoverished, she began writing for the New York Evening Journal. In 1914, to avoid a warrant for obstructing justice, she fled to Vienna, Austria—just as World War I was breaking out. Vienna In Vienna, Nellie Bly was able to watch World War I unfolding. She sent a few articles to the Evening Journal. She visited the battlefields, even trying out the trenches, and promoted U.S. aid and involvement to save Austria from Bolsheviks. Back to New York In 1919, she returned to New York, where she successfully sued her mother and brother for the return of her house and what remained of the business she had inherited from her husband. She returned to the New York Evening Journal, this time writing an advice column. She also worked to help place orphans into adoptive homes and adopted a child herself at age 57. Nellie Bly was still writing for the Journal when she died of heart disease and pneumonia in 1922. In a column published the day after she died, famous reporter Arthur Brisbane called her the best reporter in America. Books by Nellie Bly Ten Days in a Mad-House; or Nellie Blys Experience on Blackwells Island. Feigning Insanity in order to Reveal Asylum Horrors.... 1887.Six Months in Mexico. 1888.The Mystery in Central Park. 1889.Outline of Bible Theology! Exacted from a Letter by a Lady to the New York World of 2nd June, 1889. 1889.Nellie Blys Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days. 1890. Books About Nellie Bly: Jason Marks. The Story of Nellie Bly. 1951.Nina Brown Baker. Nellie Bly. 1956.Iris Noble. Nellie Bly: First Woman Reporter. 1956.Mignon Rittenhouse. The Amazing Nellie Bly. 1956.Emily Hahn. Around the World with Nellie Bly. 1959.Terry Dunnahoo. Nellie Bly: A Portrait. 1970.Charles Parlin Graves. Nellie Bly, Reporter for the World. 1971.Ann Donegan Johnson. The Value of Fairness: The Story of Nellie Bly. 1977.Tom Lisker. Nellie Bly: First Woman of the News. 1978.Kathy Lynn Emerson. Making Headlines: A Biography of Nellie Bly. 1981.Judy Carlson. Nothing Is Impossible, Said Nellie Bly. 1989.Elizabeth Ehrlich. Nellie Bly. 1989.Martha E. Kendall. Nellie Bly: Reporter for the World. 1992.Marcia Schneider. First Woman of the News. 1993.Brooke Kroeger. Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. 1994.

Internal Conflicts In Kate Chopins The Awakening - 823 Words

Title The story, The Awakening, is about Edna Pontellier’s internal conflict between her desire for independence and her need to remain a high-class member of society. When away on summer vacation Edna has the realization that she has control of her own life and begins to focus on her self and not what others think. During her awakening, Edna is faced with much resilience from her husband and friends and instead of becoming someone she is not, Edna Pontellier ends her own life as she sees it is her only option. The author, Kate Chopin, uses many characters to exemplify the conflicting ideals emerging in Edna; particularly Madame Ratignolle acts as a foil to Edna’s newfound persona, instead symbolizing the conservation of a traditional†¦show more content†¦Chopin uses the first hand description of Adele from Edna as a literary comparison to previous descriptions of Adele, allowing insight into Edna’s own perceptions and changing world view. In Chapter 8, Madame Ratignolle pulls Robert aside and asks him to leave Edna alone. She explains that Edna,† Is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the unfortunate blunder of taking you seriously.† Chopin’s use of repetition in Adele’s dialogue puts emphasis on Edna’s uniqueness and labels her as an outcast. Adele sees Edna drifting further and further away from the social norms of their accustomed society and wishes to stop her before its too late. Chopin also uses this scene to foreshadow Robert’s unwillingness to commit to Edna as he brushes off Madame Ratignolle’s warning, seeing his relationship with Edna as a fling rather than being the passionate lover Edna craves. Later in the story, Madame Ratignolle visited Edna to address her recent associations with Alcee Arobin. She continues to express her concern for Edna’s reputation explaining, â€Å"†¦some one was talking of Alcee Arobin visitng you. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if Mr. Arobin had not such a dreadful reputation†¦his attentions alone are considered enough to ruin a woman’s name.† Adele places more value on Edna’s image and the potential harm to her family name, instead of inquiring on Edna’s well being. She notices Edna’s change in behavior and is more concerned with the wayShow MoreRelatedKate Chopin s Life And Feminism1281 Words   |  6 PagesKate Chopin’s Life and Works- Feminism Kate Chopin, born on February 8th, 1850, was a progressive writer in the midst of a conservative and unequal time. She exposed the unfair undertones of society in such a way that made people outrage and condemn some of her works. However, in the early 1900s, her works were examined again and people started to listen to her ideas. One of these main motifs that Chopin’s works kept bringing up were feminism and equality. In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, a radicalRead MoreEssay about The Voice of the Sea in The Awakening871 Words   |  4 PagesThe Voice of the Sea in The Awakening  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many different symbols were utilized in Kate Chopins The Awakening to illustrate the underlying themes and internal conflict of the characters.   One constant and re-emerging symbol is the sea.   The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.   The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.   The touchRead MoreAnalysis Of Desiree s Baby By Kate Chopin919 Words   |  4 PagesDesiree’s Baby†: An Annotated bibliography Thesis: Kate Chopin combines the racial and social differences on the eighteen century, in which people have to face racial discrimination amongst a social empire, which brings many conflicts within diverse couples about their firstborns. 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Edna was not herself when enclosed behind the walls of the Pontellier mansion. Instead, she was another person entirely-- someone she would like to forget. Similarly, Edna takes on a different identity in her vacation setting in Grand Isle, in her independent home in New Orleans, and in just about every otherRead More Kate Chopins Awakening - Edna Pontellier as Master of Her Destiny3367 Words   |  14 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Kate Chopins The Awakening, the main character, Edna leaves her husband to find place in the world. Edna believes her new sexually independent power will make her master of her own life. But, as Martin points out, she has overestimated her strength and is still hampered by her limited ability to direct her energy and to master her emotions (22). Unfortunately, Edna has been educated too much in the traditions of society and not enough in reason and independent survival, admittingRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1633 Words   |  7 Pages1. 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The Changing Demographics of Nursing Free Essays

The face of nursing has been changing over the last 50 years. Women who a half a century ago would only work as nurses until they married are now ending up as nursing managers and administrators, moving out of the practical field. . We will write a custom essay sample on The Changing Demographics of Nursing or any similar topic only for you Order Now But still it has been noted that the age of the nursing workforce has increased over the last quarter of a century, and fewer younger people are entering the nursing profession. In fact, at the time of the survey by the Bureau of Health Professions in 1997, baby boomers (those born between 1947 and 1962) were the largest component of the nursing workforce and at the current time only nine percent of registered nurses are younger than 30 years of age (Santucci, 2004). If this trend continues, then it would mean that the need for nursing would increase by as much as 22% between the years of 1998 and 2008. The demographics of nursing are changing as to the working environment as well. While hospitals employ about 60% of all nurses, the nurses who work in hospitals are likely to be younger, mostly due to the strain of physically demanding work and the shift work involved. While the hospitals tend to produce recruiting programs more focused on younger nurses, this also means that there is the need to promote relationships between the different generations of nurses. Problems in workplaces are the most often sited issues when it comes to job turnover rates among nurses. And the flow of younger nurses toward the hospital setting also means that the number of new graduate nurses being hired into the nursing pool is getting higher. This in turn results in a greater number of rather inexperienced new nurses in positions that may be better filled by experienced nurses. In order to answer this problem, residency programs have been developed for new graduate nurses, to provide orientation to the specialty areas such as critical care, medical/surgical and psychiatry. These residency programs appear to do much to help the new nurses address the challenges they face in their new positions. Green and Puetzer (2002) clearly define in their article the issues surrounding the importance of effective recruitment, efficient training and ultimate retention of experience nursing staff. A structured mentoring and precepting program appears to be key to all three of these issues and shows that while the schools prepare the nurses for the basics, mentoring programs are the most effective in the workplace. Without residency programs, there is a significant degree of turnover in the nursing staff, which leads to poor clinical are and burnout. A study by Bowles and Candela in 2005 reviewed involved the experiences of recent RN graduates in their first jobs (Bowles and Candela, 2005). The study was meant to determine new graduate perceptions of first jobs and why they left them, if they had. The results showed that 30% of new graduates left their positions within one year, and 57% had left their first positions within 2 years. Issues cited for leaving consisted of patient care problems, unsafe nurse to patient ratios, and stress associated with the acuity of the patients. Other significant issues (22%) noted a lack of support on the part of management, as well as a lack of guidance and a sensation of being given too much responsibility for patient care as compared to the nurse’s level of comfort and experience. This review showed that RNs in the first year of work tend to leave their first position at a much higher rate than RNs who are in second or subsequent positions. It would appear from this study that to improve RN retention one must consider the development of orientation and mentoring programs. This would improve work environments and reduce stress levels. There is a limited availability of preceptors. This often causes nurse interns multiple preceptor assignments that causes problem with educational continuity, follow through on assignments and progress assessments, as well as preceptor burnout. Smith and Chalker (2005) describe the issue from the nurse interns’ view where all active duty military nurses assigned to a military hospital between December 2000 and November 2003 were surveyed. A total sample of 216 nurse interns were surveyed regarding the nurse intern’s perception of the preceptor continuity within the existing four-month nurse intern program. These nurses were also asked about differences in perception between clinical performance, role transition, job satisfaction and nursing retention issues among nurse interns who had the same preceptor throughout their 4-month internships as compared to those who did not. In this study, there appeared to be no difference reported in the clinical performance, role transitions and retention in nursing between nurse interns who had assigned clinical preceptors versus those who did not. Over 48% of those surveyed indicated that the presence of one or multiple preceptors had little to do with the nurse’s desire to stay within the nursing profession. It is important, however, to note that of those who were surveyed who were new graduates, of these respondents 85% felt that having the same preceptor was most beneficial. Some supporting comments included issues such as building a trusting bond with the preceptor, consistency and continuity, and confidence building. Another interesting study assessed the effectiveness of using a mentorship program not only to retain quality nurses, but also to actually recruit them to programs in the first place. In this study (Nelson and Godfrey, 2004) identified that the new graduate nurse population required special attention, quoting that one in every three nurses under the age of 30 planned to leave their current job within the year (Aiken, et. l. 2001). Understanding this effect of patient care continuity, Nelson and Godfrey set out to see if a nurse mentorship program designed to provide an intense experience for students to gain greater clinical skills, and work values that would lead to commitment to professional teams and hopefully job retention. This study included nursing students who were within 2 semesters of graduation from a local program in Florida. All candidates for the program were prescreened and required a completed application as well as two letter of reference before they would be accepted into the program. Students in this study worked with assigned preceptors for a minimum of 16 hours with each two-week period, mentoring one on one with an experienced RN. It is interesting to note that ten of the students are now graduated, and remain employed by the hospital at which they precepted. It is likely that the selection process weeded out those applicants who most likely would be in benefit of a preceptor program, perhaps the more clinically insecure RN or the one who is struggling with assimilating clinical decision making skills and the like. There was benefit to the students in that they all felt better prepared for entry into employment as an RN. The benefit to the hospital also cannot be denied. As noted in the study, savings related to RN retention continues to accrue. Using the assumption that the 62 graduate nurses who did not participate in the program had participated, and applying the hospital’s 23% turnover rate applied to this hypothetical group, this would mean a net savings of 14 nurses (instead of the 29 they would have lost without the program, according to previous rates of turnover). Assuming that the cost of mentorship for each RN would be approximately $10,000, and then the savings would be around $150,000 to the hospital based on nurse retention alone. This study would seem to indicate that the nurse mentorship program not only improves nurse clinical skills and job satisfaction, but also can be of monetary savings to the hospitals themselves. While relatively few articles available on mentorship for graduate nurses exist, there are enough valid studies out there which all seem to indicate the importance of orientation programs not only to improve clinical care, but to decrease nursing staff turnover, preceptor burnout and decrease the financial burden such turnover costs to the healthcare system. How to cite The Changing Demographics of Nursing, Essay examples

Summary Or Response free essay sample

In the article, â€Å"Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? † by Stephen Marche we are informed of the negative effect social media can have on out psychological self. â€Å"Social media – from Facebook to twitter – have made us more densely networked than ever. Yet for all this connectivity, new research suggests that we have never been lonelier. † (Marche 60) What is loneliness? It is a psychological state. Marche stated many times that loneliness and being lonely are not the same thing. â€Å"Solitude can be lovely. Crowded parties can be agony. † (Marche 64) It was said that loneliness is at the middle of American society. We get together less, and when we do get together it does not mean as much as it once did. That bond just is not there anymore. If loneliness is becoming such a big problem in the world today, why are we spending countless hours and enormous amounts of money trying to achieve loneliness? â€Å"Despite its deleterious effects on health, loneliness is one of the first things ordinary Americans spend their money achieving,† Marche informed. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary Or Response or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Money moves us to the serenity of that quiet beach or the undisturbed house in the middle of nowhere. Loneliness is being invited into our live by our very own selves, even when such suffering and strain can result. Marche expressed, â€Å"Loneliness is certainly not something that Facebook or twitter or any of the lesser forms of social media is doing to us. We are doing it to ourselves. † An example used in the article was going to self checkout versus a normal check stand at a grocery store. Marche admitted to going to the self-checkout, only to avoid wait time and because it is more efficient. Marche isn’t trying to bring loneliness upon himself, he is only trying to â€Å"Bypass the whole circus and just ring up the groceries myself† (68) Studies had been done to see if online, social networking, users were more lonely than non-users. They came to the conclusion that the more you have face-to-face communication the less lonely you are. â€Å"The danger with Facebook is not that it lets us isolate ourselves, but that it threatens to alter the very nature of solitude.