The subtitle of this book is The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters”. So this is the story, or stories, of the most well-known women reporters of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. While Nelly Bly probably has the most name-recognition now, there were several others almost as well-known at the time. And they were working as reporters at some of the major papers of the day. In fact, some of the newspaper publishers promoted the stories these women wrote as a means to increase circulation. While it was too early for photographs for some of these articles, there were occasionally drawings of the reporters, showing them in the process of getting their stories. What were some of these stunts? They included things like getting a job in a sweatshop, and describing the conditions, and how hard it was to live on the meager pay. Nellie Bly, famously, got herself committed to an insane asylum, so she could describe those conditions. Some of this type of reporting eventually led to changes and reforms.
Working as a stunt reporter was somewhat of a double edged sword. It was a way for women to get their foot in the newsroom door, without having to report on the socialites, fashion trends, or domestic topics, which is what many women reporter were relegated to. However, some of the stunts could be dangerous, and could also damage a woman’s reputation, which was much more important at that time than now. Many of these reporters, Nellie Bly included, used pseudonyms for that reason. Many are known to us today, but some, such as the correspondent known as the “Girl Reporter” are still anonymous. The author tries to determine her identity, but we may never know for certain.
Some of these reporters married other reporters; others probably left the field when they got past the age when they wanted to do “stunts”. Since many used aliases, it is difficult to trace where some of them ended up. Few were respected for their journalism outside of the stunt articles they wrote. But apparently, there were more women applying for these jobs than newspapers felt they needed. There were so few employment options available for women at the time, and even with the risks (both physical and reputational), some women thought it was better than factory work. And after reading the exposés about factory work for women, who could blame them?
If this was your family, how would you research them? Newspaper research is one of my favorites, not just because sometimes you find things you would never see in official records, but it’s also fun to read the other articles in the paper. Our ancestors were probably reading these same newspapers, since this was the main method of getting information back then. While I don’t think I had any “stunt reporters” in my tree, I will be looking for their articles the next time I am searching for my relatives. And you never know; some of the local papers may have hired local “girl reporters” as well.