WOMEN IN THE BACKROUND OF HISTORY

Elizabeth Jane Cochran (May 5, 1864, New York – January 27, 1922), better known by her journalistic pseudonym Nellie Bly, was a journalist in the 1800s who is considered the pioneer of gonzo (undercover) investigative journalism.

Nellie Bly was reading a column in the Pittsburgh Dispatch when she came across a series of sexist comments. This event led her to question the power of journalism to perpetuate violence, so she wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper pointing out his responsibility.

The editor was impressed by Nellie Bly’s writing, which was signed under the name “The Lonely Orphan.” Some time later, her identity was discovered, and she was hired by the newspaper, where she wrote articles for the women’s section.

Nellie Bly then traveled to New York and began writing for Joseph Pulitzer, who asked her for an article about a women’s psychiatric asylum. The journalist did not settle for the rumors that were circulating and decided to check herself into the center, pretending to be ill. Once inside, Nellie Bly documented all the physical and sanitary abuses that the staff inflicted on the women who lived there.

Entitled “Ten Days in a Madhouse,” this was just the beginning of a style that would characterize “Pink,” known in the industry for always wearing that color. Nellie Bly was the closest thing we have to an undercover spy.

And as if that weren’t incredible enough, Nellie Bly was sent around the world to document other events; she travelled by balloon and ship alone, setting a world record that broke Jules Verne’s fictional story in Around the World in 80 Days; “Pink” travelled the globe in 67 days with her coat, toilet bag and notebook.

Finally, Nellie Bly is recognised for documenting women’s suffrage in 1913 and writing articles about the First World War. Elizabeth ‘Pink’ Cochrane died of pneumonia at the age of 57, and her story has gone down in history as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. https://lacaderadeeva.com/actualidad/quienes-fueron-las-primeras-mujeres-periodistas-en-la-historia/9043