‘The Best Reporter in America’

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: How do journalists help hold powerful people and institutions accountable for their actions?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• trailblazing (p. 19)
• feigned (p. 19)
• monstrosity (p. 19)
• zeitgeist (p. 19)
• sensationalizing (p. 21)
• intrepid (p. 21)

3. Engage
Poll students on whether they would be willing to go undercover at a mental health institution to report on patient abuse by medical staff. Prompt them to share why they would or would not be willing.

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about Nellie Bly and her exposé of abuses at a mental health asylum. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions:

• How did Bly’s career as a journalist begin? How did she get the undercover assignment at the asylum? (Bly’s career as a journalist began in Pennsylvania after she wrote an angry letter to the editor of a local paper in response to an op-ed that was derogatory toward women. The managing editor was so impressed with her writing that he offered her a job as a columnist. A few years later, she moved to New York City and got a job at the New York World. The publisher and editor gave her the asylum assignment.)  

• What did Bly discover while on undercover assignment as a patient at the asylum? What changes did her reporting inspire? (While undercover at the asylum, she discovered that patients were physically and psychologically abused, given tattered clothing, and fed rancid food. She also discovered that some of the patients weren’t actually suffering from mental illness but had been committed anyway. Her reporting on the asylum led to a grand jury investigation and reform at the asylum.)

• How did Bly get herself committed to the asylum? Do you think Bly was brave in going undercover for this assignment? Explain. (Bly practiced making far-away expressions. Then she checked into a boarding house. Her behavior led to her being taken to Bellevue Hospital, where doctors committed her to the asylum. Opinions will vary but should be supported with text evidence.)

• The author describes Bly as a “trailblazing journalist.” What does she mean? What are some text details that support this characterization? (The author means Bly helped start a new way of reporting—undercover investigative journalism. Details about her being one of the first to go undercover and how this inspired others to do the same support the characterization.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF Abuse in the Asylum, which features an excerpt from Bly’s book, Ten Days in a Mad-House, about her experiences at the asylum in New York. Discuss what makes the excerpt a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpt and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of this excerpt from Bly’s book? (The tone can be described as straightforward, disapproving, and reflective. The purpose is to describe the abuses patients suffered at the hands of staff members at the asylum.)

• In paragraph 2, Bly states twice that the nurses choked Urena. Why do you think she repeats this point? (Bly likely repeats it because she was shocked that the nurses took the abuse that far. She wants to emphasize that it actually happened. She probably assumes that her readers will also be shocked. She wants to make sure they pause on the information and reflect on what it shows about the asylum.)

• What claim does Bly make at the beginning of paragraph 3? How does she support this claim? (Bly claims, “This punishment seemed to awaken their desire to administer more.” In other words, the success the nurses had in choking Urena—to the point of leaving bruises on her throat—caused them to want to inflict more physical harm on other patients. Bly supports this claim by detailing how, after returning from beating Urena, the nurses then grabbed another patient to punish or abuse.) 

• Review paragraphs 4–6. What can you infer happened to Mrs. Grady after the nurse, Miss Grady, dragged her out of the room? (You can infer that Miss Grady and the other nurses beat Mrs. Grady. Details that support this inference include Mrs. Grady crying out “Don’t let them beat me,” the shrieking and cries Bly heard from the other room—presumably Mrs. Grady’s cries at being beaten—and Nurse Grady’s comment that she had “settled the old fool” after returning to the room.)

• Based on the Upfront article and the excerpt from Bly’s book, why do you think Bly’s articles about the asylum led to reforms in the treatment of people experiencing mental health issues? (Students’ responses will vary, but ideas should be supported with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
Based on the article, what is investigative reporting? What are some ways this type of reporting has shaped public opinion and public policy? Explain in a brief essay.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Was it ethical for Bly to have entered the asylum, sweatshops, and other places under false pretenses?

9. Research Writers
Have different groups research Ida B. Wells, Ida Tarbell, and Upton Sinclair. Bring the class together to share findings and discuss what these three writers and Nellie Bly had in common and how they differed.