Elizabeth Jane Cochran or Nellie Bly, as she was known to the public, is a very inspirational woman and I think a role model to future woman reporters. She was dedicated and totally changed herself to write a story. She did not give up and survived the horrible treatment at the insane asylum. It was a bet that turned out to be something that would change and set a model for investigative reporting.
I think that Nellie Bly was a very strong and talented woman. I am sure this project was extremely tough and very hard to endure but she did not give up. Her way of reporting has paved the way for the future of reporting. I also find it impressive how influential she was during that time period. Women were typically not praised for their work. I think she is an important figure in history.
I also think it is crazy that the only reason that Nellie Bly wrote this article was because of a bet from her boss. She wanted to prove that she could compete with the men in the industry. Her bet was to make up a stunt to attract readers and to prove herself as a reporter. I think she certainly surpassed anything her boss thought she could do.
It was very impressive to me that Nellie Bly was able to act like a crazy person and fool everyone into thinking she was crazy. She fully committed herself to her job. She was able to fool many people into thinking she was crazy. She must have been a great actor as well as a writer. She was a very talented woman.
As I was looking up research for this blog, I found that Bly fully submerged herself into becoming a crazy person. She stopped brushing her teeth and bathing and would practice changing her facial expressions in front of a mirror for hours. Nellie pretended to be a Cuban immigrant and would wander the streets in a daze. She then checked herself into a women’s boarding house and caused rants that eventually got her committed into Blackwell Island.
It was disturbing to read about the treatment of the people at Blackwell Island Lunatic Asylum. I had a hard time reading it because it was so intense. It was crazy to think of the punishment these people would get. I found it interesting that Nellies says that she thinks that the insane asylum makes the people crazier instead of trying to help them get better. Nellie Bly’s article changed the way people looked at the treatment and way of living at an insane asylum.
Many people had tried to report about the conditions of the asylum but Nellie Bly was the first person to go undercover. The conditions were horrifying and she talks about how perfectly normal women were committed and then went crazy because of the conditions or just because they were foreign and could not be understood. I do not think I could endure what she did. I could never be as strong as her.
Nellie was able to tell people firsthand what the conditions were like at Blackwell Island. It was so much better to hear something firsthand rather than describing something that they have never actually experienced. Firsthand experiences are the best way to write a story in the reporting business. There are many reporters today that totally submerge themselves in their work. They must really love what they do because they must totally change their lives just to write a story. They are putting their lives in danger in order to provide information for the public.
Nellie Bly is a great role model for girls trying to become a reporter. She set the stage and created a world where women were allowed to write and be acknowledged in a newspaper. She was one of the first investigative reporters. Her life has been very inspirational. Nellie Bly died in 1922 after writing many other successful articles. She has been the subject of a Broadway musical, a movie, and a children’s book.
It is not very common to learn about an inspirational woman in history. It was very hard for a woman to be taken seriously and to be praised for their work. Nellie Bly surpassed anyone’s expectations and changed the reporting industry forever. She will forever be remembered for her work.
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