‘The Best Reporter in America’

Nellie Bly’s first day at the insane asylum* didn’t go well. After being forced to eat an inedible meal, she was escorted into a freezing bathroom, where she was ordered to undress. Dirty, ice-cold bathwater was poured over her head, and an attendant scrubbed her body with a used, discolored rag.

“My teeth chattered and my limbs were goose-fleshed and blue with cold,” Bly wrote in her account of the ordeal. “I think I experienced some of the sensations of a drowning person as they dragged me, gasping, shivering and quaking, from the tub. For once I did look insane.”

When Bly was committed to the Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York in the fall of 1887, she wasn’t really experiencing psychological distress. The trailblazing journalist had feigned mental illness in front of doctors so they would commit her. Her goal: to expose the atrocities at the asylum to the rest of the world. 

Bly’s now-famous exposé was first published as a series of articles for the New York World newspaper and later in her book Ten Days in a Mad-House. Her brave reporting led to lasting reform at the asylum. It also put Bly on the map as a pioneering investigative journalist.

“The most important thing that she did was she gave a voice to voiceless people,” says Rosemary J. Brown, author of Following Nellie Bly: Her Record-Breaking Race Around the World. “She got them in the news.”

Nellie Bly’s first day at the insane asylum* didn’t go well. First, she was forced to eat a meal that was rotten. She was then led to a freezing bathroom, where she was told to undress. Dirty, ice-cold bathwater was poured over her head. And an attendant scrubbed her body with a used, discolored rag.

“My teeth chattered and my limbs were goose-fleshed and blue with cold,” Bly wrote about the experience. “I think I experienced some of the sensations of a drowning person as they dragged me, gasping, shivering and quaking, from the tub. For once I did look insane.”

Bly was committed to the Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York in the fall of 1887. At the time, she wasn’t really experiencing mental distress. The trailblazing journalist had led doctors to believe she had a mental illness so they would commit her. She aimed to expose the inhumane conditions at the asylum to the rest of the world. 

Bly’s now-famous exposé was first published as a series of articles for the New York World newspaper. The series was later turned into her book Ten Days in a Mad-House.

Her brave reporting led to lasting reform at the asylum. It also put Bly on the map as a trailblazing investigative journalist.

“The most important thing that she did was she gave a voice to voiceless people,” says Rosemary J. Brown, author of Following Nellie Bly: Her Record-Breaking Race Around the World. “She got them in the news.”

^{*Today called psychiatric hospitals. This article includes some terms used in the past to describe mental health conditions that would be considered offensive today.}

^{*Today called psychiatric hospitals. This article includes some terms used in the past to describe mental health conditions that would be considered offensive today.}

Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, in 1864. She later took the pen name “Nellie Bly” after a character in a popular song.

When Bly was young, her father, who was the wealthy owner of the town’s mill, died unexpectedly, leaving the family with little money. Bly worked odd jobs and later attended a teacher’s college, but she dropped out of school to help run the family’s boarding home when money ran low.

Bly’s career as a journalist began in 1885 after she wrote an angry letter to the editor in response to an op-ed published in the Pittsburgh Dispatch entitled “What Girls Are Good For.” The writer of the editorial claimed that a working woman was a “monstrosity” and that women should stick to performing domestic work. 

The paper published Bly’s well-argued rebuttal, in which she called girls “just as smart” and “a great deal quicker to learn” than boys. The managing editor was so impressed by her writing—and her moxie—that he offered Bly a job as a columnist.

Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania, in 1864. She later took the pen name “Nellie Bly” after a character in a popular song.

Her father was the wealthy owner of the town’s mill. When Bly was young, he died unexpectedly. His death left the family with little money. As a result, Bly worked odd jobs. She later attended a teacher’s college, but she dropped out of school to help run the family’s boarding home when money ran low.

Bly’s career as a journalist began in 1885. That year, she wrote an angry letter to the editor in response to an op-ed published in the Pittsburgh Dispatch entitled “What Girls Are Good For.” The writer of the editorial claimed that a working woman was a “monstrosity.” Women should stick to performing domestic work, the writer said.

The paper published Bly’s well-argued rebuttal. In it, she called girls “just as smart” and “a great deal quicker to learn” than boys. The managing editor was impressed by her writing and her fearlessness. That led him to offer Bly a job as a columnist.

When she started at the Dispatch, it would still be 35 years before women would have the right to vote nationwide. At the time, women played less of a role in the affairs of the nation than they do today, with many working inside the home. Yet it was the dawn of the Progressive Era, and society was beginning to reevaluate a woman’s place in the world—and in the workplace.

Bly’s work was part of that wave of change. She insisted that her voice be heard, tackling hard-hitting topics for the era, from women’s rights and the injustices of poverty to advocating for reform of Pennsylvania’s divorce laws.

“[Bly] understood how to tap into the zeitgeist,” says journalist Brooke Kroeger, who wrote the biography Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. “She understood that she lived in the Progressive Era and that there was a new day for women.”

When she started at the Dispatch, it would still be 35 years before women would have the right to vote nationwide. At the time, women played less of a role in the affairs of the nation than they do today. Many of them worked only inside the home. Yet it was the dawn of the Progressive Era. At the time, society was beginning to reevaluate a woman’s place in the world and in the workplace.

Bly’s work was part of that wave of change. She insisted that her voice be heard. She tackled hard-hitting topics for the era, from women’s rights and the injustices of poverty to advocating for reform of Pennsylvania’s divorce laws.

“[Bly] understood how to tap into the zeitgeist,” says journalist Brooke Kroeger, who wrote the biography Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. “She understood that she lived in the Progressive Era and that there was a new day for women.”

“Nearly all night long I listened to a woman cry about the cold and beg for God to let her die,” Bly recalled. “Another one yelled, ‘Murder!’ at frequent intervals and ‘Police!’ at others until my flesh felt creepy.”

Ten days after entering the asylum, lawyers from the New York World arranged for Bly’s release. When the paper printed the initial segment of her first-person account, the public was shocked.

Her groundbreaking exposé led to lasting change, spurring a grand jury investigation and a nearly $1 million increase in New York City’s budget to care for people living with mental illness.

During her career, Bly snuck inside sweatshops, orphanages, prisons, and all sorts of places to learn about their conditions and shed light on the injustices she saw. 

Among the first in her era to practice undercover investigative reporting, Bly laid the groundwork for other journalists to take risks in service of holding powerful people and institutions accountable (see timeline slideshow, below).

“Nearly all night long I listened to a woman cry about the cold and beg for God to let her die,” Bly recalled. “Another one yelled, ‘Murder!’ at frequent intervals and ‘Police!’ at others until my flesh felt creepy.”

Ten days after entering the asylum, lawyers from the New York World arranged for Bly’s release. When the paper printed the first part of her first-person account, the public was shocked.

Her groundbreaking exposé led to lasting change. In fact, it led to a grand jury investigation and a nearly $1 million increase in New York City’s budget to care for people living with mental illness.

During her career, Bly snuck inside sweatshops, orphanages, prisons, and all sorts of places. She learned all she could about their conditions and shed light on the injustices she saw. 

Bly was among the first in her era to practice undercover investigative reporting. She laid the groundwork for other journalists to take risks in service of holding powerful people and institutions accountable (see timeline slideshow, below)

In her later life, Bly covered the women’s suffrage movement. She also reported in Europe from the trenches during World War I, becoming the first woman to provide firsthand accounts of the horrors of the Eastern Front, where more than 100,000 Americans would lose their lives.    

Yet maybe the splashiest moment of Bly’s career came on an 1889 trip around the world. Inspired by the Jules Verne book Around the World in Eighty Days, she set off on a 25,000-mile journey—via ship, train, rickshaw, donkey, and more—circumnavigating the globe on her own.   

Newspapers at the time were in fierce competition for subscribers, even sensationalizing some stories to attract readers in what became known as “yellow journalism.”

Bly’s around-the-world journey, though not a form of yellow journalism, drove engagement for the World, which strung out reports of her voyage in a series of articles tracking her progress. Readers everywhere followed Bly’s trip—which spanned four continents and about 14 cities—very closely.

She made the voyage in just 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes, briefly holding the world record for such a trip.

In her later life, Bly covered the women’s suffrage movement. She also reported in Europe from the trenches during World War I. She became the first woman to provide firsthand accounts of the horrors of the Eastern Front, where more than 100,000 Americans would lose their lives.

Yet maybe the most notable moment of Bly’s career came on an 1889 trip around the world. Inspired by the Jules Verne book Around the World in Eighty Days, she set off on a 25,000-mile journey circling the globe on her own. During the trip, she traveled by ship, train, rickshaw, donkey, and more.

Newspapers at the time were in fierce competition for subscribers. Many of them played up some stories to attract readers in what became known as “yellow journalism.”

Bly’s around-the-world journey wasn’t a form of yellow journalism. Still, it drove engagement for the World, which strung out reports of her voyage in a series of articles tracking her progress. Bly’s trip spanned four continents and about 14 cities. Readers everywhere followed along very closely.

She made the voyage in just 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes. And she briefly held the world record for such a trip.

After Bly died of pneumonia in 1922, at age 57, the New York Evening Journal ran an obituary calling her “the best reporter in America.”

Now, a century after her death, a new monument honoring the intrepid reporter has been unveiled on Roosevelt Island, where the asylum once stood. The monument’s name comes from the title of the letter to the editor that launched Bly’s career.

Ever since Bly stepped into the asylum on Blackwell’s Island, many journalists have followed in her footsteps, taking risks and pushing boundaries in search of answers. Countless other far-reaching investigative stories—big and small, global and local—have hit the front pages, altering the course of history.   

“[Bly] invented investigative journalism when she went undercover in the women’s insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island.” says Brown. “She created a new brave journalism that actually has the possibility to—and often does—change the world.”

Bly died of pneumonia in 1922, at age 57. The New York Evening Journal ran an obituary calling her “the best reporter in America.”

Now, a century after her death, a new monument honoring the heroic reporter has been unveiled. It stands on Roosevelt Island, where the asylum once stood. The monument’s name comes from the title of the letter to the editor that launched Bly’s career.

Ever since Bly stepped into the asylum on Blackwell’s Island, many journalists have followed in her footsteps. They’ve taken risks and pushed boundaries in search of answers. Countless other far-reaching investigative stories—big and small, global and local—have hit the front pages. And together they’ve altered the course of history.

“[Bly] invented investigative journalism when she went undercover in the women’s insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island,” says Brown. “She created a new brave journalism that actually has the possibility to—and often does—change the world.”