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AmberTyner
Mrs.Killingsworth
HonorsMentorship
25January2016
AnnotatedBibliography#2:
ABriefHistoryofMediaMuckraking
Inthissource,thetermmuckrakingandpopularexamplesofsuchjournalismisanalyzed.
Simplyput,thephraseisusedtodescribethesomewhatinfamousjobofbeingajournalist.
CoinedbyTheodoreRooseveltin1906,muckrakingwasusedtodenotethenarrow
mindednessofreporters(Foremanpara.2).Althoughviewedasnegativeatthetime,this
muckrakingwasandcontinuestobeoneofthemostimportantjobsofthecountryinformingthe
citizens.
Journalistshavebeendespisedtremendouslythroughouttheyears,especiallyintheeyesof
governmentfigures.Thismakessense,seeingashowreportersrevealthetruth,whetherits
goodorbad.Oneofthemostmemorablepublicincidentsofbadpresswithinthegovernmentas
thatoftheWatergateScandal.ReportersWoodwardandBernsteintargetedthecorruptnessof
presidentRichardNixon,whoultimatelyresignedbeforebeingimpeached(Foremanpara.1).
AlthoughdislikedbyNixon,thetwojournalistskeptthepeopleofthecountryinformedofwhat
washappening.
ThiskindofinvestigativereportingbeganlongbeforeWatergatethough.Consideredthetwo
fathersofmodernjournalism,RichardSteeleandJosephAddisonwantedtoinform,educate,
entertain,andreformtheBritishsocietyin1711(Foremanpara.3).Inthe1770s,theBritish

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pressbegantotakeinterestinthegovernmentbypursuingtherighttoparliamentarydebates,
whichultimatelyledtothefreedomtoreportonpolitics.(Foremanpara.4).
AmericabecameintroducedtothistypeofjournalismduringtheCivilWar.WilliamHoward
Russellwastheworldsfirstwarcorrespondentwhenhevisited,andirritated,theU.S.withhis
tactics(Foremanpara.5).However,theAmericanpresssoontookonthisinvestigative
journalisticstyleafewyearslaterwhenexposingWilliamBossTweedofTammanyHallas
wellasthecongressmanoftheCreditMobilierrailroadscandal(Foreman,para.5).
DuringtheProgressiveEra,crusadingjournalismwasabighit.TheHardingadministration
wasassociatedwithbriberyandcollusion,andthefirstundercoverreporter,ElizabethJane
Cochrane,cameabout(Foremanpara.6).
Followingthisaboutfifteenyearslater,IdaTarbellwroteaboutJohnD.Rockefellers
StandardOilMonopoly,whichhelpedleadtothecompanysdeclinewiththeSherman
AntiTrustAct(Foremanpara.8).JournalistIdaB.WellsrevealedthehorrorofSouthernlynch
mobsduringthistimethroughherstrenuousefforts(Foremanpara.8).
Thevariousmuckrakersofthepastmaynothavebeenwelllookeduponbyeveryone,but
theydidhaveaphenomenalimpact.Withouttheirreporting,societywouldnothavemademany
oftheadvancesthatitdid.Themuckrakerstodayhavethesameimportanceandshouldbe
appreciated.
Thissourceprovidemewithmultiple,usefulquotations.Tobeginmyresearchproject,Ihave
toidentifythefactthatsomepeopledonotlikejournalists.BeforeIcanprovethatjournalists
shouldberespectedandtrusted,Ihavetoshowthatsometimestheyarent,andIcandothiswith
thefollowingquote:
Whentheworld'sfirstwarcorrespondent,WilliamHowardRussell,came

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totheU.S.toreportontheCivilWar,hisbrandofnonpartisan,investigativejournalismirritated
manyAmericans(Foremanpara.5).ThequoteshowsthatAmericansdidntlikejournalism.
Towardstheendofmyresearch,Iwillwanttostatehowjournalistsareimportantandshouldbe
trustedduetotheiraccomplishmentsinthepast,andthiscanbefoundinthequote,The
muckrakershaven'talwaysreceivedtheirduefromhistory(Foremanpara.9)

Althoughthisarticlecomesfroma.comsource,thesourceitselfhasanelongatedhistory
withjournalism.TheWallStreetJournalwasfoundedin1889andisabusinessfocused
newspaper.Thearticlewasfoundunderthehistoricallyspeakingsectionandtheauthor,
AmandaForeman,iswellknownhistorianandbiographer.Additionally,thearticleasfound
undertheapprovedsearchengine,SearchSweet.
Thisarticlewillbeofgreatbenefitwhenitcomestomycapstoneproject.Iamnowfocusing
onhowtoshowpeoplethatjournalismisgoodsothatitwillhaveamoretrustworthyimage.
Theseexampleswillhelpshowjusthowimportantthefieldisinthepublicslives.OnceIcan
provethatmuckrakingisvital,thenpeoplewillmostlikelyhaveamorewelcomingheart
towardsjournalists.

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WorksCited

Foreman,Amanda."ABriefHistoryofMediaMuckraking."
WSJ
.TheWallStreetJournal,25
July2014.Web.23Jan.2016.