Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly was the pen name of American journalist Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, known for undercover reporting, a record-setting trip around the world, and pioneering work by women in journalism.

Ten Days in a Mad-House: Nellie Bly’s 1887 account of feigning mental illness to investigate conditions at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. This undercover investigation exposed asylum abuses and became her best-known work.
Undercover journalism: Reporting that conceals a journalist’s identity or purpose to observe information otherwise difficult to obtain. Bly used concealed identity to enter an asylum and report from inside.
Elizabeth Cochran Seaman: The birth name of Nellie Bly, an American journalist who later used that name after marrying Robert Seaman. Bly’s public byline concealed the name she was born with.
New York State Lunatic Asylum Investigation: The New York legislative inquiry into asylum conditions that followed public attention to Nellie Bly’s reporting. Public response to her account helped spur an investigation and increased funding for care.
Around the World in Seventy-Two Days: Nellie Bly’s 1890 book recounting her 1889–1890 journey around the world in 72 days. The book turned her race against the clock into a widely read travel narrative.
Investigative journalism: Journalism that uncovers hidden wrongdoing or failures through sustained research and evidence gathering. Her asylum investigation helped establish a model of reporting that sought institutional reform.
Pittsburgh Dispatch: A Pittsburgh newspaper where Nellie Bly began her professional journalism career in the late nineteenth century. A reader’s letter to this paper prompted Bly’s first journalistic work.
Journalism ethics: Principles and standards that guide journalists’ accuracy, fairness, independence, and methods of obtaining information. Bly’s deceptive entry raises enduring questions about when undercover reporting is justified.
Blackwell's Island: An island in New York City that housed a major public asylum, prison, and other institutions in the nineteenth century. Bly entered its asylum undercover to report on patients’ treatment.
Stunt journalism: A form of journalism that uses dramatic personal challenges or performances to attract attention to a story. Bly’s immersive assignments made the reporter’s own experience part of the story.

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