These female reporters secretly went to get the most important exclusive news of the day.

One day in June 1888 1 1, on a street in downtown Chicago, a thin, dark-haired young woman got away from the crowd and took the elevator to see a doctor. She has been very upset all morning, which is an unpleasant job. A few words from Thomas Hood's poem about suicide haunted her mind: "Another unfortunate person/tired of breathing/extremely uneasy,/dying." Nelly Bly: journalist, coward and feminist.

Friction matching is a boon for those ignited flames-not so much for matchmakers, but Dr. C.C.P Silva has a good reputation. He has a black goatee and a small stomach. He often appeared in the Chicago Tribune, and was a surgeon in the city's police station and a medical school. In Silva's office, a man claiming to be her brother found her and told the doctor that she was in trouble. Can he help? "

What she wants is dangerous, Silva answered the risk of inflammation or wrinkles, and added, "This must also be completely confidential. It's harmful to you, to men and to me to spit it out at once.

Then he told the man to find her a place to live and agreed to spend 75 dollars on the operation. The young woman must have promised him that she could keep a secret.

She will keep his secret for several weeks. This young woman is one of the so-called stunt female journalists in China, a female journalist in the 1980s and 1990s of 19. She went undercover and risked exposing the drawbacks of the urban system: suffocating factories, child labor, unscrupulous doctors, all kinds of scams and deception. In the weeks-long first-person story, just like a serial novel, the heroine provides a female image that has never appeared in the newspaper. She is brave, charming, extremely independent, professional and ambitious, but she does not hide women.

It is the heyday of19th Century Daily. As new technologies reduce printing costs, publishers reduce newspaper prices to attract residents of emerging cities, new immigrants and factory workers. This huge potential audience has triggered a fierce * * * war with scandals and innovative weapons.

After Nellie Bly's 1887 series "The Madhouse 10 Days" brought Joseph Pulitzer's "new york World" a windfall, everyone wanted a female stunt reporter. Less than two years after Bly was sent to the infamous Blackwell Island Mental Hospital in new york, Anne Laurie fainted in a street in San Francisco and reported to the prosecutor that she had been abused in a public hospital. Eva Gay sneaked into an industrial laundry for Sao Paulo's Globe Daily and interviewed women who were sick because of humidity. Nora Marks reported in the Chicago Tribune that 65,438+00-year-old boys were tried in Cook County Prison, and some of them had been held for more than a month.

Subscribing to Smithsonian magazine now costs only 12 dollars. This article is from the Smithsonian magazine 165438+ 10 monthly.

The stories they selected from the purchase had an impact on the real world, increased the funds for treating mental patients, and encouraged labor organizations to promote protective laws. They are very popular. Although at 1880, it was almost impossible for female journalists to disappear from women's pages, by 1900, there were more articles signed by women than men.

A lot, but the names in the signatures are often fake. Stunt reporters rely on aliases, which provide protection when they go deep into the territory of unfaithful women and stab powerful men with sticks. Anne Laurie is really cute; Guy is Eva Vales; Mark is Eleanor stackhouse. Even Nellie Bly is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cochrane. In 1889, the male editor of the reporter, a business publication, wrote: "Many of the smartest women often disguise their identities, not with one alias, but with six aliases." . "This makes any reliable reputation almost impossible."

Compared with the whistleblower after Jacob August Riis and his tenacious photo "How the other half lives" in the book; Ida Tabell and she reported the mess at the core of Standard Oil Company in 1902; Upton sinclair and Jungle, whose novels about meat processing plants are rarely known by stunt reporters, are rarely respected. One of them was a woman who wrote "Exposing Abortion" in the Chicago Times at 1888 under the signature of "Female Reporter". Her personal story can be pieced together from newspaper clippings, legal records and moldy professional catalogues, which is perhaps the most typical example of these journalists claiming female identity and erasing it over time. Illinois bill 1867

It is illegal for doctors to have an abortion, and they will be sentenced to 2 to 10 years' imprisonment. Except for real medical or surgical purposes. According to her statistics, the female reporter visited more than 200 doctors in three weeks, pleading, crying and taking notes. A medical magazine ridiculed her as a "beauty who loves to cry", and she recorded expenses ranging from 40 to 250 dollars (about 1000 to 6000 dollars today). Among those who agree to abortion, or introduce her to Dr. J. H. Etheridge, President of Chicago Medical Association. Her series is the earliest known in-depth study of illegal abortion. According to Leslie Reagan, a historian who wrote many articles about women's health and law,

Reading history, especially women's private lives, is like peeping through twisted dark glass. The female reporter flung open the window. In scene after scene, people's dialogue has never entered the textbook. When I called to ask her if she knew who the reporter might be, Reagan told me that although the purpose of the propaganda was to "correct a terrible evil", it showed the complexity and subtlety of this prohibited behavior. (She didn't. ) "This is amazing. I have never found such a thing anywhere else. Chicago times

*****

It is unlikely to be a good news candidate. During the civil war against Lincoln and supporting slavery, it was notorious for its inflammatory remarks and digging up the best things for burial. A former reporter summed up his early experience like this: "Scandals in private life, disgusting details obtained from the evidence tried by the police court, the relationship between fictional dirty characters, the stench, the cauldron of the times boiling like the soup of hell, and the nostrils of decent people stink."

However, at the end of 1887, when a new publisher, James J.West, took over the magazine, he decided that it would soon become "one of the most capable and beautiful journals in the world" and tried his best to make it a reality: H. Reed, a British new adventure writer. Haggard's novel The Times funded a project to find bison in Texas and domesticate them to save them from extinction. A writer will submit an exclusive report on homing pigeons.

Until July 1888, a journalist named Helen Kusak, a teacher, put on a shabby skirt and a brown veil to look for a job. In factories and sweatshops, she sewed coats and insoles, interviewed colleagues in hot and poorly ventilated places and did mathematical calculations. At Zhuoyue Underwear Company, she was given a pile of shirts at 80 cents per dozen, and then charged 50 cents for sewing machine rent and 35 cents for sewing. Not far away, another woman was reprimanded for leaving oil stains on her body. She must pay to clean them. In an article signed by Nell Nelson, she wrote: "But what is worse than worn-out shoes, rags, dirty wardrobes, dim lights, high temperature and dirty atmosphere is the cruel treatment of those in power." . Her series "City Slave Girls" ran for several weeks.

Circulation soared, while West both fell in stunt reports. He approached Chaping, and his city was in trouble. When a doctor coldly refused, she imagined saying, "Don't talk nonsense with me. I am as lucky as anyone else in the world except my bad luck.

In the first issue, she carefully considered her tasks and uneasy feelings. In the process of pretending to be someone else, she lost her personality and self-awareness.

Today, I kept thinking that if I had to do it again, she wrote, "I'll work in a newspaper." "My childhood dream was that one day I would be a writer, a great writer, and shock the world with my works," she wrote.

"But has it ever occurred to me that I must start a newspaper by completing such homework?"

"Well, no"

As a young reporter, she will interview Pete on the same terms as men. But this task is completely different: "a man can't do it."

(Chicago Research Library Center) * * * * *

The abortion exhibition is West's dream work. Eight months ago, The Times published an advertisement for abortion drugs, which were sold in chichester as English Pennyroyal pills. The editorial page of the newspaper is full of calls for law enforcement and the elimination of abortion. The article puts forward remedial measures. Women need guidance on the happiness of motherhood. Maybe someone should be lying in the hospital. Or doctors should meet stricter certification requirements. Missionaries should not be too sharp about the discussion about abortion in the forum.

In January, the editor received a large number of letters, full of praise and anger, as well as frank comments on gender relations. A father wrote that he wanted to protect his 18-year-old daughter from these articles, but he decided to let her read them "at all costs". Another letter entitled "Take my husband to school" raised the question of * * *. Another female doctor said that in her first year of practice, patients had asked her to have 300 abortions. A doctor, who asked not to be named, admitted that the entreaties of female reporters may have shaken him. He drove away a woman, but a few days later, after she committed suicide, he was called to her house. "We have the responsibility to protect life as much as possible. Did I do it? He asked:

Although the editorial of The Times attacked the crime of infanticide, its report raised more questions than answered them. 18-year-old child, whose father reluctantly handed over the home page? Although the newspaper is preaching, it is hard for her to avoid the impression that abortion is blind and anyone can ask for abortion with strong will. She may even meet kindness and understanding. Readers receive education in technology, specific drugs and dosage. As many readers keenly predicted, no one was arrested (although Dr. Silva was fired as a police surgeon). They suggested that this series of reports can be interpreted as advertisements on the list of doctors, rather than public humiliation.

The Times took advantage of its curiosity about the female reporter. An illustration on the editorial page shows five sketches, in which the female figure is thin, with black hair, front bangs, back bun and apron over the collar. They bowed their heads, or looked up, their expressions were melancholy or half-smiling, and the Mona Lisa was drawn in lines. It says, "Guess which one is the' female reporter'?

I started to guess.

********

1888 How many girl journalists are there in Chicago? Who will intersect with the Chicago Times? "As it turns out,

Too many,

Nell Nelson, who was hired by new york Le Monde after successfully cooperating with Urban Slave, just left the city. Ilya Petty, who writes about ghosts for the Tribune, is on her way to Nebraska. Both of them may have spent some time in Chicago. Nora marks received perfect training and became a stunt reporter for the Tribune. Elizabeth Jordan will be the editor of The World, Bees and Harper Fair. She hasn't left Milwaukee yet, but she is submitting a report for Chicago Daily.

Nell Nelson's "Urban Slave Girls" series emphasizes working conditions and is combined with rural newspapers to warn young women who may be tempted by city lights. (Source: Library of Congress)

It is even more daunting to cast a net outside the Illinois border. Shortly after the female journalist finished her series of reports, she published a 20-page article focusing on female writers, including two pages about African-American journalists, from Mary E. Britten, who edited a column for the Lexington Herald, to Ida B. Wells, who reported racial inequality for the Evening Star. It did not provide the names of the female journalists.

However, the popularity of her series of programs provides her with a way of identity: large sales also means litigation. A doctor Reynolds sued for libel and $25,000 because his name might be confused with another doctor Reynolds, who was listed as "a doctor who helped other abortions". A few days later, Dr. Walter Noel sued for $25,000. In June 5438+10, Dr. Silva sued The Times for $50,000, and Chicago Post was also acquired by West for $50,000. According to the Rochelle Herald,

After investigating the litigation environment, "their female journalists will have a lot of trouble to testify in court."

I realized that a named witness, a person who may be called to testify.

*****

In the building of Cook County Circuit Court, citizens are wandering around with their children, looking confused and demanding traffic control or divorce court. But the archives are quiet.

A week ago, while waiting for the file I applied to enter, I searched the database of competitors' files online, which may be anxious to exclude female journalists. "International Ocean Daily" mentioned that Silva not only sued newspapers and West like others; He also sued two men and one woman: "Florence Noble, alias Margaret Noble." A small town newspaper also wrote the lawsuit, adding "female reporter" in brackets after the woman's name.

Now I have Silva's file, and the email is on the desk in front of me. They are fragile dirty cardboard, folded into three parts and filled with paper. A case usually has a narrative, and the plaintiff states the plaintiff's complaint. There is a handwritten note in front of the e-mail narrative, which says that the attachment of the original is "lost from the file". The narrative of the Times lawsuit was completely lost. Nothing else. Before the end of 1889, West was sentenced to prison for over-issuing shares of Times Company. Five years later, The Chicago Times went out of business. The remaining legal documents are lawyers freed from the case.

, but there is a summons to "Chicago Times Company, James J West, Joseph R Dunlop, alias Margaret Noble and Bourne". On the back, the agent scribbled that he had served the summons on the newspaper, West and Dunlop, but did not mention Noble and Bourne. This means that, probably, they can't find it in the county. Florence Noble is missing.

From the 1980s in 19 to the 1990s in 19, no newspaper or magazine could search for a reporter named Florence Noble on the Internet. There is no member of this name in the archives of the Illinois Women's Press Association. Over the years, no Florentine aristocrat has appeared on the Chicago list. The Chicago Medical Association expressed its anger at this incident at several meetings, but never gave any in-depth description of this female reporter. I compared her literary quirks with famous journalists in Chicago, but she didn't succeed.

Of course, the Florentine aristocracy may also be her pseudonym. Of course, "Florence" will remind people of the medical heroine florence nightingale. "Noble" will be an obvious choice. An editorial in The Times is a headline. Ed winked and said, "This is a noble work."

Or the series may be too humiliating to start a career. Shantou reports have a bad overall reputation and operate on the edge of decency; Pretending to be pregnant before marriage and seeking abortion may have crossed the reporter's bottom line and escaped unscathed. In hindsight, anonymity seems unfortunate, but it may be necessary. "new york World" reporter Elizabeth? In her Story of a City Room, Elizabeth Jordan wrote a short story about a respected young woman who was lured by an indifferent editor to write a "sensational" article. Back in the office, all her male colleagues stared at her. In order to keep her reputation, she had to resign and get married.

*****

Nevertheless, by 1896, there are too many female stunt reporters in the world, and its Sunday magazine can hardly accommodate this kind of * * *. The Bold Action of the World's Fearless Female Journalists on Sunday: The title spans two pages. Nelly Bly announced that she would form an all-female army to fight for Cuba, Dorothy ventured aboard the pilot ship in the storm, and Kate Swan McQueen rode naked in the circus. Especially McGuire, there must be too much adrenaline. If she didn't jump off the boat under the name "Kate Swan" to write stories about rescuers near Coney Island and didn't see the feeling of being tied to the electric chair, then she bought opium without a prescription. There are new neurological tests every week. In her spare time, she wrote some serious articles, often on the same page as The Adventures of Swan, signed as "Mrs. mcguire".

These features, accompanied by lush, half-page illustrations, depict the scene of women facing danger, with unkempt hair and skirts. Nothing can predict anything better than the heroine in ic books. (See Brenda Starr and lois lane) As the stakes plummet, the public interest becomes more and more difficult to interpret, and journalists are ridiculed. This style is regarded as a fashion. They accept writing from a female perspective in the female body, which makes them more likely to be regarded as irrelevant. Scandals become stupid. Finally, these articles are as harmless as the women's edition. As a genre, stunt reporting initially provided opportunities for fresh voices and unknown stories, but ultimately covered up originality and personal contributions.

But the contribution is real. Journalists pioneered some techniques, which Tom Wolfe later praised in the Press Declaration of 1973. These techniques involve new news details such as social status, scene-by-scene construction, dialogue and unique and private views, which makes non-fiction creation very popular today. Brooke krogh, the author of Undercover Investigation Report, Deceiving the Truth and Bly Biography, told me that their stunt was not lion training and chorus, but that the person who challenged the organization was "the pioneer of a comprehensive investigation report".

What about Florence Nobel? Without her identity, her series of works are not like novels, but more like a photo of rice. As an early flash photography experimenter, he would rush into a dark apartment room, wake up the residents and sprinkle magnesium powder on the frying pan. The situation at that time must be correct: maybe a young reporter was stupid and brave; A newspaper that does not lose money; An industry that reinvents itself; A group of doctors and midwives are willing to break the recent law. Then open the shutter and aim the flame at the powder to get bright light.