Essay On Muckraking

One main conflict, that ties to multiple conflicts during the Progressive Movement, across the U.S is the conflict caused by the "grave evils" of political machines that make the lives of all people during this age, extremely difficult. Sadly, this is because the laws of the country have not kept up with the change of circumstances in this country. Because of the lack of government regulation, reflecting Laissez-faire, unethical and abusive practices occurred during the Gilded Age, then continued onto the Progressive movement. "Politics in America is in a case which sadly requires attention. The system set up by our law and our usage doesn't work or at least, it can't be depended upon." The government was designed for the people to have a say

Having served nearly thirty years at CBS News, Mr. Goldberg had earned a reputation as one of the most original writers and thinkers in broadcast journalism. However, when he observed his own industry, he realized the liberal media had completely missed their mission to give honest news. After years of sharing his observations and promoting more balanced reportings, Goldberg soon realized that no one listened because they believed they were doing the right thing. The liberal bias continued, therefore Bernard Goldberg decided to take the situation into his own hands and expose the distortion of the media himself. Goldberg’s breathtaking and shocking best seller book, Bias, reveals the close-mindedness of the news culture and their mission to entertain rather than share facts.

As society advances and the opinions of the general public change several press outlets work to stay up to date with the changing times. However, in an attempt to stay modernized journalists often times sacrifice their integrity to stay favorable in the public eye. These degrading actions, often times sacrifice the true news for more appealing news. Clare Boothe Luce, American journalist and politician, gives a controversial speech to the Women’s National Press Club condemning her female audience. Moreover, as a female addressing an audience of women she is able to give her true opinion and is able to honestly critique her colleagues. She persuades her audience by preparing them for the criticism by reiterating that she is the guest, by praising journalism, and by logically providing reasoning that the journalistic view must change for the good of the general public.

Coined “mudrakers” by President Theodore Roosevelt, journalists wrote investigative articles exposing social, economic and political scandals. The writers detailed the many horrors of poverty, urban slums, dangerous factory conditions, and even child labor. No one was safe from the “mudrakers”, their articles took aim at the food and insurance industries, prostitution and political bribery and corruption. All which satisfied the American public’s appetite for scandal. Not unlike the sensationalism used by media today to help influence public

In the Progressive Era, influential journalists wanted to expose the government and big business of their flaws to American citizens with using factual and proven evidence against them. Muckrakers, who are journalists that seek out the truth of corruption among the government and business leaders, became well known due to how many people were amazed by the revealed injustices and dishonesty in the

It was perplexing time for The New York Times; a chapter, in their long-run, of fabrications that are now consider fabulists and egregious plagiarism. Hard News by Seth Mnookin, recounts the time a narcissistic and pedantic executive editor, named Howell Raines took took charged of the steering-wheel of one of the most reliable and prominent newspapers in the nation. It is described how Raines and other high-profiled and important figures for the paper, such as managing editor Gerald M. Boyd, dealt with the Jayson Blair’s scandal. The Jayson Blair scandal is about the terrible repercussions when plagiarism and fabulism is committed by a reporter. It not only tarnishes the reporter’s reputation but the newspaper’s transparency as a whole. I

“Have you ever seen a fast-food ad that shows the factories where French fries are made? Ever seen a fast-food ad that shows the slaughterhouses where cattle are turned into ground beef? Ever seen an ad that tells you what’s really in your fast-food milkshake and why some strange-sounding chemicals make it taste so good? Ever seen an ad that shows overweight, unhealthy kids stuffing their faces with greasy fries at a fast-food restaurant? You probably haven’t. But you’ve probably seen a lot of fast-food commercials that show thin, happy children having a lot of fun.” (Schlosser et al). The book Chew on This explains and reveals almost everything to know about fast food and the process of making it. Each chapter is different. First there is the background of fast food restaurants, and then they get into the juice about the food itself. This book is a huge example of modern day muckraking. Muckraking is when a writer or publisher reveals scandalous information about people

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary a muckraker is someone who “searches out and publicly exposes real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business” (“Muckraker”). During the 1890s to the 1920s, muckrakers were a group of American journalists who exposed the corruption in society and informed the public about important social issues. The term muckraker originally came around when President Roosevelt gave a speech about reporters who exposed political and corporate corruption ("Who Are the Muckrakers?”). There have been so many muckrakers in American history whose works have been the cause of new laws and changes; some of the most important and famous of these muckrakers were Upton Sinclair, Samuel Hopkins Adams, and Jacob Riis.

Muckrakers are American journalists who work to expose social and political problems in society. The ideas of these individuals circulate in newspapers and in magazines, creating a large impact on the public. I have interviewed individuals about problems in today’s society and have visited areas where these problems are best seen. As a muckraker myself, I plan on exposing the truths of these issues so hopefully these problems can be resolved.

What does muckraking mean? Muckrakers is known to be “ the action of searching out and publicising scandalous information about famous people in a underhanded way. The muckrakers were a group of journalists from the 1890s to the 1920s who turned American society upside down by exposing corruption and informing readers about important social issues.

Muckrakers are journalists who expose corruption and conditions of certain working environments. Muckrakers had and still have an important impact on society. They have affected people for the better and for their own good. Two important muckrakers who succeeded was Upton Sinclair and Dave Savini. They both found out the bizarre conditions of meat and food.Without them people would be in danger.

In, “One Man’s Rumer I Another Man’s Reality, Gregory Rodriguez, an author of the Los Angeles Times he argues about the power of broadcasting the truth and its effect on the people. As a result, “can false rumors and off-the-wall theories be corrected by broadcasting the truth” (Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2009)?

There has to be some that went against or even questioned the material; that they had laid out for the public to view. Beyond a shadow of a doubt the readers and onlookers discussed all that had been written in their everyday conversations. There were things that had been covered up for so long by so many until all the light that was shed on these situations caused for there to be some action taken. Many corporations developed and implemented guidelines that were to be followed in order to ease the minds and hearts of the public. Are there any modern day muckrakers?

With the recent explosion of social media, many rely heavily, often excessively, on the internet for their news about the world. While being bombarded with fabricated stories and corrupted facts, the public struggles to find the actual truth, creating an entirely new realm of responsibility for journalists. They are forced to delve deeper than ever before, beyond comfort, in order to superficially scratch the surface of truth. This practice of exploitation and rooted research was coined “muckraking” by Theodore Roosevelt during a speech in 1906. While this term had carried a negative connotation for decades, Jessica Mitford, the late investigative journalist, transformed that perspective and graciously accepted the title “Queen of the Muckrakers”. Mitford was correct in her prideful title, as muckrakers have fulfilled a valuable role in the creation of policy over time, as well as acting as an integral component in modern day media, full of deception and bias.

The media has been adversely affected by the explosion of information sources. It has become a tedious and cumbersome endeavor to accurately locate information sources that can stand to even the slightest bit of scrutinizing. For those who attempt to report the truth, they continue to find it