{"id":1296,"date":"2008-11-14T06:17:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-14T06:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2008\/11\/nellie-bly-the-occasional-greatness-of-journalism\/"},"modified":"2011-11-01T15:12:03","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T19:12:03","slug":"nellie-bly-the-occasional-greatness-of-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2008\/11\/nellie-bly-the-occasional-greatness-of-journalism.html","title":{"rendered":"Nellie Bly & the (Occasional) Greatness of Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Thomas Jefferson famously observed \u201cWere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.\u201d<\/p>\n

While I would rather we have both, I feel the press is incredibly important. Actually essential. A free press, for all its problems, and I\u2019m not pretending there are not lots, is probably our best shot at guarding personal freedoms and continuing social improvement.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019ve always admired the gang, motley crew that they are.<\/p>\n

Among my favorites of this sometimes noble band would have to be Nellie Bly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bly was the pseudonym for Elizabeth Jane Cochran, born in 1864. She cut her journalist teeth feigning insanity and being committed to an insane asylum. Her subsequent stories, published eventually as the book \u201cTen Days in the Mad-House\u201d made her a journalistic celebrity, and more importantly, I think, led to some significant social changes\u2026<\/p>\n

On this day in 1888 she embarked on a journey around the world, planning on besting the fictional Phileas Fogg and his valet Passepartout. (For me always looking like David Niven & Cantinflas).<\/p>\n

She did, creating a world record for circumnavigating the globe in seventy-two days, six hours, eleven minutes and fourteen seconds. The record would stand only for a couple of months, but\u2026<\/p>\n