Nellie Bye is one of America's most influential journalists of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Her writing focused mainly on social problems, and inspired reforms. She pioneered techniques such as undercover and immersion journalism. Her most well-known undercover story was that of an insane asylum in New York. Nellie Bly pretended to be insane, and stayed in a madhouse for several days, reporting on the horrible conditions there. Nellie Bly's writings have inspired and influenced many modern journalists.
A newspaper's purpose is to inform the public of events and situations in the world around them. However, newspapers are no longer the only source of public information. Radio, television, and the internet, for example, have become increasing popular methods of obtaining news. Newspapers have adapted to advances such as the internet by making their stories available online.
One of the most influential books in my life is Herman Wouk's The Winds of War. I am actually just beginning this novel, but I already find it very intriguing. The story tells of the beginnings of World War Two, but also contains fictional characters and plotlines. These stories are continued in Wouk's next novel, War and Rememberance, which is on my desk and will be read as soon as I finish Winds of War.