What is a Muckraker?

What is the definition of a muckraker?

What is a muckraker?

Who were the muckrakers?

Dear reader, can you tell me who the muckrakers were?

What did muckrakers do?

Hey, do you know what muckrakers did?

Answer:

The term muckraker refers to reformist journalists who wrote predominantly in the US journals of the early twentieth century. It is related to research journalism, sensationalism and vigilant journalism. The Watergate case is an example of this.

Muckrakers were reform-minded American journalists who exposed social ills, corruption, and misdeeds in business and politics during the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s). They were known for their investigative reporting and their efforts to bring about change by exposing the truth.

These journalists sought to inform and educate the public about the injustices and wrongdoing that were taking place in society, often at great personal risk. They played a key role in raising awareness about issues such as child labor, unsafe working conditions, and political corruption.

One of the most famous muckrakers was Upton Sinclair, whose novel "The Jungle" exposed the unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry and led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906.

Other notable muckrakers include Ida Tarbell, known for her exposé on the Standard Oil Company, and Lincoln Steffens, who investigated political corruption in cities across the country.

Former US President Theodore Roosevelt famously referred to these journalists as muckrakers, after a character in John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress," Man with Muckrake, who scrapes the animals' dung from a stable. Despite the negative connotations of the term, muckrakers were instrumental in bringing about social and political reforms in the United States.