Browse Primary Sources · Undercover Reporting

I-"In the Guise of a Beggar" - E.M.S - New York World

". . .The next who passed was a poor laborer. He came towards me. I was standing back and had not asked him for anything. He put five cents in my hand. 'God help you,' he said, in a low, sympathetic voice, as he reared on. . ."

New York World 1890-03-16

"Campaign Desk: Stingers from Our Past" - Joel Meares - CJR

". . . How exactly do we assess such a thing [undercover stings]? It’s not scientific. But Poynter’s Bob Steele has ventured in the past to provide a checklist of rather strict guidelines that must all be adhered to if deception is to be justified in journalism. These include: the information obtained being in the public interest; all alternative methods of obtaining the information being exhausted; the story being told fully; any harm prevented outweighing the harm caused by the deception; and all ethical and legal issues being closely considered. With those in mind, and the particulars of each case on hand, here’s our trip down an ethically murky memory lane. . . . "

Columbia Journalism Review 2011-03-10

"The Observatory; Heartland, Gleick, and Media Law" - Curtis Brainard - CJR

Columbia Journalism Review 2012-03-01

"Brooke Kroeger on James O'Keefe and Undercover Reporting: A CJR Podcast" - Editors - CJR

". . . In this conversation, Kroeger argues that undercover reporting is incredibly valuable for its power to reveal truths and affect reform in our society, and that it should not be dismissed by the more traditional journalistic community; just look at the results, she says. In fact, she points out, mainstream news outlets have often partnered with advocacy groups to do this kind of work, all throughout the history of journalism in the US. . . . "

Columbia Journalism Review 2011-03-15

"The Ethics of Undercover Journalism" - Columbia Journalism Review - Greg Marx

". . . And while O’Keefe has acknowledged that, “on reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation,” he also told Hannity he was operating in an established tradition: “We used the same tactics that investigative journalists have been using. In all the videos I do, I pose as something I’m not to try to get to the bottom of the truth.” During the interview, he and Hannity name-checked a few specific predecessors, among them PrimeTime Live’s Food Lion investigation, 60 Minutes, 20/20, and Dateline NBC, including its “To Catch a Predator” series. . . ."

Columbia Journalism Review 2010-02-04

"With the Prison Matrons" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"'Seventeen years is a long time for an innocent woman to be in prison.' I answered the speaker with a sympathetic smile. I though, as I glanced at the kindly face and the neatly dressed hair, which Time has touched with frosty fingers what love of humanity, what patience she must possess to spend seventeen years in unceasing labor for the ill-fated outcast world. . ."

New York World 1889-01-13

"Nellie Bly's 700 Doctors" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"I am still ill. Two weeks ago I had seven physicians who charged large fees. Today I have 700 physicians who diagnose my case and prescribe without charge. . ."

New York World 1889-11-10

"Nellie Bly at West Point" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"Ah! It's very nice to be a cadet, but it's much nicer to be a cadet's 'cousin.' The West Point cadets and their 'cousins,' with an occasional sprinkling of sisters and mothers had a lovely time last week. I was at the West Point Hotel for a day or so enjoying the closing exercises of our historic military school and the way happiness was booming was enough to coax the sugar-water out of the maple trees that it might mingle with the sweetness which prevailed everywhere. . ."

New York World 1889-06-09

"Jolly at the French Ball" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"I went to the French Ball fully prepared to be terribly shocked. But I wasn't. If I had never been to the seashore and witnessed the bathing, or to the opera-house and seen the occupants of the boxes, I might have been. . ."

New York World 1889-02-10

"In a Poor Babies' Hospital" - Unsigned - New York World

"This little scene occurred in the ante-room of the Post-Graduate Hospital in East Twentieth street, anf two weeks later the reporter visited the hospital on a reception day—a babies' reception day—and the hospital wore quite a holiday air."

New York World 1889-03-10

"Another Wicked Swindle" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"Swindlers and swindled! Divide the population of America into two parts and you have two classes- the swindlers and the swindled, and the census of one will equal that of the other every time. . ."

New York World 1889-03-31

"A Female Usurer's Trick" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"Everybody who strolls up the west side of Broadway to the theaters knows the brightly lighted windows of Mrs. Theresa Lynch, with the strings of diamonds sparkling under the electric lights. Nobody knows exactly just what Mrs. Lynch does in her little back office except those who have her confidence. . ."

New York World 1889-05-12

IV-"Eva Gay's Travels" - Eva Gay - St. Paul Gobe

". . . I was told that a union exists among the employers so that they may the more readily dictate wages . . . I suggested that the girls organize themselves for protection . . ."

St. Paul Globe 1888-04-22

III-"Working in the Wet" - Eva Gay - St. Paul Globe

". . . last week I visited one of the largest branches of industry in the city -- the laundries. Their number is legion, grading up from the shanty owned and run by a single 'heathen Chinee' to the large brick blocks equipped with improved machinery and employing many operatives."During my travels, I have explored nearly every establishment in the city, and find a certain class of evils exist even among the best . . . "

St. Paul Globe 1888-04-15

"Nellie Bly on the Wing" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"Miss Saidee Polk Fall is the belle of Nashville, Tennessee. Her mother was adopted and educated by Mrs. James Knox Polk, whose niece she is. After the death of President Polk Mrs. Fall, then a little black-eyed girl, was the only companion the sorrowing widow had to share her lonely home. . ."

New York World 1888-11-04

"The Infamy of the Park" - Nellie Bly -New York World

"Many complaints have come, from time to time, to THE WORLD touching park policemen. Women complain that they dare not go to the Park alone because of the familiar and offensive manner of these officers—those paid guardians of property and quietness."

New York World 1888-08-05

"Why Don't Women Reform?" - Nellie Bly - New York World

"The courtroom was dark and and forbidding. On an elevated platform, inclosed by a high board partition, sat Judge Ford, a pleasant silver-haired man, who seemed to judge rightly the accused brought before him."

New York World 1888-06-17

"A Month in the Workhouse" - W. P. H. - New York World

"For a man who has never experienced what it is to be cribbed, cabined and confined, it is no light matter to be subjected to the machine-like direction of those who appear to be selected for the discharge of their duties principally because of their stolid indifference to all the claims and instincts of humanity."

New York World 1888-06-10

Comment: "Comment at Albany" - Unsigned - New York World

New York World 1888-04-02

"Even Hogs Fare Better" - Unsigned - New York World

". . .As the immigrants crowded into the two cars guarded by the gentlemen of the brogue and him of the club. they were followed by a railroad hand with a lantern, who kept yelling 'Two in a seat! Two in a seat!' and seeing that The World reporter did not sit down quite as quickly as he would have liked to have him, he grabbed him by the shoulder and yelled in his ear: 'Why in h--- don't you sit down there where i put you. . .?'"

New York World 1888-03-04

"Skilful Cigarette Girls" - Fannie B. Merrill - New York World

"There is no more unimportant looking object than a paper cigarette. Even when it borrows grace from the browned figures and ruby lips of a daring girl it is association that makes it important and not divine right. . ."

New York World 1887-11-20

VIII-"The Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"The Secession newspapers express gratification that Mr. William H. Russell, the graphic correspondent of 'The London Times,' is to visit the South. They profess to court investigation, whenever it is made in a spirit of truth and candor. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-04-16

VII-"The Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"As I wrote you in my last, we of the city expressed 'our sentiments' in regard to the late State Convention, at last Monday's Judicial election. Today we have received a voice from the country on the same subject. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-04-12

VI-"The Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"We, the people (I know this beginning is ponderous, but I spent so much time in the late virtueus and lamented Louisiana Convention that I fall quite unconsciously into the official style) - we, the people, made a demonstration yesterday, of no great intrinsic importance, but very significant, as a straw showing which way the wind blows. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-04-09

V-"Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"The closing session of the State Convention yesterday was a very turbulent one. After the transaction of miscellaneous business, the ordinance making the judiciary appointive instead of elective, came up. . ."

The New York Tribune Thursday, April 4, 1861

IV-"Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"The edifice in which the sessions of the State Convention are held is one of the most elegant and harmonious public buildings in the city. It is located on St. Charles street, facing Lafayette square - one of the admirable little parks which are the pride of New Orleans - and a short distance from the imposing First Presbyterian Church, in which the well-known Dr. Palmer dispenses a sound Pro-Slavery gospel. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-03-29

III-"The Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"In order to close my last in season for the mail, I was compelled to cut short my account of the debate in our State Convention upon Mr. Cannon's ordinance for submitting the Montgomery Constitution to a vote of the people. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-03-28

II-"The Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"Yesterday was a lively day in the Louisiana Convention. In the first place, Mr. Bienvenu threw a hot shot into the Secessionist camp, by offering an ordinance requesting the President of the Convention to lay before that body the popular vote in each parish for the election of delegates to this Convention. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-03-25

I-"The Pro-Slavery Rebellion: From Louisiana" - [Albert Richardson] - New York Daily Tribune

"Citizens of Northern birth are numerous throughout the Gulf States. Many are among the heaviest business men in the cities and a few are a few planters in the rural districts. Their position during the present revolution is peculiarly embarrassing. . ."

The New York Tribune 1861-03-23

"Exclusive! John Roy Carlson Documents Discovered" - Hillel Stavis - Solomonia

"John Roy Carlson - not exactly a household name today. Sixty years ago, however, he was the nation's bestselling non-fiction writer. His real name was Avedis 'Arthur' Derounian, an Armenian American investigative journalist whose career was ignited by the brutal assassination of Archbishop Leon Tourian at the altar of his church in New York in 1933. The assassins were members of the fascist Armenian, pro-Nazi group, the Dashnags. Young Derounian spent the rest of his life fighting fascism, the Dashnags and, eventually, a burgeoning Islamic Jihadism. . ."

"Fifth Column - with American Labels" - Edward N. Jenks - The New York Times

". . .Shocked by his discovery and by its implications, he decided to 'join the movement' and by working from within to learn what he could of its activities and connections. . ."

The New York Times 1943-07-18

"Books of the Times" - Orville Prescott - The New York Times

". . .He went 'under cover,' joined scores of seditious groups, became a leader among them and the trusted friend of many of the most powerful and vicious individuals in this country, and collected an enormous pile of documents and data running to millions of words. . ."

The New York Times 1943-07-19

"Women in Journalism" - Carolyn Kitch - From "American Journalism: History, Principles, Practices"

". . .At the same time women were writing about domestic matters, newspapers began to employ them to create another kind of journalism: tales of social abuse and crime that boosted newspaper circulations in the era of Hearst and Pulitzer. Pulitzer's 'New York World,' the paper that employed 'Jennie June' to write its women's page, also hired 'Nellie Bly.' Bly, whose real name was Elizabeth Cochrane, became the first internationally-famous female journalist with her round-the-world race in 1980, beating a female reporter from a rival Hearst paper. . ."

"English and American Mistresses and Maid Servants—A Comparative Study" - Elizabeth Banks - The New York Times

"In England they think they have a 'servant problem.' In America we know we have one. That is one of the principal differences between the two countries in regard to the problem of how to get one's housework done. . ."

The New York Times 1905-01-08

"Tips Versus Social Equality and Self-Respect" - Elizabeth Banks - The New York Times

"'Tip and be glad!' says Mr. F. Hopkinson Smith. Tip and be sorry, say I, at least as far as I myself am concerned, and in order to give a great, big, strong, healthy man 10 cents, go without the dish of ice cream or strawberries which I need to properly round out my humble 25-cent luncheon-or rather, instead of expending the 25 cents on the meal, make it 15 cents, say a plate of baked beans and a cup of coffee, saving the rest of the quarter for the waiter!"

The New York Times 1905-06-11

"London Letter" - William L. Alden - The New York Times

"Miss Elizabeth Banks's 'Autobiography of a Newspaper Girl' has given rise to a discussion as to the ethics of reporting. Miss Banks came into notice here a few years ago by writing a series of articles describing her experiences as a domestic servant. As the gist of these experiences consisted in revelations as to the manners and customs of the people with whom she found situations, the articles were not adapted to awaken much enthusiasm. . ."

The New York Times 1902-10-18

"Fleet Street Memories" - Elizabeth Banks - The New York Times

". . .Those of us who knew him personally, those who had heard his after-dinner speeches at club and literary gatherings, and the thousands who had followed his work as it appeared in the once great organ of English Liberal opinion, The London Daily News, looked forward with the keenest pleasure and delight to the publications of his memoirs. Most of the conspicuous persons in the world of politics, literature, art, and music during the past fifty years had been the personal friends and associated of the great journalist. . ."

The New York Times 1905-01-28

II-"Song of the Shirt" - Eva Gay (aka Eva McDonald aka Eva Valesh) - St. Paul Globe

"It seems that a large proportion of working girls earn their living by sewing at various kinds of work. For, in addition to those classes already reported, a trip through four large shirt factories of Minneapolis reveals many more toiling at the same sort of work. As far as comfort or cleanliness were concerned, it seems to be 'six of one and half a dozen of the other;' two factories were clean and bright, and the other two dirty, damp and unhealthy. . ."

St. Paul Globe 1888-04-08

"Secrets and Lies: News Media and Law Enforcement Use of Deception as an Investigative Tool" - Bernard W. Bell - University of Pittsburgh Law Review

". . .Arguably, courts should tolerate law enforcement intrusions more readily than media intrusions because identifying and punishing criminals is more important than informing the public-in other words, law enforcement's mission should take precedence over the press's. Thus, the key distinction between press and law enforcement undercover operations is the difference in their missions, not, as I will later suggest, the difference in the types of public control over the respective institutions. For example, courts might show less solicitude toward government use of undercover techniques whengovernment agencies employ such techniques to protect the government's proprietary interests. Courts might entertain more serious reservations about approving the use of undercover techniques to identify inefficient or untrustworthy employees than to uncover violations of criminal law. If so, because government, whether pursuing law enforcement or its own proprietary interests, is subject to popular control, only the heightened valuation of the government's mission, not the existence of greater control, could justify the favoring of law enforcement over the press. . ."

University of Pittsburgh Law Review 1999-05-01

"Youth on the Road: Reflections on the History of Tramping" - Judith Adler - Annals of Tourism Research

". . .In the first third of the twentieth century, 'the road' still played a part in the life of thousands of young people, but the literature on such youth travel consistently examined it as a form of juvenile delinquency, rounding off the narrative with proposals for rescue and resettlement. . ."

Annals of Tourism Research 1985-01-01

"Crossing Class Boundaries" - Toby Higbie - Social Science History

". . .This essay focuses on how these social investigators made sense of what they perceived as the troubling actions of unskilled male workers. Throughout the Progressive Era (roughly 1880-1925), middle-class intellectuals counted, classified, photographed, and otherwise examined the lives of working-class people. . ."

Social Science History 1997-12-01

"The Media's Intrusion on Privacy: Protecting Investigative Journalism" - C. Thomas Dienes - The George Washington Law Review

". . .In 1904, the Muckraker journalist, Upton Sinclair, went undercover as a meat packer to expose conditions in the Chicago slaughterhouses. His findings, documented in The Jungle, provided impetus for adoption of federal food and drug legislation

The George Washington Law Review 1999-06-01

"Doesticks' Assault on Slavery: Style and Technique in the Great Auction Sale of Slaves, at Savannah, Georgia" - Edward J. Piacentino - Phylon

". . .The author of 'The Great Auction Sale,' Mortimer Thomson, better known by his pseudonym, Q.K. Philander Doesticks, P.B., a writer who was one of the most popular American humorists of the 1850s, previously had published five books—all with a humorously satiric thrust: 'Doesticks: What He Says,' a burlesque of many facets of New York City life in the 1850s; 'Plu-ri-bus-tah, A Song That's By-No-Author,' a poetic burlesque social history of the United States parodying the trochaic metrics of Longfellow's 'Hiawatha'. . ."

Phylon 1987-09-01

"Protecting the Press from Privacy" - John H. Fuson - University of Pennsylvania Law Review

"Walter Cronkite's direct yet comforting closing to the evening new evoked the idyllic American image of journalism: the facts, plain and simple, honestly presented, without spin or dirt. The romanticized promise of First Amendment protections for a free press—that dutiful reporters would keep citizens informed about important public matters so that they might exercise a sound and reasonable check on the powers of government at the ballot box—was captured in that simple phrase. . ."

University of Pennyslvania Law Review 1999-12-01

"Prying, Spying, and Lying: Intrusive Newsgathering and What the Law Should Do About It" - Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky - Tulane Law Review

"Prying, spying, and lying are tools of the trade to a significant portion of today's 'gotcha' journalists. Market pressures require journalists not just to get the story, but to cast it in a dramatic way. Journalists therefore resort to a variety of intrusive newsgathering tools: they adopt false identities and employ hidden cameras, they hound subjects in the streets and stake out their home, they trail police into the homes of crime suspects and crime victims, and they follow ambulance workers to obtain graphic footage or accident scenes."

Tulane Law Review 1998-11-01

"The Life and Letters of Mortimer Thomson" - Fletcher Daniel Slater - Master's Thesis

". . .The articles exposing the fortune-tellers which appeared in the Tribune the previous year are the subject matter for the book, with only one additional chapter, and a conclusion. There appears, upon first examination, more dressing up of the originals than is really the case; what usually happens is that Doesticks places his thumbnail sketch of the witch's history at the first of the chapter, while in the newspaper story it usually came last. . ."

IX- "Associated Group of 100,000 Women Best Bet for Idle" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

"Rent. Gas. Groceries. A chance to keep their little homes, to hold their heads up, to keep from becoming openly objects of charity. I know many women who today are facing that problem. You see, when I talked with unemployed women I was one of them. They had nothing to gain from me. They had no reason to lie to me. Most of them wanted to help me, to show me the ropes. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-30

VIII- "Present Facilities Can Aid Women in Need, Says Writer" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .Is there a way to meet the suffering, mental and physical, of our sisters who are trapped in a great economic upheaval as they might be trapped by an earthquake or a flood? Yes. Yes. In spite of the dark outlook, straitened circumstances on every hand, there is a way. And one that need not be too hard upon all of us, who have already done our very best to aid in this crisis, who have already given right up to the quick of our depleted bank accounts. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-29

VII- "$2 By Six o'Clock Cost of Avoiding Charity Maelstrom" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .Panhandling is not a pretty business. You get the money. Nearly always, you get it especially if you ask for it in small sums. The desperate part of business is to get up your courage to ask. It seems to be against every fundamental instinct. You walk back and forth. You see a nicely dressed woman and you say to yourself, 'I will ask her.' You don't. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-28

VI- "Jobless Women Hunger Also for Cleanliness" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .Remember, we're a silk stocking and lip rouge nation. It's been bred and trained into us. As women, by the greatest advertising campaigns in the world, we have been sold the ides of beauty, of grooming, of cleanliness. It hurts so to feel yourself slipping below the tide. Down and out, unemployed, hungry, we are still women. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-25

V- "Writer Forced to Charity; Meets Bar as Transient" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .I cannot describe to you the feeling of humiliation, of actual guilt that welled up inside me as I walked through the gate of charity into that land where a woman abandons her pride, her inalienable rights and much of life's sweetness. And where of all places, she should be treated with the kindliness that her bruised spirit demands. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-24

IV- "Suspicion's Gulf Separating House Worker, Employer" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .Slowly, my own home, my own life fading away before the terrific pressure of this hand-to-hand battle for existence. As though it were all a beautiful dream or a memory from some former existence. Many of the women I met have happy pasts that have become mere memories. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-23

III- "Any Woman Can Eat, Sleep if She Knows How to Do Housework, Writer Finds" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .I felt dirty, unkempt. I longed for a jar of cold cream almost as much as I longed for breakfast. A glance into a store window mirror showed me a lined, dirty face, rumpled clothes, straggling hair. Not much of a front. I didn't know where to go to clean up. The splendid doorway of a big hotel stood open. Like a criminal, I glanced around. Then I sneaked in. The doorman stared at me. I tried to give him glance for glance, to look as though I had business there. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-22

II-"'Penniless Woman' Fed by Stranger, Sleeps in Auto" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .Upon my first night as a member of the army of unemployed women, I found myself broke, without baggage and wihout a room. A poor, shabby creature, moving alone among crowds, in a sort of bright, pitiless glare that is worse than any darkness. In every woman, young and old, pretty or ugly, is bred and trained a deep fear of the streets at night. Fear of insult and attack. . ."

Los Angeles Examiner 1931-12-21

"Working Figures: Discourses of Race and Class in Nineteenth-Century Working Women's Self-Representations" - April Lidinsky - Dissertation

". . .However, what interests me here is the brief forays into journalism Beatrice Potters engaged in during the 1880s in which she does explore these alternative narratives of work, particularly her 1888 act of deliberate 'class passing,' in which she went under cover as an East End 'sweater' so she could write 'Pages from a Work-Girl's Diary' for the well-educated upper-class readers of Nineteenth Century magazine. . ."

"Deception in News Gathering by Investigative Reporters" - Margaret Elaine Regus - Dissertation

". . .Also, there is no consensus on whether deceptive practices are justified. Nowadays, a seminar on reporting techniques is hardly complete without a debate on the pros and cons of deception by reporters. Questions about the use of deception are being raised with increased frequency in college ethics classes, media seminars, and editorial meetings. . ."

"An Analysis of the Ethics of an Unconventional Method of Reporting in the American Press" - Machelle Lanae Bush - Dissertation

"One of the chief aims of the American journalist is to serve the public's right to know. This goal to provide the public with important information often leads journalists to use questionable methods to obtain information for a story, such as the use of deception, misrepresentation, and subterfuge. Yet, in some instances, this method of unconventional newsgathering has led to the reformation of institutions within society and recognition for the reporter."

"Deception in Medical and Behavioral Research: Is It Ever Acceptable?" - Dave Wendler - The Milbank Quarterly

". . .For this reason, and in spite of the widespread unanimity regarding the importance of subject autonomy, the question remains, is subject deception in research ever ethically acceptable. . .?"

The Milbank Quarterly 1996-01-01

"Theatrical Investigation: White-Collar Crime, Undercover Operations, and Privacy" - Bernard W. Bell - William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

"The essence of theater is deception. Actors assume various roles to inform or entertain the audience. Frequently, theater takes deception to a second level, in which characters assume false identities or feign loyalty for various purposes. Sometimes such artifices are employed to uncover truths that others seek to keep secret."

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 2002-12-01

"What Is Really Rotten in the Food Lion Case: Chilling the Media's Unethical Newsgathering Techniques" - Lori Keeton - Florida Law Review

". . .This case brings up the almost impossible balance that must be achieved between the press' rights, the public's need to know, and a business' right to privacy. Should reporters be allowed to lie about who they are and what they are doing to get a good story? How far is too far? Where should the line be drawn between acceptable and unacceptable newsgathering practices. . .?"

Florida Law Review 1997-01-01

"New Whines in Old Bottles: Taking Newsgathering Torts Off the Food Lion Shelf" - John P. Borger - Tort & Insurance Law Journal

"Undercover reporting and aggressive elbowing for position to be where the news is happening have been accepted components of journalism for decades. They have produced memorable news accounts and sometimes prompted legislation to remedy abusive activities by the subjects of the news reports. Upton Sinclair and Nellie Bly have become icons in the history of undercover or anonymous newsgathering."

Tort & Insurance Law Journal 1998-10-01

"How (Un)Acceptable Is Research Involving Deception?" - Charles P. Smith - IRB: Ethics and Human Research

"The use of deception in research has sparked considerable controvery. At one extreme are authors who object deception in principle and who aver that alternative research approaches are feasible. Differing sharply are those who feel that the use of deception is legitimate and that it is necessary in the sense that some problems are not investigable by any means."

IRB: Ethics and Human Research 1981-10-01

"Deception in Morality and Law" - Larry Alexander and Emily Sherwin - Law and Philosophy

"Deception, by which we mean words or conduct intended to induce false beliefs in others, plays a complex role in human life. Well-socialized people revere honesty and disapprove of lying and other forms of deception. At the same time, well-socialized people engage in deception, regularly and skillfully, not only for altruistic reasons, but also to gain advantages over others."

Law and Philosophy 2003-09-01

"The Tort Liability of Investigative Reporters" - John W. Wade - Vanderbilt Law Review

". . .Some years back they were given the name muckrakers, as a term of derision. Far from being shamed or deterred, however, they began to wear their title as a badge of honor and to engage more actively and vigorously in exposing corruption, oppression, abuse of authority, and other kinds of wrongdoing. . ."

Vanderbilt Law Review 1984-03-01

"Off-Stage Voices in James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Reportage as Covert Autobiography" - William Todd Schultz

"What became FM began as an assignment for Fortune magazine, luxurious track record of the noteworthy rich, with Agee and Evans traveling to Alabama in search of an article on tenant farming. Neither Agee nor Evans felt comfortable with what Agee called this "curious" arrangement, and so from the beginning publication—in any form Fortune could use—seemed only a distant possibility. The magazine had in fact considered a similar proposal several years earlier by photographer Horace Bristol and John Steinbeck, but Steinbeck eventually vetoed the arrangements due to Fortune's clear and shameless celebration of capitalist ideology (Sacramento Bee. April 5, 1989), a style in direct contradiction to the spirit of the project."

American Imago 1999-05-01

I- "How Jobless, Hungry Girls Live Told by Adela Rogers St. Johns" - Adela Rogers St. Johns - Los Angeles Examiner

". . .I didn't have a nickel. By the spirit of my compact to go as thousands of women today are going to seek work, I didn't have a friend among the million and a quarter people in the city of Los Angeles. I was starting from scratch, no money, no baggage, no friends. . ."

"Strange News: 19th-Century Stunt Reporters" - Guylaine Spencer - History Magazine

". . .The so-called stunt girl or gimmick reporters of the late 19th century led unconventional, risky and frequently double lived. At the height of the Victorian Age, they embodied the image of the New Woman and the New Journalist even when they rejected these labels. . ."

"N.A.A.W.P." - Phyllis McGrady, Robert Lange, Robbie Gordon, Sarah Walker, Sam Donaldson - ABC News Prime Time Live

ABC Television - Prime Time Live 1997-05-14

"The Unwanted Children of Russia" - Diane Sawyer - ABC News 20/20

ABC News 20/20 1999-01-13

"Rush to Read" - Diane Sawyer - ABC News Prime Time Live

ABC Television - Prime Time Live 1994-05-19

V-"Woman's Kingdom" - Kathleen "Kit" Coleman - The Toronto Mail

". . .We cross London bridge and turn sharply to our left on the Surray side, and after many crossings and wanderings we get at least to Jacob's island. The existence of this place was denied even at the time Oliver Twist was written. . ."

The Toronto Mail 1892-04-16

IV-"Woman's Kingdom" - Kathleen "Kit" Coleman - The Toronto Mail

"Come with me to a queer little square close to Piccadilly and Oxford street, and very near Regent street and I will show you Ralph Nickleby's house in Golden square, a place unchanged surely since the usurer gave his famous dinner party there. . ."

The Toronto Mail 1892-04-02

III-"Woman's Kingdom" - Kathleen "Kit" Coleman - The Toronto Mail

"If you want to find landmarks of Dickens, you will have to take a good many long walks, and cross and recross many bridges, and squares and courts. Sunday is by far the best day to do the famous old inns of court in the very heart of the city. . ."

The Toronto Mail 1892-03-26

I-"Woman's Kingdom" - Kathleen "Kit" Coleman - The Toronto Mail

". . .It's snowing as hard as it can while I write, and one cannot see out of window because of the frost on the panes, and one is cold with a deadly damp cold unknown to us in Canada. It is awful when real cold weather comes on in England. . ."

The Toronto Mail 1892-03-12

II-"Woman's Kingdom" - Kathleen "Kit" Coleman - The Toronto Mail

". . .It is not a long way to walk along the High street borough till you come to Horsemonger lane, where Chivery & Co. kept the tobacco establishment 'one storey high , which had the benefit of air from the yards of Horsemonger lane gaol. . ."

The Toronto Mail 1892-03-19

"Reporters Become of Age" - Isabelle Keating Savell - Harper's Magazine

". . .The aim of the new movement was to be improvement of the news writers' economic and professional status--in that order. But the reporters had anticipated dealing with newspapermen. They were confronted, instead, by big business. . ."

Harper's 1935-04-01

"Undercover Journalism and Credibility" - James Walker - PressEthic Blog

". . .Firstly there is the ethical conundrum of whether the ends justifies the means. If a journalist uncovers information that needs to be brought to the attention of the public, does that therefore justify the clandestine methods used to obtain that information? The concern is that the deceit on the part of the journalist sullies the critical information that is uncovered. Does a journalist dampen his credibility through the use of lies and chicanery? . . ."

PressEthic Blog 2005-10-02

"The Morals and Manners of Journalism" - Richard Grant White - The Galaxy

". . .The highest honors of journalism are taken by him who is at once a writer and an editor of marked ability. To that position every man aspires who makes journalism his profession, whether he is incited thereto by thought in his brain and a purpose in his heart, or whether he merely desires power and profit, the profit that always waits on power. . ."

The Galaxy 1989-12-01

"Moral Guardians and the Origins of the Right to Privacy" - Jeffery A. Smith

". . .Before the rise of sensational journalism in the 1830s, newspapers were often celebrated as informative and socially beneficial vehicles of enlightenment. Later assessments of the press frequently found some kinds of subject matter distinctly improper. . ."

Journalism and Communication Monographs 2008-05-01

"Newsgathering and the First Amendment: Toward a Progressionist Theory of Constitutional Interpretation" - Erik F. Ugland

". . .During the past three decades, news organizations have sought to broaden the definition of press freedom to include protections for newsgathering. Journalists and their advocates have argued that if they are to serve the highest purposes of their profession, freedom of the press must encompass more than their right to publish what they know; it must also protect their pursuit of the unknown. Media lawyers have thus sought judicial acknowledgement of the right of journalists to attend judicial proceedings; to access government records; to monitor activities in federal prisons; to break promises with their confidential sources without being sued for damages; to be protected against tort claims targeting theirnewsgathering activity; and to be exempt from prosecution for certain crimes committed in their pursuit of news. . ."

Central Michigan University 2003-09-26

"The Consent Defense in Television News Gathering" - Scott D. Wiltsee

"In their pursuit of newsworthy stories, television journalists often invade theprivacy of their news subjects. When they enter private property or reveal private facts about individuals, reporters tread a fine line that may ultimately subject them to trespass and other privacy torts."

Central Michigan University 1999-09-25

"The Lion's Share" - Marc Gunther - American Journalism Review

". . .When a Greensboro, North Carolina, jury found that ABC News' 'PrimeTime Live' had broken the law in its hidden-camera investigation of the Food Lion supermarket chain, journalists, media lawyers and defenders of the First Amendment denounced the verdict. There were dire predictions about the 'chilling effect' of the jury's decision and its subsequent $5.5 million award of punitive damages. . ."

American Journalism Review 1997-03-01

"Truth, Lies, and Videotape" - Russ Baker - Columbia Journalism Review

". . .But it wasn't always that healthy. Despite voluminous hype, PrimeTime Live was practically born PrimeTime Dead. 'It was supposed to be the second coming of broadcast news,' recalls Eric Mink, TV critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 'Instead, it was a laughingstock' . . ."

Columbia Journalism Review 1993-07-01

"Hidden Cameras: A Million-Dollar Peek" - Russ Baker - Columbia Journalism Review

". . .Last summer, a California jury decided the show's use of 'hat-cam' hidden-cameras violated the privacy of the plaintiffs, two men who gave readings, and in what seems to be the first such decision against a newsmagazine show, awarded them more than $1,000,000 in actual and punitive damages. Now the judge is threatening further steps, in a state noted for its tough attitude toward clandestine recording. The case is likely to cast a shadow across the lenses of TV's powerful hidden-camera tools. . ."

Columbia Journalism Review 1995-03-01

"When Will Waitresses Write Their Own Books?" - Lauren Sandler - Newsday

". . .Established, well-paid writers may be getting magazine commissions and book contracts to write about the hardships of low-wage America (and too rarely at that), but where is the opportunity to read actual real-life experience, not just an undercover facsimile? What we never get are stories told without the elite mediation of a 'professional.' These books, no matter how noble, still smack of downward tourism. . ."

Newsday 2001-09-09

"Investigative Journalism is Found Shifting Goals" - Jonathan Friendly - The New York Times

". . .To others in the field, the shift is a welcome evolution. They say some articles that pass as 'investigative' journalism are 'adversary' journalism in which charges of personal or institutional wrongdoing are based on suspicion rather than evidence. They say the press is as enthusiastic and active as ever in disclosing corruption and that the difference is the toughening of internal standards to assure faurness and accuracy. Attitudes

The New York Times 1983-08-23

"Slicing and Dicing a Newspaper" - Howard Kurtz - The Washington Post

". . .'Rethinking the newspaper isn't painful,' says Hutton, a former Detroit Free Press editor and publisher who took over in May. 'What's painful is what we've been doing, which is whittling away at the newspaper. It's the death-by-a-thousand-cuts cliche. . . . To simply continue producing the same newspaper is foolhardy. Let's stop shaving, trimming and paring, and do something from scratch.'"

The Washington Post 2007-11-19

"What Happened to Undercover Journalism?" - Lisa Gulya - UTNE Reader Blog

". . .Journalistic ethicists agreed that undercover reporting is pointless and unethical “when you indulge in subterfuge to merely provide the conventional wisdom with a concrete example.” The irony in that judgment, of course, is that the most successful undercover reporting often does just that, putting a face to social problems we know only vaguely about—Barbara Ehrenreich’s foray into “unskilled” work, chronicled in Nickel and Dimed, is a prime example. . ."

UTNE Reader Blog 2008-04-11

"Federal Appeals Court Dismisses Privacy Lawsuit Against ABC News" - The Associated Press

". . .One ABC representative videotaped the discussions with a camera hidden in a wig for the 'Rush to Read' segment, which focused on medical lab error rates in analyzing pap smears for cancer. . ."

The Associated Press 2002-09-24

IV-"A Message About Methods: Make No Mistake" - Bob Steele - Radio Television Digital News Association

". . .Journalists are more often being challenged, not just on the end product of their work but also on how they gather information. Increasingly, the objection is to the methods reporters and photographers use in quest of the 'truth.' . . ."