In 1872 Julius Chambers was committed to the Bloomingdale Asylum. Chambers was a reporter for the New York Tribune and had himself committed so he could investigate reports of inmate abuse. His report resulted in the reorganization of the administration and staff at the asylum. Twelve patients were released and lunacy laws were changed. In 1876 as a result of his reports, a book, A Mad World and Its People, was published.
Ida M. Tarbell of McClure’s Magazine published a history of John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Co. Tarbell interviewed Standard Oil magnate, Henry Rogers, regarding Rockefeller and the Standard Oil’s business practices. Tarbell’s series was made into a book in 1904. Besides interviewing Rogers and other executives, Tarbell went through documents from regulators, antitrust lawyers, and academic experts. Her reports lasted for nineteen issues and provided insight into Standard Oil’s tactics against rivals, railroads, and anyone who got in the company’s way.
In 1973, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, writing for The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Watergate break-in and the Nixon Administration’s crimes. The break in occurred on June 17, 1973 and they were the first to report on dirty tricks used by the Nixon reelection campaign. Woodward continues to work at The Washington Post reporting on politics, intelligence and Washington affairs.