The press today doesn’t have the greatest reputation. Show the world one great piece of investigative journalism, and the world will show you a dozen more that fall under the category of “fake news.” Yet it wasn’t always this way. Not so long ago, fearless journalists spoke truth to power, risking their lives and reputations to change the way the world was run. These are some of the most impressive times when the press spoke truth to power, and, just occasionally, they succeeded.
Impressive Times of Press Courage
10 William Howard Russell Brings Home The Horrors Of War
William Howard Russell earned the dubious honor of being the world’s first dedicated war reporter. The hard‑drinking Irishman was dispatched by The Times of London to cover the Crimean War, a brutal 1853 clash that pitted Russia, Britain, France, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire against each other and claimed nearly a million lives.
Beyond the expected anecdotes of drunken revelry and the famous Charge of the Light Brigade, Russell did something far more consequential: he sent home vivid accounts of the appalling conditions in which wounded soldiers were left to languish. He wrote that men died “without the least effort being made to save them” and that “the sick appear to be tended by the sick, and the dying by the dying.”
The British army was furious. They tried to intimidate him, even burning down his lodgings, but Russell persisted. The public outrage his dispatches generated forced the army to overhaul its care for the wounded, paving the way for the revolutionary hospital reforms championed by fellow Crimean veteran Florence Nightingale.
9 The New York Times Takes Down Boss Tweed
Boss Tweed ran New York City’s Tammany Hall like a cartoonish empire of graft. He and his cronies siphoned off somewhere between $1 billion and $4 billion (in today’s dollars) through extortion, fake law firms, and Irish street gangs, all while sipping champagne and feasting on oysters.
The thing that finally toppled his reign? The New York Times. In the 1870s, co‑owner George Jones made it his personal mission to expose Tweed’s corruption. In 1871 he obtained a detailed breakdown of Tweed’s personal spending plans for public money.
When Tweed’s gang offered Jones the modern equivalent of $100 million to stay silent, Jones refused. He published the damning figures, and the ensuing public furor helped land Tweed behind bars in 1873.
8 Nellie Bly’s Undercover Reports From The Madhouse
In 1887 Nellie Bly decided that the best way to expose abuse was to become the victim herself. She got herself committed to Blackwell’s Asylum, a mental institution that, on paper, cared for the insane but in practice turned sane patients into madness.
During ten days of undercover observation, Bly witnessed nurses beating, choking, and even pulling hair from inmates. She also described a daily regimen that forced patients to sit on hard wooden benches, stare straight ahead, and refrain from speaking, moving, or sleeping – a routine that could drive anyone mad.When her exposé hit the newspapers, Blackwell’s tried to cover up the scandal by discharging patients and hiding evidence, but Bly’s story sparked a grand‑jury investigation that forever changed mental‑health care in America.
7 Ida Tarbell Takes On Standard Oil’s Monopoly (And Wins)
Ida Tarbell grew up watching the crushing of her father’s independent oil business by John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Determined to exact revenge, she spent nearly three decades gathering evidence for a 19‑part series in McClure’s Magazine.
Her investigative masterpiece laid bare the ruthless tactics of Standard Oil: espionage, collusion with railroad barons, and blatant antitrust violations. Tarbell’s painstaking interviews and exhaustive document analysis painted a picture of a monopoly run like a criminal syndicate.
The public outcry forced the Supreme Court to dismantle Standard Oil, a victory that can be traced directly to Tarbell’s relentless reporting.
6 The Telegraph Does The Entire British Parliament For Fraud
In 2009 The Telegraph launched a modern‑day expose that would make Victorian muck‑rakers proud. The paper obtained a complete list of expense claims submitted by British MPs, revealing a litany of absurd purchases: flat‑screen TVs, jellied eels, home‑cinema systems, antique rugs, silk cushions, and even a house for a duck family.
Perhaps the most scandalous revelation involved “second‑home flipping,” where MPs would alternately label their London and constituency residences as the “second” home to claim double reimbursements for mortgages and renovations.
The investigation led to eight MPs or peers being convicted of fraud and jailed, with dozens more forced to repay the public money they had siphoned. The swamp wasn’t entirely drained, but it certainly got a vigorous kick.
5 Seymour Hersh Exposes The My Lai Massacre
In 1968, U.S. soldiers under First Lieutenant William L. Calley entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai, ostensibly on a search‑and‑destroy mission. Instead of finding Viet Cong, they massacred civilians—estimates range from 109 to as many as 500 victims.
The initial military investigation was a white‑wash, but journalist Seymour Hersh was tipped off about a second inquiry. After interviewing Calley’s defense team, Hersh published a searing account that labeled the event a “murder.” The story ignited public outrage, further eroding support for the Vietnam War.
Calley was eventually convicted of murder, though he was paroled after less than five years. His delayed apology—coming four decades after the atrocity—underscored the lasting impact of Hersh’s reporting.
4 The Sunday Times Exposes The Drug That Crippled Children
Thalidomide was marketed as a sedative for pregnant women, yet it caused devastating birth defects, leaving thousands of children without limbs. By the early 1960s the manufacturers had already withdrawn the drug, but the compensation offered in the UK—£3.25 million—was a pittance for the 370 affected families.
Harold Evans, editor of The Sunday Times, launched a relentless campaign from 1972 to 1976 demanding accountability from the UK distributor, Distillers. The paper’s relentless coverage forced the company to increase compensation tenfold and eventually admit that proper trials had never been conducted.
The campaign reshaped drug‑testing regulations worldwide, ensuring that future medicines would undergo far stricter safety assessments.
3 The Daily Mail Demands Justice For Stephen Lawrence
In 1993 the brutal murder of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager, shocked London. Five white youths carried out the killing, but a racist police force bungled the investigation, allowing the perpetrators to walk free.
Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, took personal issue with the case. On Valentine’s Day 1997 he splashed the front page with the faces of the alleged killers under the headline “MURDERERS,” daring anyone to sue the paper if it was wrong.
The bold campaign sparked a massive public outcry, leading to a public inquiry into Metropolitan Police racism, the abolition of double‑jeopardy laws, and, in 2011, the life‑sentence imprisonment of two of the youths. The paper continues to push for the remaining three to face justice.
2 A Magazine You’ve Never Heard Of Breaks The Iran‑Contra Story
The Iran‑Contra affair saw the Reagan administration illegally sell arms to Iran and funnel the proceeds to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, violating the Boland Amendment. The scandal eventually led to fourteen indictments and eleven convictions.
Surprisingly, the story was broken not by a major U.S. outlet but by Al‑Shiraa, a little‑known Lebanese weekly. The paper uncovered the clandestine arms trades, prompting Attorney General Edwin Meese to launch a investigation that traced the missing funds to Nicaragua, exposing the entire operation.
The episode proves that even obscure publications can ignite massive political reckonings.
1 Watergate
Watergate remains the quintessential American scandal. After the burglary of the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, President Richard Nixon ordered a massive cover‑up, silencing witnesses and pressuring investigators.
The story was kept alive by two tenacious reporters at The Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Their relentless digging uncovered a web of deceit that eventually eroded Nixon’s support in Congress and forced his resignation to avoid impeachment.
Woodward and Bernstein didn’t just report the news; they wrested power from the highest office and reminded the nation that no one is above scrutiny.
The press may not always be popular, but stories like those on this list prove why we’ll always need courageous journalists.