Muckrakers were investigative journalists who exposed corruption in business or government, or examined serious societal issues. Several of the most well-known muckrakers worked for McClure’s Magazine, where they wrote exposés on large companies, meat slaughtering houses, and city governments. These prominent and influential reporters included Ida M. Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair, and Ray Stannard Baker.

Now suppose that you, too, are an investigative journalist. Instead of choosing a business or government, you have been asked to write a piece on one of the muckrakers. Before you can actually flesh out your article you will have to submit an outline for editorial approval. Which muckraker will you investigate? And how much information will you be able to provide?

1. Write a well-constructed outline on one muckraker using the information you collected during your website research. Keep the following points in mind as you write your outline:

• Include important biographical information about the individual’s life.
• Give specific examples of articles and books that were written by the individual. What businesses or government offices were targeted in the exposés?
• What reforms or changes took place as a result of the individual’s writings?