Which journalist's 1906 muckraking series for McClure's Magazine started the muckraking era?

Which journalist's 1906 muckraking series for McClure's Magazine started the muckraking era?

• A. Shame of the Cities, a McClure's Magazine expose.
• B. The Jungle, a muckraking work.
• C. The History of Standard Oil, a profile.
• D. The Octopus, a muckraking novel.

Answer: (A)

Muckraking is investigative journalism aimed at exposing corruption and social ills to push for reform. The best example of the birth of this movement is Lincoln Steffens, whose serialized expose in McClure’s Magazine—Shame of the Cities—brought hard-hitting portraits of urban political machines to a nationwide audience. By detailing how bribery, patronage, and backroom deals controlled city governments, Steffens showed readers how corruption undermined democracy and inspired reform movements across many cities. The vivid, interconnected case studies helped popularize the idea that the press could provoke change by holding powerful interests to account, and the magazine format allowed these stories to reach a broad audience over time. While other famous muckraking works—like Tarbell’s critique of Standard Oil or Sinclair’s The Jungle—also shaped Progressive Era reform, Shame of the Cities is widely cited as the kickoff that demonstrated the power of investigative journalism to spark municipal and political reforms. The Octopus is a novel, and The Jungle, though influential, was not a McClure’s serialized start in the same way.

Muckraking is investigative journalism aimed at exposing corruption and social ills to push for reform. The best example of the birth of this movement is Lincoln Steffens, whose serialized expose in McClure’s Magazine—Shame of the Cities—brought hard-hitting portraits of urban political machines to a nationwide audience. By detailing how bribery, patronage, and backroom deals controlled city governments, Steffens showed readers how corruption undermined democracy and inspired reform movements across many cities. The vivid, interconnected case studies helped popularize the idea that the press could provoke change by holding powerful interests to account, and the magazine format allowed these stories to reach a broad audience over time.

While other famous muckraking works—like Tarbell’s critique of Standard Oil or Sinclair’s The Jungle—also shaped Progressive Era reform, Shame of the Cities is widely cited as the kickoff that demonstrated the power of investigative journalism to spark municipal and political reforms. The Octopus is a novel, and The Jungle, though influential, was not a McClure’s serialized start in the same way.