Ida Tarbell, investigative journalist. (Courtesy Smithsonian Magazine)
The Gilded Age is a time that has many similarities to today. It was the turn of the century and topics like immigration, race relations, gender equality, monopolies, and changes in technologies were prevalent. And Ida Tarbell was right in the thick of it.
Tarbell was one of the first investigative journalists (muckraker), who took down John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. She was focused on ethical interviewing and reporting the truth in a time where fact-checking was not standard practice. Because of the similarities that time has to today, I find myself thinking about how this generation will handle the changes and issues (especially with COVID-19) that come with them when it comes to reporting and sharing information.
Listen to her story and my thoughts here: