This month marks 134 years since Pittsburgh-native trailblazing journalist, feminist, traveler, and philanthropist Nellie Bly kicked off her trip around the world in 72 days — it was her attempt to break the faux record in Jules Verne’s novel, “Around the World in Eighty Days” and prove that women can be adventurers, too.
If you’re traveling for the holidays, you’ll see her statue at the Pittsburgh International Airport, right next to the late, great Franco Harris.She may be famed for her travels, but she got her start as a journalist right here in the ‘Burgh.
President of the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh, Francesca Dabecco (me!), at the dedication of Nellie Bly’s statue at the Pittsburgh International Airport. (Garrett Roberts / courtesy of Beaver County Times)
In 1885, she picked up a Pittsburgh newspaper and was horrified by a column she read titled, "What Girls Are Good For." Needless to say, it was misogynistic, and Nellie had lots of thoughts. She wrote a response under a pseudonym, and it caught the attention of the editor. He put out an ad in the newspaper to find her so he could offer her a job. That was the beginning of her stint as a writer for the Pittsburgh Dispatch where she worked for $5 a week.
Nellie made a profound impact on journalism and opened up a world of possibilities for women. She had the courage to tell stories that mattered and wrote about truths that shocked the public: dangerous conditions for women working in factories, abuses in mental health facilities, child labor, and divorce.
Last year at her airport statue dedication with the Heinz History Center, I gave remarks on Nellie’s impact on women and journalism.
A lot of people might not know that Pittsburgh has the second oldest women’s press club in the nation. That’s all thanks to the team of women who in 1891 stood together to tell stories even when they weren’t welcome to have a byline. Those women were undeniably inspired by and followed in the footsteps of Nellie.
While Nellie Bly left Pittsburgh for New York before the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh was founded, the club celebrated its 130th anniversary by inducting Nellie as an honorary member and recognizing her as a crusader for women journalists everywhere — especially in Pittsburgh.
