Ida Tarbell by James E. Purdy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Ida Tarbell biographer Steve Weinberg explains what made her the progenitor of investigative reporting: "Her appetite for documents was never satisfied. She located Congressional hearings and transcripts of debate, regulatory agency initiatives, railroad contracts with shippers, records of Rockefeller’s philanthropy, filings about previously mysterious Rockefeller family members, and more … She convinced both current and former Standard Oil executives to talk with her."
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