The Nellie Bly Award for Investigative Reporting was established in 2016 by the Board of Trustees of The Museum of Political Corruption to honoring distinguished journalists who have reported on corruption. The award also  honors the legacy of the pioneering 19th century journalist Nellie Bly.  Born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (1864-1922), Bly worked for the New York World.  She is best known for exposing social and political injustice, including her chilling expose of the deplorable conditions at the psychiatric institution on Blackwell’s Island.

The specific inspiration behind the Nellie Bly Award was an episode that occurred in Bly’s career in 1888.  Bly went undercover and traveled to Albany, New York posing as a lobbyist because she heard it was possible to “buy” the New York State legislature in order to have a bill killed.  She met with the lobbyist Ed Phelps at the Kenmore Hotel on Pearl Street in downtown Albany.  He facilitated the transaction for the price of $1,250.  Bly declined to pay the sum, and returned to her paper to write about the experience in an article she entitled “King of the Lobby.”

Since Bly was offered the opportunity to “purchase” the New York State legislature for $1,250, the amount of the Nellie Bly Award honorarium has accordingly been fixed at $1,250.

The Award is announced annually on May 5th (Nellie Bly’s birthday) with an award ceremony and reception taking place in the fall.