The Rise of Muckrakers: Exposing Scandals in Business and Politics

The best definition of muckrakers is that they were journalists who sought to expose scandals in business and politics. Muckraking is a term most commonly associated with the profession of journalism especially during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The writers/journalists of this time wrote about major corruptions in the political and economic world. The literal use of the word "muckrakers" was first applied by Theodore Roosevelt, inspired by John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" where a man was described with a muckrake in his hands, looking only downwards and nowhere else.

This symbolism indicates that muckrakers are essential workers who clean the dirt and expose the most corrupt elements in society. These journalists are then labeled or referred to as "muckrakers" in their work of revealing scandals in the business and political spheres.