April 15th 1912, the pioneer of Investigative Journalism W. T. Stead joined the more than 1500 passengers who were to lose their lives in the icy waters of the North Atlantic ocean. This is the story of his live until his death.
Born July 5th 1849, in Embleton, Northumberland, before moving to Howden in Wallsend, Newcastle a year later where he would be raised by his father who was a Reverend and his mother who looked after the house. It has been said that Stead’s mother Isabelle was the one person who probably had the most affect in terms of what career he pursed.
He was educated originally by his father until 1861 when he was then sent to Silcoates School for boys in Wakefield located in North Yorkshire. While at the Silcoates school, Stead’s outlook on religion changed which left a lasting impact that would influence his life till the day he died. Once he left school, Stead became employed as a clerk for a Merchant’s office which at the time was based on the Quayside, Newcastle.
In 1870, Stead started writing articles for the Northern Echo which is based in Darlington. Then in 1871, at the age of 22 he became the youngest editor
editor in the country at the time without every stepping foot in the newspaper’s office. Now this may have been down to the fact that when Stead had started writing articles for the newspaper the editor at the time had took Stead under his wing, resulting in him becoming a mentor to Stead.
This job meant the Stead would become torn between the job he was offered and the job he wanted. However, he was in sense pushed into the editor role when his mentor stepped down. As Britain was currently in a state of change in terms of paternalism, corruption and immorality turning into what we would call today capitalism, Stead decided to change the newspaper into what he called an “engine of social reform”. It was also a period in time in which poverty was probably at its highest in the country. His first ever article as editor covered the topic of prostitution, which at the time was counted as a taboo subject and not suitable journalism for a daily newspaper.
In 1880, Stead left his role at the Northern Echo for the Pall Mall Gazette to take on the role of assistant editor but three years later he become full editor. He changed the newspaper to the point where it would become the top read for members of High Society at the time. In 1883, he wrote an article about slum housing which resulted in a new legislation being drafted up and a year later the government spent £3.5m on fixing up old ships that were part of the navy due to another of his articles. The term ‘New Journalism’ resonates from Stead himself as he was changing the way journalism was.
Stead’s biggest story comes in the form of child prostitution which he gave the title “The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon”. He used this to open “respectable society's eyes to the world of London”
Between 1893 and 1912, Stead continued to shock the public with his controversial news articles until at the age 62 he lost his life in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. However, his legacy carried on well after he died thanks to him paving the way for Journalism as we know it today.
This video from WTSRS is said to be "The last known photographic image of W.T. Stead.. rare film footage taken just days before he boarded the Titanic.." according to the site.
To find out more on W. T. Stead head to the following links:
- WTSRS
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