WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WOMAN REWRITES THE RULES OF JOURNALISM?

Rose Odette
Nov 15
2 min read

Nellie Bly’s 72-Day Charge Around the World

In 1889, the journalism industry was a boys’ club with locked doors, low expectations, and even lower ceilings for women. And then came Nellie Bly — a reporter who didn’t just knock on the door, she blew the hinges clean off.

With nothing but a single dress, a small bag, and a challenge inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days, she set out to do the impossible: beat fiction with fact. She circled the globe in 72 days, solo for most of the journey, smashing every limit the industry tried to put on her.

That’s not just journalism — that’s lioness journalism.

5 LIONESS IDEALS FROM NELLIE BLY - REWRITES THE RULES

Dare Beyond the Script When journalism said “impossible,” she heard “irresistible.”
Travel Light, Move Fast One dress. One bag. A whole world to conquer.
Use Visibility as a Weapon for Change Before her world tour, she exposed abuse in an asylum — redefining what investigative journalism could do.
Turn Deadlines into Powerlines 75 days was the goal. She came in under 73. That’s how lionesses treat timelines.
Lead Alone When Necessary Journalism didn’t make room for her, so she carved her own space — alone, fierce, unstoppable.

5 ACTION MOVES FOR MODERN LIONESSES

Name Your 72-Day Journalism Moment What’s your bold investigative project, launch, or business pivot?
Cut the Baggage in Half Reporters move fast. Leaders move faster. Drop the deadweight. REWRITES THE RULES
Broadcast Your Departure Date Make your mission public. Journalism thrives in the spotlight — so does accountability.
Design Your Checkpoints Like Bly’s travel timetable, you need your editorial map for the next 72 days.
Document the Journey The story behind the story is often the most powerful. Capture it.

CLOSING ROAR

Nellie Bly didn’t rise in journalism by waiting for permission. She rewrote the industry from the outside in — with grit, velocity, and a willingness to risk her comfort for her calling.

Lioness, if the newsroom of your life feels too small… Build your own global assignment. Set your own deadline. Make the world your beat.

Your 72-day charge begins now.

Hashtags

#LeadLikeALioness #NellieBly #WomenInJournalism #FearlessReporters #LionessLeadership #WomenWhoDare #72DayChallenge #BullishOnWomen #CourageInAction #FemaleFounders

Resources & Authority Links

Today’s Authority Sources (for deeper reading):

Nellie Bly’s Around the World in Seventy-Two Days and historical coverage of her journey
Overviews of her investigative journalism work, including the asylum exposé

Books by Rose Odette: