William Thomas Stead (1849-1912), was a British journalist
and editor. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of modern journalism practices.
He helped to create newspapers that were easy to read and had popular
appeal.
He was editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, a London
evening paper, from 1883 to 1889. In 1885, he published an exposure of vice that helped
to change vice laws. But, during his campaign, he broke the law and was jailed for
three months.
Stead had a great influence in making
journalism a tool for social change, and for supporting worthy public causes. Through
the medium of the monthly journal Review of Reviews, which he
founded in 1890, he crusaded for diverse causes such as as British-Russian friendship,
stopping child prostitution, the reform of England's criminal codes, and the maintenance
of international peace. He adopted a very bold approach in investigating and
establishing the truth of his writings. This sometimes led to problems for him. He was
even jailed for three months, for actions he took to establish the minor girls were
being sold and purchased for prostitution.
Stead also
founded a newspaper in 1904, but it failed, and he narrowly avoided
bankruptcy.
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