"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Upton Sinclair
One of the most famous muckrakers, Upton Sinclair wrote about corruption and fair labor practices. He wrote his most well-known book, The Jungle, to call attention to the poor working conditions of those working in the meatpacking industries. A fictional work based on his undercover research in meatpacking plants in Chicago, The Jungle was first published in a newspaper in 1905. It focused on the unsanitary conditions and poor treatment of workers by wealthy managers. The unsanitary conditions caught the attention of the public and led to reform in the industry.
In 1919, Sinclair wrote The Brass Check, a book that critiqued the journalism industry. The work took issue with many of the tactics popular at the time with yellow journalism—sensationalism, poor research, exaggeration, and overall shoddy reporting. Shortly after the publication of The Brass Check, the first code of ethics for journalists came into being.