So I learned recently that Lafcadio Hearn, after his struggle as a youth that can only be described as traumatic, emigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio and got a job there as a news reporter in "The Cincinnati Enquirer".
Lafcadio was known for his reporting of accounts of murders and disadvantaged people. I found one of the article that he wrote during his time.
Link:
http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/1637464.htmIt's interesting that these reports are written like a short fiction novel. Either this was just the style of writing back in those days, or people lived with substantial amount of dramatic imagery.