The muckrakers played a highly visible role during the Progressive Era. Muckraking magazines—notably McClure's of the publisher S. S. McClure—took on corporate monopolies and political machines, while trying to raise public awareness and anger at urban poverty, unsafe working conditions, prostitution, and child labor.
The primary goal was to expose the injustices in the society. Also, they managed to raise awareness during this time with regards to social, economical, and political problems.