Hearst could go overboard in his crime coverage; one of his early pieces, regarding a "band of murderers", attacked the police for forcing "Examiner" reporters to do their work for them. But while indulging in these stunts, the "Examiner" also increased its space for international news, and sent reporters out to uncover municipal corruption and inefficiency. In one celebrated story, "Examiner" reporter Winifred Black was admitted into a San Francisco hospital and discovered that indigent women were treated with "gross cruelty". The entire hospital staff was fired the morning the piece appeared.