During the following year, he managed to persuade the British government to supply an additional £5million to bolster weakening naval defences, after which he published a series of articles. Stead was not a hawk, instead believing Britain's strong navy was necessary to maintain world peace. He distinguished himself in his vigorous handling of public affairs and his brilliant modernity in the presentation of news. However, he is also credited as originating the modern journalistic technique of creating a news event rather than just reporting it, as his most famous "investigation", the Eliza Armstrong case, was to demonstrate.