I remember Geraldo did an expose’ on institutions for the criminally insane and the conditions were so terribly poor and cruel that it would have been hard to ignore. I wonder if that was what got the ball rolling? I think it was in the 70’s. I know it pretty much made his career.
What started the ball rolling was the 1966 film “Titticutt Follies” by Frederick Wiseman, a documentary about a Massachusetts state mental hospital. The movie will curl your hair.