There isn’t much newspapering yet in this third Betty & Bob episode, but there is a hint of soap opera romance to come, as Chet meets Claire.

Claire is the young and “expecting” widow of The Trumpet’s star reporter, who apparently died in the line of duty around the same time that co-publisher Bob was almost crippled. (See the reference to the “miracle operation” in the first and second episodes of my Wednesday series.)

Unfortunately, the Internet Archive’s run of the Betty & Bob serial doesn’t include whatever weeks covered Claire’s reporter husband’s death, Bob’s injury, or Betty’s kidnapping — all of which were at some point in their radio past. So far, one of the most interesting things about this series is that “Betty and Bob” own and run their newspaper together. This is not (like “Front Page Farrell”) “the story of a reporter and his wife,” although a lot Betty’s role does seem to involve worrying about and cautioning the sometimes frail Bob.

But there’s still drama to come, including the brave smalltown school teacher Chet’s revelation that he has done some writing. How long before the Drakes recruit him for The Trumpet? Can he replace Claire’s late husband in more ways than one? Stay tuned.

For more, see my essay-in-progress on the use of journalist characters in radio soap operas and romantic series.