Monthly Archives: April 2012

Newspapers Battle to Cover Merriwell at Yale

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Bob Stepno

The game on this 1904 cover was in Cambridge; the radio episode’s action is in New Haven; home-team advantage: Merriwell, but difficult for Boston press. “When a big story is involved, a good reporter doesn’t worry about what is or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 19th century, adaptations, competition, journalism, newspaper stunts, newspapers, reporters, reporting, sports, technology | Leave a comment

Ernie Pyle in newspapers, film and radio

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Burgess Meredith as Ernie Pyle Making room on a bookshelf next to my old copy of Agee on Film, I re-read James Agee’s 1945 review of “The Story of G.I. Joe,” a piece titled simply “A Great Film.” I went looking … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, cavalcade, foreign correspondents, historical figures, Pulitzer Prize, reporters, World War II | Leave a comment

Clark Kent, meet John Carter!

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Journalists aren’t the only people who were sometimes stereotyped in old-time radio dramas or other popular culture forms of the 1930s and 1940s. In these closing episodes of a 15-part Superman adventure from September 1941, we find ourselves in Central … Continue reading →

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Mike Wallace on radio, from Information Please to the Green Hornet

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Bob Stepno

While this blog usually deals with fictional journalists and the  dramatized lives of historic journalists, today’s news is worth an exception. Legendary television newsman Mike Wallace, who died Saturday at 93, got his broadcasting start in radio, and this may be … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, GreenHornet, historical figures, journalism, radio, reporters | Leave a comment

Kent’s approach isn’t super; Lois Lane steps in

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Smart, clever or super-powered, newspaper reporters are still fallible and can be fooled, according to the adventures of Lois Lane and Clark Kent in 1940s Superman radio episodes. In this September 1941 sequence, Lois Lane tries to get through to … Continue reading →

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Newspaper Editors Face Evil in Black & White

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“So the forces of good and evil join battle in Monroe, as they are joining in battle through the whole world. There is only one way to enter the battle — unafraid, as do Betty and Bob.” — announcer Milton … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, newspaper crusades, newspapers, political corruption, publishers, soap opera | Leave a comment

Stanley, meet Livingstone; America, meet modern journalism

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“This isn’t the other papers… I’m going to teach everybody in the cities, on the farms, on the frontiers to like important news. This country’s growing up… It doesn’t want any more colonial gazettes with local gossip, but big newspapers … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 19th century, cavalcade, editors, foreign correspondents, historical figures, Horace Greeley, journalism, newspapers, publishers | Leave a comment