The regular “Aunt Jenny” at The Gazette is out of action, and Fibber McGee volunteers to replace the advice columnist for a day, with wife Molly as his secretary.

Old-time radio programs of all kinds worked newspapers and journalism into their plots now and then, including one of radio’s biggest hits, “Fibber McGee & Molly,” which ran for more than 20 years.

Searching more than 1,200 McGee titles and plot summaries for words like “columnist,” “reporter” and “editor” quickly turned up this 1950 episode, which includes a visit to a newspaper building, from newsroom to pressroom, complete with the roar of the presses punctuating the punchlines.

While there is no page one news in the half hour, we do visit the softer side of the oldtime daily paper; along with Aunt Jenny, we encounter the crossword editor, a local doctor doubling as medical columnist, and even the classified ads are good for a groan-producing joke.

McGee, although perhaps not the most reliable source, delivers an endorsement: “Newspapers are a great institution, Molly. Where would we be without ’em?” — while Molly reflects on the romance of the newsroom itself, over the clatter of typewriters:

“My, I just love a newspaper office, McGee, pencil shavings all over the floor… the smell of printer’s ink and old cigar butts…”

As I recall, series co-creator Don Quinn was married to a reporter, as well as having a famous talent for puns and wordplay, which this McGee episode is certainly full of… along with some reminders of 1950 culture, values, and a closet full of what the kids today call “Dad jokes.”

Prepare to wince for various reasons at a joke about a “cub” reporter, some old fashioned banter about a secretary sitting on the boss’s lap, one dated skin-color reference, and the ultimate use of the home-delivered newspaper as a wrapper for domestic detritus.

(Note to early readers: This entry in the blog was composed entirely with the WordPress Android app, and I’m happy to see that its MP3 player link works. If there are other problems, or if you have other newspaper related Fibber McGee episodes to recommend, add a comment below.)