Author Archives: Bob Stepno

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About Bob Stepno

mild-mannered reporter who found computers & the Web in grad school in the 1980s (Wesleyan) and '90s (UNC); taught journalism, media studies, Web production; retired to write, make music, photograph sunsets & walks in the woods.

Journalist frames art-theft story

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Bob Stepno

Listening to 1951’s Orson Welles “The Lives of Harry Lime” in parallel with the 1957 radio series “Europe Confidential” can be a surreal experience — and never more than in this episode about a stolen painting that changes from Rubens … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adaptations, Europe, foreign correspondents, Orson Welles, reporters | Leave a comment

Orson Welles Impersonates a Journalist

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Bob Stepno

No this isn’t about “Citizen Kane.” It’s about one of the famous actor’s returns to radio in the 1950s. (Before his first film, he was famous on radio — for everything from “The Shadow” to that Mercury Theater “War of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, crime, Drama, reporters | Leave a comment

Reporter stands back in recycled story

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Bob Stepno

This “Europe Confidential” story is a less-satisfying adaptation of a “Lives of Harry Lime” script than the espionage episode mentioned last time, but this one illustrates a very different way journalism can become part of dramatic storytelling. In the previous … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adaptations, Drama, foreign correspondents, Orson Welles | Leave a comment

Reporter reveals Europe Confidential mysteries

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Bob Stepno

The radio series “Europe Confidential” told mystery tales in the guise of newspaper columns, and is now available as MP3 files with titles like “The Blackmailed Spy Affair.”The “World’s Greatest Mysteries” program is a bit of a mystery itself — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, Drama, Europe, foreign correspondents, Syndication | Leave a comment

“Storm in a Teacup” crossed Atlantic

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Bob Stepno

The full-length 1937 film “Storm in a Teacup” is available from the Internet Archive, with Rex Harrison as a crusading young journalist and Vivien Leigh as the beautiful daughter of the smalltown dictator he crusades against. The 1948 Ford Theater … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adaptations, comedy, international, journalism | Leave a comment

Serial killer and journalist

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“The Hands of Mr. Ottermole,” a frequently anthologized classic murder mystery by Thomas Burke, was adapted for radio in the 1940s by the anthology series Suspense and Radio City Playhouse — each with its own twist on the tale. Both versions involve a suspicious newspaper reporter … Continue reading →

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Doctor still thinks reporter is crazy

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Half-way into this half-hour broadcast of The March of Time, February 3, 1938, we get to hear a newspaper reporter sign himself into a mental hospital as a patient — only to have trouble getting out. Stories about New York’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, New York City, newspapers, radio, reporting, The March of Time, true stories, undercover | Leave a comment

Crime Photographer Thanksgivings

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Working holidaysCasey, Crime Photographer was a weekly fixture on CBS radio for a dozen years, 1943-55, and listeners probably felt they were dropping into the Blue Note Cafe along with the hero and his reporter friend Ann Williams — even … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, Casey, detectives, holidays, newspapers, photographer, reporters | Leave a comment

A detective tries to save a reporter’s life

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Bob Stepno

The long-running “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” series put the Hartford-based insurance investigator on the case of a newspaper reporter friend in a 1956 broadcast. Called “The Big Scoop Matter,” it has a couple of common newspaper-drama themes: a reporter with … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, crime, detectives, reporters | Leave a comment

Who would want a newspaper for a wedding present?

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Two recent journalism school grads, Betty and Henry Beetle Hough, that’s who. Their adventure is explored in this week’s radio program, “Once More the Thunderer.” Some context: My “Portrayal of the journalist in popular culture” students are watching “Teacher’s Pet” this … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, editors, journalism, local news, newspapers, publishers, romance | Leave a comment