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.

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 →

Posted in 1940s | Leave a comment

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

Clark Kent, super burglar or stupid bungler?

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Being on the side of truth and justice appears to have justified some “might means right” tactics in Clark Kent’s early reporting repertoire, including burglary, threats, assault and kidnapping. For example, in this sequence from the second year of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Clark Kent, ethics, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, reporting, Superman | Leave a comment

Former police chief becomes investigative reporter

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“Here’s the dope, Bob…” — former Chief Henderson. A few episodes ago Betty and Bob Drake convinced their corrupt city’s former police chief to become an investigative reporter on their paper, The Trumpet. In this episode, he lets them know … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, journalism, political corruption, publishers, soap opera | Leave a comment

Clark Kent, unethical sports reporter?

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“You’re a reporter, not a detective,” Perry White to Clark Kent. The month of March madness seems an odd season to be writing about football, but here goes — with a tale that demonstrates that there were sometimes shades of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Clark Kent, ethics, Lois Lane, Perry White, sports, Superman | 2 Comments

Running a crusading newspaper as a ‘line of duty’

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“Miracles don’t happen twice in a lifetime,” Betty Drake warned her husband Bob in last week’s episode, titled “Bob Is Returning to Monroe to Fight.” She was reminding him that only an advanced operation restored his ability to walk after … Continue reading →

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

Something Green for St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Bob Stepno

  The band played an Irish jig  whenever derby-wearing Michael Axford entered the scene in The Green Hornet Strikes Again, the 1941 movie serial closely based on the Green Hornet radio program. Cop-turned-reporter Axford, played by Wade Boteler in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, GreenHornet, movies, radio, reporters, undercover, women | Leave a comment

Even soap-opera journalists can fly the flag of human decency

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Bob Stepno

“Betty and Bob have neither thought nor fear of the disasters that may lie ahead. Their newspaper will not only fly the flag of freedom and human decency, but will fight for it.” Publishers Betty and Bob Drake have turned … Continue reading →

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