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.

Season’s Greetings from Casey, Christmas Photographer

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Bob Stepno

I mentioned these Christmas episodes last year in my other blog before starting JHeroes.com, but ’tis the season… “Casey, Crime Photographer” was the radio version of a pulp fiction and movie character, and went on to have his own comic … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Casey, crime, photographer | Leave a comment

America Has Room at the Inn — in Big Town

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Bob Stepno

“The power and the freedom of the press is a flaming sword; that it may be a faithful servant of all the people, use it justly. Hold it high. Guard it well!” Writer Jerry McGill, a former newspaperman, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, cold war, editors, ethics, international, newspapers, World War II | Leave a comment

Radio Christmas in Connecticut

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Bob Stepno

It isn’t quite Christmas, and I’m far from Connecticut. (Yes, Santa, I’m in Virginia.) And the Martha Stewart or Gladys Taber style feel-good food-and-home magazine feature writing celebrated in the 1945 film “Christmas in Connecticut” doesn’t really match my “Newspaper … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, ethics, journalism, movies, radio, women | Leave a comment

Stop the Presses: Reporter Gets Christmas Off

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Bob Stepno

William Conrad, who played a city editor with a dramatic “It’s a newspaper, that’s all…” speech in the Jack Webb newsroom movie “-30-,” appears as an editor again in this Christmas episode of the “Night Beat” radio series in 1951, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, editors, newspapers, reporters | Leave a comment

Journalism students cause trouble

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Bob Stepno

My “Portrayals of the Journalist” class eventually will watch the 1958 Clark Gable and Doris Day film “Teacher’s Pet,” in which a young journalism professor spars with a tough city editor who invades her class to expose what a waste … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, comedy, editors, movies, teaching, women | 1 Comment

Reporting from a war zone — in Montana

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Bob Stepno

The opening of this “Frontier Gentleman” radio drama from 1958 sounds appropriately like a lead sentence for a newspaper feature story: “The great chief of the Sioux Indians is Sitting Bull. He’s a rather difficult chap to meet, especially when … Continue reading →

Posted in 19th century, foreign correspondents, historical figures, journalism, newspapers, reporters | Leave a comment

Tabloid Editors Repent!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Bob Stepno

For students watching the 1931 film “Five Star Final” with Edward G. Robinson as a guilt-ridden tabloid editor, and for anyone looking for an audio alternative to the old-movie experience, here is something close to a radio sequel to the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, editors, ethics, sensationalism, tabloids | Leave a comment

Perry White and men in white sheets

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Clark and Lois get most of the attention at The Daily Planet, but their editor Perry White had his heroic moments too. One was when his editorials against a white-hooded gang of hatemongers resulted in a burning cross on his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, editors, Perry White, Pulitzer Prize, Superman | Leave a comment

Read Along with Hildy & Walter

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Thanks to the Internet Movie Script DataBase, I’ve added a text excerpt of Hildy Johnson’s passionate second thoughts about journalists to my page of links to “His Girl Friday” and “The Front Page” radio incarnations, just in time for my fall … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Hildy Johnson, movies, radio, reporters, romance, women | Leave a comment

Postmodern radio with Wendy Warren and the News

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Bob Stepno

When I wrote the original version of this page, I’d only heard this one 1949 episode of “Wendy Warren and the News,” but it captured the series’ unique style. Wendy Warren was a fictional noontime newscaster who shared the opening … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, journalism, radio, reporters, true stories | 6 Comments