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.

A Daily Planet contest saves the world

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Bob Stepno

Less than a year after the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan, young listeners to “The Adventures of Superman” radio serial heard of another dictatorship’s threat to destroy American cities with 100 planes loaded with atom bombs. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Clark Kent, detectives, Lois Lane, newspaper crusades, newspaper readers, newspapers, Perry White, reporters, reporting, Superman | Leave a comment

The Case of Exploding Dolls

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Bob Stepno

The opening episode of this six-part Superman story from 1940 shows reporters Kent and Lane on assignment, tracking down a fatal industrial explosion at an unlikely place — a doll factory. Hans Honin’s Doll Factory, episode one Hans Honin’s Doll … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Perry White, reporters, reporting, Superman, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

30 Years of NBC Radio plus Balloo in a Balloon, and me

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/BiographiesInSound560515RecollectionsAtThirty/Biographies%20in%20Sound%2056-05-15%20Recollections%20at%20Thirty.mp3 In 1956, NBC radio’s “Biographies in Sound” featured veteran radio news commentator H.V. Kaltenborn and radio satirists Bob & Ray in the episode above, paying tribute to the first 30 years of commercial radio — news, music, drama and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Drama, historical figures, Korea, media history, radio, World War II | Leave a comment

From news to folklore, talking to and for ‘the plain people’

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/COA_OTRR_Cert_CD1/Calv410623232JoelChandlerHarris.mp3 In addition to providing an oldtime radio dramatization of the life of newspaperman turned reteller of folktales Joel Chandler Harris, the Internet Archive has his works and biography, including the volume shown above. His red hair is mentioned several … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 19th century, Brotherhood, columnists, editors, folklore, playwrights, Race | Leave a comment

Frontier People in the News

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Bob Stepno

J. B. Kendall, 19th century American wild west correspondent for the London Times, had his fictional career cut short when the CBS Radio series Frontier Gentleman wrapped up at the end of its 1958 season. But star John Dehner’s last … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, foreign correspondents, reporters, westerns | Leave a comment

Will reporter uncover secret plans?

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Lux_Radio_Theater_Singles/Lux_Radio_Theatre_43-04-26_393_The_Lady_Has_Plans.mp3 “The Lady Has Plans” has World War II’s favorite pinup Rita Hayworth (so described by host Cecil B. DeMille) in the role of a veteran newspaper reporter making a transition to radio news in Lisbon, and William Powell as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, foreign correspondents, international, radio, reporters, Uncategorized, women, World War II | Leave a comment

Reporting can be dangerous

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Bob Stepno

In this 1953 episode of the popular crime series “Mr. District Attorney,” a Daily Clarion reporter calls with news that he has uncovered a “Mister Big” crime boss. Gunshots heard over the phone and a visit to the newsroom by … Continue reading →

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

A Century of Breaking the News

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Cavalcade_of_America_Singles/CALV_480712_576_Break_the_News.mp3 The historical radio series DuPont Cavalcade of America celebrated the first century of the Associated Press in 1948 by dramatizing scenes in the news cooperative’s past — from its first big error (signal flags were involved) through an effort … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 19th century, cavalcade, historical figures, wire services | Leave a comment

Not Lois — it’s Margo Lane, reporter

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Bob Stepno

I’ve written in the past about the Shadow having his partner Margo Lane impersonate a reporter from time to time, but now I have found a Shadow episode in which Margo actually does take on a writing assignment. It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, crime, Lois Lane, magazines, reporters, women | Leave a comment

Zola on the air

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Lux_Radio_Theater_Singles/Lux_Radio_Theatre_39-05-08_218_The_Life_of_Emile_Zola.mp3 Today was the birthday of Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (1840-1902), and the birthday of a former editor of mine, a coincidence that reminded me that I have never gotten around to posting about the 1898 Dreyfus case and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, Europe, historical figures, journalism, movies | Leave a comment