Category Archives: 1940s

Woman with a Mission, Ida B. Wells

Posted on May 17, 2018 by

[Ida B. Wells portrait from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, via Google Arts and Culture] Her New York Times obituary — 87 years after her death — called Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) “one of the nation’s most influential … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, civil rights, journalism, newspaper crusades, Race, true stories, women | Leave a comment

Spring training and the Green Hornet

Posted on April 30, 2018 by

http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/G%20Series/Green%20Hornet,%20The/Green%20Hornet%2048-06-01%20(0861)%20The%20Hornet%20Bats%20for%20a%20Pitcher.mp3 Here’s a Green Hornet episode I haven’t written about yet: The 1948 tale’ s title “The Hornet Bats for a Pitcher” sums it up… A pitcher sent back to the minors keeps losing, leading a Daily Sentinel sports reporter … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, GreenHornet, sports | Leave a comment

Press, police & femme fatale

Posted on April 15, 2018 by

http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/G%20Series/Green%20Hornet,%20The/Green%20Hornet%2044-01-15%20(0636)%20Lowrey's%20Big%20Moment.mp3 It has been a while since I have written about old-time radio’s portrayal of the relationship between newspaper reporters and police officers. This 1944 Green Hornet episode goes beyond the series’ usual scenes of camaraderie between the cops and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, GreenHornet, reporters | Leave a comment

Ghostwriting for equal rights

Posted on March 19, 2018 by

https://archive.org/download/DestinationFreedom/DF_49-06-19_ep050-Ghost_Editor.mp3 “Ghost Editor” is a well-dramatized biography of Roscoe Dunjee, who founded the Black Dispatch, the first African American newspaper in 1915 Oklahoma City. Actor Fred Pinkard narrates the series as Dunjee in this episode of the “Destination Freedom” African … Continue reading →

Posted in 1900s, 1940s, 1950s, civil rights, editors, historical figures, newspaper crusades, newspapers, racial justice, reporting, undercover | Leave a comment

A Gentleman and Lady of the Press

Posted on March 16, 2018 by

http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/F%20Series/Forecast/Forecast%2040-07-16%20(02)%20The%20American%20Theater%20-%20The%20Gentleman%20From%20Indiana%20(Actually%20400715).mp3 The 1940 CBS radio series “Forecast” was a summer showcase for ideas for new series… what television later called “pilots,” and a drama about an Indiana newspaperman was part of the series’ first edition. However the newspaperman story wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adaptations, editors, newspaper crusades, novels, romance, women | Leave a comment

Her guy Friday? What a Woman!

Posted on February 20, 2018 by

Rosalind Russell, ace fast-talking newshound of “His Girl Friday,” was back in a journalism-related movie a few years later in “What a Woman!” — but this time she was the one under the reportorial magnifying glass. “I’m not a cub … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, magazines, reporters, women | Leave a comment

A brotherhood of reporters and ex-reporters

Posted on January 15, 2018 by

The 1948-49 series Box 13 featured a former newspaper reporter, Dan Holiday, now a novelist. He had become a detective/adventurer, advertising for tips sent to his classified-ad box, to dig up plots for his works of fiction. The newspaper’s main … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, detectives, reporters, World War II, writing | Leave a comment