Category Archives: 1950s

Constitutional Reporting Becomes a Cliffhanger

Posted on October 19, 2025 by Bob Stepno

Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton are among the news sources interviewed by a thorough, and presumably thoroughly fictional, newspaper reporter trying to get the backstory on the US Constitution before its signing in 1787. While Tom Farrell is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, Colonial America, historical figures, History, reporters, true stories | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Newspaper comics on the radio

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Bob Stepno

This isn’t about journalism’s “newspaper heroes,” but another convergence of America’s 20th century “newspaper culture” and that mass media upstart, radio broadcasting — and the more recent “collector culture” of old time radio on the internet. The crossover medium here … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, children, comics, historical figures, newspapers | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A mystery about a mystery

Posted on August 18, 2024 by Bob Stepno

Perhaps a pilot for a possible series, this is the only episode of “The Fabulous Mr. Manchester” I have seen in radio collectors’ logs online. It was an ABC broadcast on May 06, 1950. Fortunately, YouTube channels about radio mysteries … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, Europe, foreign correspondents | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fibber in the newsroom? Ask Aunt Jenny

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Bob Stepno

The regular “Aunt Jenny” at The Gazette is out of action, and Fibber McGee volunteers to replace the advice columnist for a day, with wife Molly as his secretary. Old-time radio programs of all kinds worked newspapers and journalism into … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, columnists, comedy, newspaper readers, newspapers, radio | Leave a comment

Mary liked editorials…

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Bob Stepno

In 1921, William Allen White writes an editorial when his 16-year-old daughter dies, not an obituary, and in 1954 Hallmark Hall of Fame uses his process of writing it to frame the story of her father, perhaps America’s most famous … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, columnists, Drama, editors, Hallmark, historical figures, journalism, media history, newspapers, publishers, writing | Leave a comment

Praying for a Free Press?

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Bob Stepno

“The Family Theater” was a classic old time radio show that ran from 1947 to 1957 with an unusual sponsor: Prayer. But it also found itself telling the stories of newspaper editors and reporters from time to time… So here … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, Colonial America, courtroom, editors, historical figures, History, journalism, Libel law, New York City, newspapers, political corruption, publishers, true stories, women | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

TV is news, and a risky business… Radio and newspapers say so

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles/Dragnet_51-08-09_113_The_Big_Screen.mp3 The Los Angeles Daily News is the real hero in this August 1951 “Dragnet” episode, The Big Screen, part of an Old Time Radio Researchers group collection at the Internet Archive… A reporter on the paper’s TV-radio beat has … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, columnists, newspapers, photographer, Police, reporters, reporting, television, true stories, undercover | Leave a comment

The Future of News Could Be Risky

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Bob Stepno

“Inside Story” by Richard Wilson, was a 1957 episode of the science fiction series “X-Minus-One.” It featured a reporter for “Galactic News Service” (GNS) investigating a mysterious epidemic on a colonized planet. (Curiously “X-Minus-One” was for part of its run … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, journalism, reporters, science fiction, sensationalism, undercover | Leave a comment

Soaps and Circulation

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Bob Stepno

An editor and “ace reporter” debated the news value and audience interest in a sensational murder case — versus coverage of the Korean War — in this December 1950 episode of “The Guiding Light” soap opera. http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/G%20Series/Guiding%20Light/The%20Guiding%20Light%2050-12-19%20Newspaper%20Has%20Story%20About%20Murder.MP3 Joe Roberts of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, courtroom, crime, ethics, Korea, newspapers, reporters, reporting, sensationalism, soap opera | Leave a comment

News that depended on people

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Bob Stepno

… and people depending on a newspaper On International Women’s Day in a pandemic year, I’m listening to a radio play about a woman reporter on a medical story, Dorothy Patterson of the Paterson, N.J., Morning Call. While most episodes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, children, Drama, local news, newspaper crusades, newspaper readers, The Big Story, true stories, women | Leave a comment