Category Archives: 1950s

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 final page, but no news

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_New_Adventures_of_Nero_Wolfe_Singles/nanw_51-03-23_ep22_The_Final_Page.mp3 In my search for radio portrayals of journalists, “The Final Page” was the most promising title in a collection of New Adventures of Nero Wolfe episodes. Unfortunately, the page mentioned in the title is from a novel, not a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, detectives, Drama, propaganda, public relations, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

College trustee steamed over student press

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Bob Stepno

The witty — if a bit prone to puns and quotations — college president on “Halls of Ivy” had more than one anxious moment over campus news media, but supported the freedom of the press in good spirits, which must … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, columnists, comics, Drama, newspapers, reporters | Leave a comment

A bit critical

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Bob Stepno

“I can save time if I write my review on the way to the theater.” –Mortimer Brewster http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/B%20Series/Best%20Plays/Best%20Plays%2052-07-06%20(05)%20Arsenic%20and%20Old%20Lace.mp3 Arsenic and Old Lace (IMDB), a hit play and Capra film, was done by several radio anthology series. Here it is by … Continue reading →

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A case of mistaken identity

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Philip_Marlowe_Singles/Philip_Marlowe_50-09-29_ep103_The_Big_Book.mp3 In Raymond Chandler’s novels or the 1947-51 radio series they inspired, Philip Marlowe wasn’t the kind of detective who plays for the headlines. “What’s the news in that?” he asks at the end of this 1950 adventure titled “The … Continue reading →

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Before Bond: Moscow correspondent faces Russian with steel teeth

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Bob Stepno

Suspense (1955): https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Suspense_Singles/Suspense_550217_585_The_Man_with_the_Steel_Teeth_-64-44-_11715_24m48s.mp3 This script by John Dehner was timely Cold War radio about an American correspondent attempting to flee his Soviet interrogator, “The Man with Steel Teeth.” It was produced twice, both times by Antony Ellis, for two of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, cold war, international, reporters, Russia | Leave a comment

A gentleman of the press vs. ungentlemanly gentiles

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Bob Stepno

A Facebook conversation just led me to check back and see if I had ever posted a blog item about the radio adaptations of the movie Gentleman’s Agreement, and it looks like I hadn’t, other than a paragraph in my … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, adaptations, civil rights, reporters, stereotypes, undercover | Leave a comment

Ghostwriting for equal rights

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Bob Stepno

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

Mann of the Press at Bay

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Suspense_Singles_By_Year_1952/Suspense_521124_488_Man_Alive_128-44_28478_29m41s.mp3 From November 1952, this is no Thanksgiving story… A San Francisco newspaper columnist gets involved with bad Italian accents, puns on his name (“Mann”), a picture postcard and a mystery. Supposedly based on a true story, this episode of … Continue reading →

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Two Reporters Conspire in Moscow

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Bob Stepno

Radio’s dramatic adventure series like “Suspense” and “Escape” sometimes relied on journalist characters as narrators, doing what reporters do — telling a story mostly from the outside. In “Two If By Sea,” the derring-do is their own. Even in peacetime, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, Europe, foreign correspondents, international, reporters, romance, Russia | Leave a comment