Category Archives: 1950s

Eerie control of the press hits small midwestern town

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Bob Stepno

This “Rogers of the Gazette” episode from January 1954, titled “Something’s Going On,” has a terrible pun in the first line and a hint of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” terror in the plot. (Of course, given that it’s “Rogers … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, cold war, editors, journalism, newspapers, radio | Leave a comment

Editor’s New Year Help from Investigative Twins

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Bob Stepno

From Dec. 30, 1953, here’s what was regularly billed as “another heartwarming story of a country newspaper and its friendly editor.” The series is “Rogers of the Gazette,” starring Will Rogers Jr. This episode starts with the editor giving a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, editors, ethics, journalism, local news, newspapers, reporters, teaching | 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 →

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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

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

Covering the world for the World, after the World was gone

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Bob Stepno

I’ve just caught up with the Old Time Radio Researchers Group library updates from 11 months ago and discovered that the group’s collection of “Douglas of the World” stored at the Internet Archive now has four episodes — a 300 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, cold war, foreign correspondents, international, newspapers, propaganda, reporters | Leave a comment

Deadline U.S.A. — radio edition of a classic newspaper film

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Bob Stepno

The movie poster gives you the general idea of the plot, but here is the radio version of a classic “heroic newspapermen” movie called Deadline U.S.A. (click to play or download the mp3 if a “player” icon isn’t visible below). … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, closing, editors, ethics, journalism, movies, newspapers, Pulitzer Prize | 2 Comments