Category Archives: adventure

Wild Bill still makes headlines

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Bob Stepno

58-10-12_Episode36_Aces And Eights –5.7 MB Frontier Gentleman was a high-class radio Western about a London Times reporter sending home dispatches from the American Frontier… frequently about people being dispatched. In this episode, a colorful lady named Calamity Jane introduces the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, 19th century, adventure, folklore, historical figures, reporters, westerns | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Newspapers, charity and a nose for news

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Bob Stepno

Wealthy owners have long been part of American newspapers, for better or for worse. This Green Hornet episode, Dead Man’s Topcoat, opens with a visitor asking newspaper publisher Britt Reid to write a check for $1,000 because a local charity … Continue reading →

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

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

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

Flying reporter & a woman in charge

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Bob Stepno

“What a story! Boy this is great!” — reporter Jimmy Gifford Here’s a mystery from 1932, the days when radio drama was relatively new, when flying the air mail was still an adventure, and so was newspaper reporting. The broadcast … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, adventure, crime, Police, reporters, romance | Leave a comment

A cemetery scoop

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Bob Stepno

It’s October, and as Halloween approaches, I am reminded that I have not posted many stories from radio’s always popular macabre or thriller series… Might as well start early. “Scoop,” the December 8, 1942, episode of the scare-filled late-night radio … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Drama, publishers, reporters, suspense | Leave a comment

Spring training and the Green Hornet

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Bob Stepno

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

No paper dolls on radio, just a pioneer newswoman role model

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Bob Stepno

Sept. 26, 1938?? Sept. 27, 1938?? http://www.VintageRadioPrograms.com/Jane_Arden_380927_Ep002_Police_Question_Cab_Driver.mp3 Announcer’s introduction: The Adventures of Jane Arden, a thrilling drama of a fearless girl reporter, the most beautiful woman in the newspaper world. Jane Arden, star reporter for The Bulletin, important newspaper of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, adventure, comics, journalism, newspapers, reporters, women | Leave a comment

Press, police & femme fatale

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Bob Stepno

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