Category Archives: comics

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

Corrupt Politicians Threaten Partisan Reporter

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Bob Stepno

In May 1946, Lois Lane is invited to speak on behalf of a progressive candidate at a mass meeting, part of “the bitterest election campaign in the history of Metropolis” … and the story opens with a telephone threat, which … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, comics, ethics, Jimmy Olsen, journalism, local news, Lois Lane, Lois Lane, newspaper bias, newspaper crusades, political corruption, progressive causes, reporters, reporting, Superman | Tagged , , | 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

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

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Bob Stepno

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 a big American city. It has taken … Continue reading →

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

Fighting drugs with a radio-comicbook crossover

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Bob Stepno

Radio and movie star Frank Lovejoy would have been 104 today. Better known as the leading man reporter on Night Beat,  Lovejoy also took a turn as The Blue Beetle, a radio and comic book superhero who appeared to borrow … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, adaptations, adventure, comics, detectives, reporters, science fiction | Leave a comment

Little Orphan Annie in the newsroom

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Bob Stepno

Popular radio series characters of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s often visited or were visited by newspaper reporters and editors. Little Orphan Annie, decades before her Broadway debut, paid a visit to a local editor on the occasion of her … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, adventure, children, comics, editors, local news | Leave a comment

A Christmas story – Superman versus the Nielsen racket

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Bob Stepno

December 1946 — The bad guy in this Superman story isn’t threatening the world, but he could cost Clark Kent his job, and right before Christmas too! Yes, as the headline above suggests, the villain is a racketeer named Nielsen, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, Clark Kent, comics, editors, Jimmy Olsen, journalism, newspaper crusades, newspapers, Perry White, reporting, Superman, World War II | Leave a comment

Newspaper audience hooked on comics

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Bob Stepno

No journalist shows up to solve the 1944 “radio noir” mystery of “The Comic Strip Murders,” but the audio drama draws an over-the-top picture of dedicated newspaper readers, and the popularity of newspaper crime comics like “Dick Tracy” and “The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, audiences, comics, newspapers, readers | Leave a comment