Category Archives: historical figures

Praying for a Free Press?

“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 Colonial America, courtroom, editors, historical figures, History, journalism, New York City, newspapers, political corruption, publishers, true stories, women | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Who was that masked reporter?

A 19th century cub reporter faces an extra challenge on a big story in the “Race to the Wire” episode of The Lone Ranger. His competition is the villainous Jay Collins, so mean he is rumored to have killed another … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century, adventure, competition, ethics, historical figures, racial justice, reporters, westerns, wire services | Leave a comment

Military radio tells Stars & Stripes History

Back in 1947, “The Voice of the Army” used radio-drama techniques to tell the history of the U.S. armed forces newspaper, Stars & Stripes, begun during World War I. https://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/U-V%20Series/Voice%20Of%20The%20Army/Voice%20Of%20The%20Army%20xx-xx-xx%20(363)%20The%20Stars%20and%20Stripes-A%20Newspaper.mp3 The radio show itself was a post-World War II Army … Continue reading

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Wild Bill still makes headlines

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

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Abolitionist editor Jane Grey Swisshelm

The sound of a whip on a silent slave’s back opens Troublesome Jane, an original 1949 Cavalcade of America episode about editor Jane Grey Swisshelm launching an abolitionist newspaper in Minnesota before the Civil War. (“Aren’t there any hacksaws in … Continue reading

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A brief journalism career preceded his Nobel Peace Prize

https://archive.org/download/DestinationFreedom/DF_49-02-20_ep034-Peace_Mediator.mp3 It’s not every dabbler in journalism who uncovers a murder, reports the crime despite a threat to his life, then goes on to get a doctorate from Harvard and years later win the Nobel Peace Prize, like Ralph Bunche. … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, civil rights, historical figures | Leave a comment

Black Journalists Mattered, 1944

“New World A-Coming” was a New York radio station WMCA series begun during World War II, based on a book by the same name by journalist Roi Ottley, exploring issues of patriotism and racial prejudice in the United States… including … Continue reading

Posted in 1940s, civil rights, Drama, historical figures, journalism, Race, racial justice, reporters, stereotypes, true stories, World War II | Leave a comment

Hollywood royalty meets a journalism Royall

The folks at DuPont’s Cavalcade of America made three attempts at telling the story of 19th century journalist Anne Royall, but the first one, in 1940, was something special. That’s despite her introduction as a “little old woman who lived … Continue reading

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Even 1950s cowboys-for-kids followed newspapers

Wild Bill Hickok, the fictional version, sold plenty of breakfast cereal (“flaked, popped, shredded, ready-sweetened, every one’s a favorite…”) to 1950s kids on television and radio at the same time, with Guy Madison and Andy Devine as Bill and his … Continue reading

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30 Years of NBC Radio plus Balloo in a Balloon, and me

https://archive.org/download/BiographiesInSound560515RecollectionsAtThirty/Biographies%20in%20Sound%2056-05-15%20Recollections%20at%20Thirty.mp3 In 1956, NBC radio’s “Biographies in Sound” featured veteran radio news commentator H.V. Kaltenborn and radio satirists Bob & Ray in the episode above, paying tribute to the first 30 years of commercial radio — news, music, drama and … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Drama, historical figures, Korea, media history, radio, World War II | Leave a comment