Category Archives: local news

Minnie Pearl with the news

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/GrandOleOpryOtr/023-GrandOleOpry09-25-43.mp3 In a rare crossover between my personal research interests in Old Time fiddle music and Old Time Radio, I stumbled onto the Grand Ole Opry of September 25, 1943, with Cousin Minnie Pearl being introduced as “our girl reporter … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, folklore, local news, newspapers, women | Leave a comment

News that depended on people

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Bob Stepno

… and people depending on a newspaper On International Women’s Day in a pandemic year, I’m listening to a radio play about a woman reporter on a medical story, Dorothy Patterson of the Paterson, N.J., Morning Call. While most episodes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, children, Drama, local news, newspaper crusades, newspaper readers, The Big Story, true stories, women | Leave a comment

Cagney, Dickens and ketchup save a newspaper

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/ScreenGuildTheater/Sgt_48-02-09_ep374_Johnny_Come_Lately.mp3 Local newspapers have been fighting for survival since the horse-and-buggy days when this story takes place. The 1943 film Johnny Come Lately starred James Cagney as an  out-of-work “tramp reporter” who both rescues and is rescued by an elderly … Continue reading →

Posted in 1900s, 1940s, adaptations, closing, editors, local news, newspaper crusades, newspapers, political corruption, reporters | Leave a comment

Another John Reed

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Bob Stepno

http://www.archive.org/download/Rogers_Of_The_Gazette/RogersOfTheGazette_530916_011_Illyria_Box_Lunch.mp3 The “Illyria Box Lunch” episode of “Rogers of the Gazette” is quite a package… Small-town journalism, small-town romance, mysterious thefts, a writing lecture, and a pickled peach… and all in a half hour! Newspaper editor Will Rogers Jr has … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, editors, local news, newspapers | 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

Who would want a newspaper for a wedding present?

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Bob Stepno

Two recent journalism school grads, Betty and Henry Beetle Hough, that’s who. Their adventure is explored in this week’s radio program, “Once More the Thunderer.” Some context: My “Portrayal of the journalist in popular culture” students are watching “Teacher’s Pet” this … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, editors, journalism, local news, newspapers, publishers, romance | 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