Category Archives: newspapers

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

Slightly Dangerous: When a newspaper deludes itself and readers

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Bob Stepno

MGM Theater of the Air didn’t get the original movie cast for its 1950 radio production of the screwball comedy Slightly Dangerous, but Celeste Holm made a charming Peggy Evans (or “Miss X”) — a lunch-counter waitress so bored with … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptations, comedy, ethics, movies, newspapers, romance | Leave a comment

Blood on the Sun, on the radio and on screen

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Portraying hand-to-hand combat was never one of radio’s strong points, but this mixture of journalism and judo is worth a bow, at least as a vehicle to discuss some of the quirks of radio’s approach to movie adaptations. As a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, foreign correspondents, historical figures, movies, newspapers, reporting, World War II | Leave a comment

Journalists cutting deals, keeping secrets

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Bob Stepno

https://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/G%20Series/Green%20Hornet,%20The/Green%20Hornet%2038-05-24%20(0239)%20There%20Was%20A%20Crooked%20Man.mp3 Is a newspaper journalist the people’s watchdog or a government lapdog? How observant should a reporter be? And what should a city editor have for lunch? This Green Hornet radio episode, There Was a Crooked Man, is a place … Continue reading →

Posted in editors, ethics, GreenHornet, journalism, newspapers, publishers, reporters | 1 Comment

Sabra Cravat, Frontier Editor

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Bob Stepno

In both versions of the movie “Cimarron,” the visual spectacle of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush may have stolen the show. But in two radio adaptations, the story all belonged to Irene Dunne‘s portrayal of Sabra Cravat, frontier wife, mother … Continue reading →

Posted in 19th century, adaptations, cavalcade, editors, Hallmark, journalism, movies, newspapers, radio, women | 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

A critical view of an irresponsible newspaper

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Bob Stepno

One of the strongest critiques of journalistic ethics to be heard on classic radio was broadcast by NBC Radio City Playhouse. The original radioplay Correction is a 1949 newsroom drama with a person hurt by a news story showing up … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, journalism, newspapers, publishers | Leave a comment

This Press Photographer didn’t need pictures!

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Bob Stepno

… because he was on radio. The show began as “Flashgun Casey, Press Photographer,” although its later name “Crime Photographer” was a better description of its typical plotlines — more detective stories than journalism-procedurals. However, I love the film “Meet … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, magazines, newspapers, photographer, reporters | Leave a comment

Press Warrior: Richard Harding Davis

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Bob Stepno

The title of this Cavalcade of America wartime episode, “Soldier of a Free Press” (1942), certainly describes Richard Harding Davis, star reporter from the Spanish American War through World War I. The radio broadcast’s brief biography of the most famous … Continue reading →

Posted in 1900s, 19th century, foreign correspondents, international, journalism, newspapers, reporters | Leave a comment

Anna Zenger: Romance or history?

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Bob Stepno

These two episodes from Calvacade of America fall into a journalism category we might call “stories too good to check,” but they are still fascinating. Remember Anna Zenger (1949, Rosalind Russell) Mother of Freedom (1946, Ann Harding, Bill Conrad) The … Continue reading →

Posted in cavalcade, historical figures, journalism, newspapers, women | Leave a comment