Category Archives: reporters

Reporter as frame

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Bob Stepno

I will come back to say more about this program, but I think it is worth listening to as an example of a radio storytelling technique that uses a fictional magazine or newspaper reporter as a “wrapper” or frame to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, civil rights, Drama, journalism, New York City, Race, reporters, stereotypes, true stories, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Front Page Farrell” wasn’t front page news on D-Day

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Bob Stepno

On D-Day, one of America’s most famous reporters, Front Page Farrell, was not involved in the war coverage at all… But, of course, Dave Farrell was fictional. Still, his June 7, 1944, episode above has hints of America’s mood on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Europe, radio, reporters, soap opera, Uncategorized, World War II | Leave a comment

A Clue in the Clouds

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Casey_Crime_Photographer_Singles/Casey44-02-2633TheClueInTheCloudscaseyPressPhotographer.mp3 Long before the advent of Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure, “The Clue in the Clouds” was a technology-rich episode of “Casey, Press Photographer,” more often known as “Crime Photographer,” one of the longest-running old-time radio dramatic series to feature … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Casey, newspapers, photographer, reporters, women | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Who was that masked reporter?

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Bob Stepno

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

TV is news, and a risky business… Radio and newspapers say so

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles/Dragnet_51-08-09_113_The_Big_Screen.mp3 The Los Angeles Daily News is the real hero in this August 1951 “Dragnet” episode, The Big Screen, part of an Old Time Radio Researchers group collection at the Internet Archive… A reporter on the paper’s TV-radio beat has … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, columnists, newspapers, photographer, Police, reporters, reporting, television, true stories, undercover | Leave a comment

The Future of News Could Be Risky

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Bob Stepno

“Inside Story” by Richard Wilson, was a 1957 episode of the science fiction series “X-Minus-One.” It featured a reporter for “Galactic News Service” (GNS) investigating a mysterious epidemic on a colonized planet. (Curiously “X-Minus-One” was for part of its run … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, journalism, reporters, science fiction, sensationalism, undercover | Leave a comment

Soaps and Circulation

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Bob Stepno

An editor and “ace reporter” debated the news value and audience interest in a sensational murder case — versus coverage of the Korean War — in this December 1950 episode of “The Guiding Light” soap opera. http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/G%20Series/Guiding%20Light/The%20Guiding%20Light%2050-12-19%20Newspaper%20Has%20Story%20About%20Murder.MP3 Joe Roberts of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, courtroom, crime, ethics, Korea, newspapers, reporters, reporting, sensationalism, soap opera | Leave a comment

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

Black Journalists Mattered, 1944

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Bob Stepno

“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

Maybe the stories were true

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Lux_Radio_Theater_Singles/Lux_Radio_Theatre_45-12-10_505_Guest_Wife.mp3 “Guest Wife” was a 1945 film and corresponding Lux Radio Theater production, with foreign correspondent Don Ameche returning from India to collect something like a Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately, as ethical as his reporting from India may have been, he … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adaptations, ethics, foreign correspondents, reporters | Leave a comment