Category Archives: reporters

Veteran and reporter confront issues of peace and war

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Bob Stepno

The Internet Archive copy of this “Judgement Day” episode of “Douglas of the World” spells “judgment” with the central “e,” British style, which is appropriately international. The archive and the script itself identify this as the last show of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, cold war, foreign correspondents, international, journalism, newspapers, reporters | 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

A Casey New Year: More than one way to get a headache

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Sticking with both “Crime Photographer” and my seasonal theme, the episode titled Hot New Year’s Party is really a “morning after” story — one that just happened to be broadcast on a New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 1948. The story … Continue reading →

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

Stop the Presses: Reporter Gets Christmas Off

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Bob Stepno

William Conrad, who played a city editor with a dramatic “It’s a newspaper, that’s all…” speech in the Jack Webb newsroom movie “-30-,” appears as an editor again in this Christmas episode of the “Night Beat” radio series in 1951, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, editors, newspapers, reporters | Leave a comment

Reporting from a war zone — in Montana

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Bob Stepno

The opening of this “Frontier Gentleman” radio drama from 1958 sounds appropriately like a lead sentence for a newspaper feature story: “The great chief of the Sioux Indians is Sitting Bull. He’s a rather difficult chap to meet, especially when … Continue reading →

Posted in 19th century, foreign correspondents, historical figures, journalism, newspapers, reporters | Leave a comment

Read Along with Hildy & Walter

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Thanks to the Internet Movie Script DataBase, I’ve added a text excerpt of Hildy Johnson’s passionate second thoughts about journalists to my page of links to “His Girl Friday” and “The Front Page” radio incarnations, just in time for my fall … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Hildy Johnson, movies, radio, reporters, romance, women | Leave a comment

Postmodern radio with Wendy Warren and the News

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Bob Stepno

When I wrote the original version of this page, I’d only heard this one 1949 episode of “Wendy Warren and the News,” but it captured the series’ unique style. Wendy Warren was a fictional noontime newscaster who shared the opening … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, journalism, radio, reporters, true stories | 6 Comments

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

Radio adds Front Page Drama to small-town news

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Here’s one from the journalist’s “be careful what you wish for” department. Rand’s Esoteric OTR‘s collection of Front Page Drama episodes captures a 1930s-50s radio show that was a fascinating crossover between radio, newspapers and public relations. The program in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hearst, reporters, true stories, women | Leave a comment

D-Day — Real and Dramatized

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Bob Stepno

Thanks to Old Time Radio Researchers collections at the Internet Archive here are two versions of what June 6, 1944, sounded like to the World War II era listening audience. The first presents 45 minutes of selections from the actual … Continue reading →

Posted in foreign correspondents, historical figures, international, reporters, true stories, World War II | 2 Comments