Category Archives: true stories

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

The Zengers make news again

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Bob Stepno

John and Anna Zenger weren’t radio stars, but I’ve just found a third appearance for them… In an episode of the CBS series “You Are There.” It’s an entertaining “live news report,” as if the 1949 CBS radio news crew … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Colonial America, editors, free speech, historical figures, History, Libel law, media history, New York City, political corruption, publishers, true stories | Leave a comment

One line at a time

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Bob Stepno

Ottmar Mergenthaler already had been the subject of a Cavalcade of America historical-biography radioplay in 1937, but here he is getting the Hallmark Hall of Fame treatment 16 years later… a story that includes a suspenseful beginning for anyone who … Continue reading →

Posted in 19th century, historical figures, History, newspapers, technology, true stories | Leave a comment

Praying for a Free Press?

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Bob Stepno

“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 1950s, Colonial America, courtroom, editors, historical figures, History, journalism, Libel law, New York City, newspapers, political corruption, publishers, true stories, women | Tagged , , | 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

Military radio tells Stars & Stripes History

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Bob Stepno

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 →

Posted in 1940s, historical figures, journalism, newspapers, true stories, World War II | Tagged , , | 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

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

Woman with a Mission, Ida B. Wells

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Bob Stepno

[Ida B. Wells portrait from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, via Google Arts and Culture] Her New York Times obituary — 87 years after her death — called Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) “one of the nation’s most … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, civil rights, journalism, newspaper crusades, Race, true stories, women | Leave a comment

Mann of the Press at Bay

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Bob Stepno

https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Suspense_Singles_By_Year_1952/Suspense_521124_488_Man_Alive_128-44_28478_29m41s.mp3 From November 1952, this is no Thanksgiving story… A San Francisco newspaper columnist gets involved with bad Italian accents, puns on his name (“Mann”), a picture postcard and a mystery. Supposedly based on a true story, this episode of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, adventure, suspense, true stories, Uncategorized | Leave a comment