Tag Archives: 1940s

Newspaper comics on the radio

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Bob Stepno

This isn’t about journalism’s “newspaper heroes,” but another convergence of America’s 20th century “newspaper culture” and that mass media upstart, radio broadcasting — and the more recent “collector culture” of old time radio on the internet. The crossover medium here … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, 1950s, children, comics, historical figures, newspapers | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Newspaper owner gets electric chair; he led hate group, ordered murders & kidnapping

Posted on April 8, 2025 by Bob Stepno

I usually avoid “spoilers” in writing about radio drama, not wanting to discourage folks from listening to the archived original broadcasts. But I also have old-newspaperman guilt about “burying the lede” and wanted to write the headline above. So today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, Clark Kent, hate groups, progressive causes, propaganda, Race, racial justice, Superman, villains | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Corrupt Politicians Threaten Partisan Reporter

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Bob Stepno

In May 1946, Lois Lane is invited to speak on behalf of a progressive candidate at a mass meeting, part of “the bitterest election campaign in the history of Metropolis” … and the story opens with a telephone threat, which … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, adventure, comics, ethics, Jimmy Olsen, journalism, local news, Lois Lane, Lois Lane, newspaper bias, newspaper crusades, political corruption, progressive causes, reporters, reporting, Superman | Tagged , , | 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

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

Strawberry Shortcake at War

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Bob Stepno

Alas, the liberation story shown in this Google newspaper archive clip never made it to the radio, as far as I know, but it hints at the first-person style of husband-and-wife United Press correspondents Reynolds and Eleanor Packard. The “Soldiers of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s, foreign correspondents, reporting, Soldiers of the Press, true stories, United Press, Walter Cronkite, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment