Radiojar Blog Thoughts on Radio Storytelling

Once about a time there was a book: "The War Of The Worlds" by H. G. Wells, first published in 1898.This was the story of one of the attempts of Martians to occupy Earth, arriving in our planet in cylinders fired from the surface of Mars.The book is now a classic and has been an inspiration for other novels, TV shows and Hollywood films. It is also supposed to be the cornerstone of a young man's imagination, Robert H. Goddard, who later on took part in the Apollo program's moon landing.There was also another man, who found the novel very interesting and shared it in his own way with the rest of the world.It was the legendary actor and filmmaker Orson Welles, who narrated an adaptation of the book, as part of "The Mercury Theatre on The Air" anthology series, airing on Sunday, October 30, 1938 over Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio network.The program's format was a simulated live newscast of developing events, presented as news bulletins interrupting another program.There were reports that some of the audience had missed the introduction stating that this show was a drama and not an actual news report, leading media in the days following the broadcast, to describe the program as deceptive and calling for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).All of these events skyrocketed Welles' fame.This is a story that makes me think of the impact radio had on people's lives in the 20th Century.In the 1930s radio's golden age, stars were born in between the radio waves.American everyday life was orbiting around comedian shows, dramas, soap operas and news broadcasts through a wooden radio receiver with its own spot in the living room.Alexandros ZoupasAccount Manager @radiojar