Radio Drama · Old Time Radio · Drama

The Fourth Estate

Heard
1946
Episodes
1

In the mid-1940s, there was great interest in bringing the drama of the newspaper business to radio. Two competing ideas were vying for attention.

More about it

An audition for what would eventually become The Big Story was produced on February 1946. Initially titled "Special Assignment," it became "Feature Assignment." It dramatized the Joe Majczek case that would be re-done as the fifth episode of The Big Story a year later. It was also the case that would be produced as the Jimmy Stewart movie Call Northside 777.

Feature Assignment languished a bit in broadcasting limbo as a similar series was auditioned in 1946. It involved the famous writer and movie producer Mark Hellinger. The series, "The Fourth Estate," never made it to the air but the audition is good and starred Edmond O'Brien.

Mark Hellinger was a good choice for the potential series. He started as a journalist in 1923 and became a noted newspaper columnist. He joined Warner Brothers in 1937 in writing and production, and later moved to Fox and Universal. Had great affection and insight into the news business, its people and inner workings and believed it would provide engaging entertainment. For eight years, Homer Canfield, NBC Radio production head, and also an ex-news columnist, nurtured the idea of a newspaper series. He recruited writer Warren Lewis for the audition. Years later, Lewis would write the noteworthy radio series, Night Beat, which starred Frank Lovejoy. That, too, was a series about a newspaper reporter.…

Episodes, in broadcast order

  1. (audition)

    · 30 min

Where it comes from 1

The archive items its episodes are played from, best first, with each one’s rights as its archive states them. An episode two sets both hold is played from the first.

  1. The Fourth Estate (audition)

    Old Time Radio · The Big Story Project · 1 episode here · archive.org

    the Internet Archive states no licence or rights for it.

From the Old Time Radio collection at the Internet Archive, uploaded by the collector named.

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