Broadcast Hysteria: How Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" Changed the Way We Do News...Forever
May 2, 2025
19:28
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On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1938, many Americans were scared. As the news from Europe grew increasingly grim, radio listeners had grown accustomed to urgent bulletins about a crisis that threatened to plunge the world into another war. Sensing an opportunity, Orson Welles—not yet a household name—seized on the public's anxiety and, on Halloween night, delivered a broadcast that gave America a scare it would never forget. It was a dramatic adaptation of a science fiction novel about an alien invasion. The fallout from that night would forever change the way news was presented. Here to share the story is A. Brad Schwartz, author of Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News.
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