The War of the Worlds panic was a myth. The story that mass panic broke out because of an Orson Welles radio show became part of modern folklore. The idea that hysteria swept America on October 3. The War of the Worlds, remained unchallenged for nearly eight decades. Even those who had never heard Welles reading the HG Wells story about invading Martians wielding deadly heat rays later claimed to have been terrified. Welles, who was born on May 6, 1. New York City to pep up the story by Wells, who died on August 1. But what is the truth about that historic Halloween eve CBS Radio show from the Mercury Theatre in New York DONT PANIC. According to popular myth, thousands of New Yorkers fled their homes in panic, with swarms of terrified citizens crowding the streets in different American cities to catch a glimpse of a real space battle. In 1. 95. 4, Ben Gross, radio editor for the New York Daily News, wrote in his memoir that New Yorks streets were nearly deserted that October night in 1. In the Orson Welles broadcast, part of the hoax involved the town of Grovers Mill, near Princeton in New Jersey, being taken over by aliens. Welles and scriptwriter Howard E Koch who went on to co write the film Casablanca skillfully ratcheted up the tension with fake radio reports from the US infantry and air force. The true extent of the panic seems to have been that a small band of Grovers Mill locals, believing the towns water tower on Grovers Mill Road had been turned into a giant Martian war machine, fired guns filled with buckshot in an attack on the water tower. In 1. 99. 8, residents held a tongue in cheek Martian Ball to commemorate the 6. WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE JUMPING OFF BUILDINGS AND HAVING NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS In the immediate aftermath of the broadcast, analysts in Princetons Office of Radio Research, working under the direction of Professor Hadley Cantril, sought to verify a rumour that several people had been treated for shock at St Michaels Hospital in Newark, NJ after the programme. The rumour was found to be false. In addition, when they surveyed six New York City hospitals in December 1. A Washington Post claim that a man died of a heart attack brought on by listening to the programme was never verified. Police records for New Jersey did show an increase in calls on the night of the show. However, in the preface to his textbook Introduction to Collective Behaviour, academic David Miller points out that Some people called to find out where they could go to donate blood. Some callers were simply angry that such a realistic show was allowed on the air, while others called CBS to congratulate Mercury Theatre for the exciting Halloween programme. How the newspapers reported the broadcast. AND IN FACT NOT MANY PEOPLE HEARD THE SHOW. On the evening of October 3. Chase and Sanborn Hour, a comedy variety show hosted by the ventriloquist Edgar Bergin, which was airing at the same time as War of the Worlds on competing radio station, NBC. The radio ratings survey firm CE Hopper Company were, coincidentally, conducting a telephone poll that night of approximately five thousand households. They asked To what programme are you listening Only two per cent of people said they were listening to The War of the Worlds. In addition, several key CBS affiliate radio stations including Bostons WEEI decided to carry local commercial shows rather than Welless programme, further shrinking its audience. Frank Stanton, later president of CBS, said that CBS were never censored for The War of the Worlds, admitting In the first place, most people didnt hear the show. AND THE SHOW HAD CARRIED A WARNING THAT IT WAS MADE UP. Rekon Audio Blofeld Editor ReviewsIssuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get. Welles, who went on to have such a glittering career as a film director Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Othello and actor The Third Man, Compulsion knew what he was doing with such artful radio mischief making. He played recordings of Herbert Morrisons radio reports of the Hindenburg disaster for actor Frank Readick and the rest of the cast, to demonstrate the mood he wanted. He said We wanted people to understand that they shouldnt take any opinion predigested, and they shouldnt swallow everything that came through the tap whether it was radio or not. But as I say it was only a partial experiment, we had no idea the extent of the thing. To mitigate any possible fallout from the hoax, CBS made him carry warnings that it was a fictional show at the start of the show and again at 4. ANY YET THE MYTH OF MASS PANIC TOOK HOLD Research published six weeks after the broadcast by the American Institute of Public Opinion was skewed. They later admitted that figures of one million people listening to the programme were wildly inaccurate. In addition, where people surveyed had said they were frightened, disturbed, or excited by show, these terms were conflated into the description that they had felt panicked by The War of the Worlds. Such was the initial publicity that Adolf Hitler even got in on the act, citing the supposed panic as evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy. Orson Welles during the recording. Credit. War of the Worlds sequel coming for HG Wells anniversary in 2. MAINLY BECAUSE IT WAS FUELLED BY NEWSPAPER COVERAGENewspaper headlines about the event were lurid. Radio Listeners in Panic, Taking War Drama as Fact was the front page headline on The New York Times. Radio Fake Scares Nation, said the Chicago Herald and Examiner. US Terrorised By Radios Men From Mars said the San Francisco Chronicle. There were also front page stories in the The Boston Daily Globe and The Detroit News. One repeated claim was that within a month, 1. Thomas Nelson Book Review Program. Yet in his comprehensive analysis of contemporaneous reporting in a book called Getting it Wrong, American University professor W Joseph Campbell found that almost all newspapers swiftly dropped the story. Coverage of the broadcast faded quickly from the front pages, in most cases after just a day or two, he wrote. WHICH GAVE NEWSPAPERS THE CHANCE TO ATTACK RADIOThe newspapers had a clear agenda. An editorial in The New York Times, headlined In the Terror by Radio, was used to censure the relatively new medium of radio, which was becoming a serious competitor in providing news and advertising. Radio is new but it has adult responsibilities. It has not mastered itself or the material it uses, said the editorial leader comment on November 1 1. In an excellent piece in Slate magazine in 2. Jefferson Pooley associate professor of media and communication at Muhlenberg College and Michael J Socolow associate professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine looked at the continuing popularity of the myth of mass panic and they took to task NPRs Radiolab programme about the incident and the Radiolab assertion that The United States experienced a kind of mass hysteria that weve never seen before. Pooley and Socolow wrote How did the story of panicked listeners begin Blame Americas newspapers. Radio had siphoned off advertising revenue from print during the Depression, badly damaging the newspaper industry. So the papers seized the opportunity presented by Welless programme, perhaps to discredit radio as a source of news. The newspaper industry sensationalised the panic to prove to advertisers, and regulators, that radio management was irresponsible and not to be trusted. Orson Welles was 2. Thelma Louise is a 1991 American road film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, two. Editors Letter W. XCity 2017 What spin will the editors letter put on this years toil of research, interviewing and fretful weeks. Henry Blofeld, the Test Match Special commentator, signed off after nearly 50 years behind the microphone with the words how lovely. After Daniel Craig confirmed that hes signed on to return as James Bond for his fifth film in the franchise, there are already leaks about the planned plot for the. From Russia with Love 1963 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. James Bond The best Bond films As 007 returns in Skyfall, Telegraph critics pick their favourite James Bond films. The War of the Worlds and 2. Citizen Kane leftCredit. Christoph Waltz is an AustrianGerman actor. He is known for his works with American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, receiving acclaim for portraying. In Ian Flemings novels, SPECTRE is a commercial enterprise led by Blofeld. The top level of the organisation is made up of twentyone individuals, eighteen of whom. London Theatre Tickets, Theatre News and Reviews. The forum software is being upgraded to the latest version. In the process, were moving the forum to its new home. The old address will be removed soon so be sure to bookmark the new site at. We will be removing links to the Theatre Forum on July 3.