On October 31, 1938, American director and science-fiction writer Orson Wells appeared before journalists, photographers and police officers in a press conference to answer for the night before – where newspapers reported thousands of the American public was thrown into panic after his radio production of “War of the Worlds.”
However, did the public really react to this magnitude? How much of the trick that Wells pulled was really a treat for the media?
“It's one of those American cultural phenomena that just everyone has at least an understanding that it happened,” said student producer for Troy Public Radio Brendan Bryan, a senior communications major from Pinson, Alabama. “It wasn't until I came to Troy that I found out more.
“I remember pretty much every communication course we've talked about it or involved in it some way, shape or another, and its impact is big.”
The broadcast play “War of the Worlds” (1938) is about the end of the world. Aliens crash land in New Jersey, where people realize a bit too late that they do not come in peace.
However, what pulled audiences in – and reportedly out of their seats – was the realism brought into the production in the way it was written.
“It uses broadcast media in a way that wasn’t done before,” said Kyle Gassiott, the director of Troy Public Radio. “They had taken H.G. Wells’ writing and adapted it to radio, including these contemporary references like breaking news bulletins reports at the scene.”
“The main reason it resonated and did what it did was the fact that people were so used to hearing breaking news bulletins at different times about war-time activities that were going on or to be on the lookout. [Wells] very cleverly used these points and created this thing that tapped into the tension in the air.”
Despite its infamy, the broadcast of “War of the Worlds” was well within its legal limits during its airtime. Mainly, the production staff provided warnings of the play’s fictional nature.
However, the production’s backlash led to new regulations to be put in place, which could have reduced the panic that spread.
“The backlash also demonstrated the obligation for broadcasters not to betray the trust established with their audience,” said Joey Hudson, a host of Troy Public Radio. “One of the rules of radio scriptwriting is that we must always assume the audience may be just tuning in.
“There's a case to be made that more warnings would have cut down on panic. On the other hand, an audience's suspension of disbelief would be shattered if they were frequently reminded the dramatization. They're enjoying is fictional.”
The realism of the play and the terror it could have brought are genuine. However, did thousands of Americans really think the world was coming to an end? Where some newspapers report families fleeing from what they believed to be a gas raid?
In a book by W. Joseph Campbell, “Getting it Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myths in American Journalism,” Campbell argues that this hysteria was a hoax.
“Newspapers simply had no reliable way of testing or ascertaining the validity of the sweeping claims they made about the radio show,” wrote Campbell. “In short, the notion that ‘War of the Worlds’ program sent untold thousands of people into the streets in panic is a media-driven myth that offers a deceptive message about the power radio wielded over listeners in its early days and, more broadly, about the media’s potential to sow fright, alarm and hysteria.”
“I can't say for sure that nobody panicked,” Bryan said. “If you tuned in halfway through you would have been like, ‘oh my goodness, aliens are taking over the world.’
“Reported deaths and stuff were all blown out of proportion by newspapers. Newspaper was the outgoing media at the time because radio was on the rise, and so at the time, this was kind of an opportunity to get one back, to paint radio in this untrustworthy light.”
Despite – or in spite of – the disapproval of reports, “War of the Worlds” has remained a staple in storytelling, not only for the realistic web it was able to weave, but for how it was woven.
For this Halloween season, turn the lights down low and listen to “War of the Worlds.” With nothing but audio, it is easy to be caught up in the same anxiety-filled wonder as listeners 86 years ago.
“When a new medium comes around in a new way to convey something, it's an opportunity for people to tell stories in a way to express themselves,” Bryan said. “Audio production provides the opportunity to engage the audience with sound, which is something you don't really get to see in TV or print.
What Orson Welles and his crew did that night is something special and should be remembered.”
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