Presenting the Transcription Feature: BLONDIE & ROGERS OF THE GAZETTE

Tonight, we present two examinations of the world of newspapers and investigative reporting, first comedy, then something a little more dramatic. The newspaper comic strip “Blondie” was created by Chic Young and started running in 1930. It is still running, as I record this, almost 92 years later. It features the domestic mis-adventures of the eponymous Blondie, and her husband Dagwood, Bumstead. And, in this case, their children, son Alexander and daughter Cookie. The success of the comic strip launched a series of 28 “Blondie” movies, produced from 1938 to 1950, all starring Penny Singleton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood. The weekly radio series, also starring Singleton and Lake, ran concurrently on various networks and for various sponsors from 1939 to 1950. This is a typical episode, with Dagwood accidentally getting involved in embarrassing shenanigans. And I particularly enjoy some of the sound effects. Then real-life politician, writer, and newspaper publisher Will Rogers, Jr. plays a heightened version of himself on “Rogers of the Gazette.” This episode also features young reporters hunting for scandal, and finding just a bit of crime and peril.

Episodes

Blondie November 3, 1948 “Blondie and The Tattletale” aka “Alexander’s Scandal Sheet” 2:50

Rogers of the Gazette December 30, 1953 “Investigative Reporters” 29:04