War of the Worlds radio broadcast
By: Jon Espino
Storytelling always has a powerful way of making us believe just about anything. It can entertain, inform and even move us to action. The person telling the story also has a big part to play, because the delivery of the story is as important as the story itself. In 1938, Welles put on a radio broadcast of the popular sci-fi novel “The War of the Worlds” by HG Wells, and then mayhem ensued. At the time, the most used resource to announce breaking news were newspapers and radio. So people just tuning in to that station after the broadcast has began found themselves confused and panicking at the idea of an alien attack. Welles has always had a great eye (in this case ear) for detail in weaving stories, so when he decided to present the popular story as a series of news reports and interviews, it was both effective and impactful. Anyone who can inspire several people to believe a science fiction story deserves your respect, even if people did end up upset with him afterwards.
Listen to the original broadcast:
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