Big Story, The

The Big Story was an American radio and television crime drama series that dramatized the true stories of real-life newspaper reporters. The series, which ran from 1947 to 1955, was top-rated and rivaled shows like Bing Crosby’s Philco Radio Time. The only continuing character was the narrator, Bob Sloane, who introduced each episode by describing the reporter and the story behind the “big story” that was about to be dramatized.

The radio version of The Big Story began on NBC Radio on April 2, 1947, sponsored by Pall Mall cigarettes. With Lucky Strike cigarettes sponsoring the last two seasons, the radio series was broadcast until March 23, 1955.The television adaptation debuted on NBC on September 16, 1949, and continued to air on the network until June 28, 1957, after which it appeared in syndication until 1958.

The Stars

The radio and television versions of The Big Story did not have any regular stars, as each episode focused on a different newspaper reporter and the story they uncovered. However, the series did feature a number of notable guest stars over the years, including James Dean, Sam Jaffe, Jack Klugman, Diane Ladd, Martin Landau, Lee Marvin, Walter Matthau, Lois Nettleton, Leslie Nielsen, Steve McQueen, Warren Oates, Anthony Perkins, Mark Rydell, Jerry Stiller, Joyce Van Patten, and Jack Warden.

Key Dates

• The Big Story radio series debuted on April 2, 1947.
• It ran until March 23, 1955. 
• The television adaptation premiered on September 16, 1949, and aired on NBC until June 28, 1957, after which it was syndicated until 1958. 

Other Information

The series was created by Paul H. Hedrick and produced by Bernard J. Prockter. The radio episodes were scripted by Gail Ingram, Arnold Pearl, and Max Ehrlich, while the television episodes were directed by Stuart Rosenberg and David Lowell Rich.

The theme music for both the radio and television versions of The Big Story was taken from the tone poem “Ein Heldenleben” (“A Hero’s Life”) by the German composer Richard Strauss.

In 1952, a broadcast of The Big Story led to a lawsuit when Charles Bernstein sued NBC for $1 million in damages, claiming the episode invaded his privacy. However, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in 1956 that dramatizing events that were a matter of public record did not constitute an invasion of privacy, and the case was thrown out.

The television series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1953.  It also finished in the Nielsen ratings at #25 for the 1950-1951 season, #23 for 1952-1953, and #29 for 1953-1954.

Overall, The Big Story was a highly successful and long-running crime drama series that brought the real-life exploits of newspaper reporters to the airwaves and television screens of the 1940s and 1950s.