“There’s good news tonight” this was the sign on byline of Gabriel Heatter on the “We The People” news cast from 1910 to 1972.

Gabriel Heatter, Lowell Thomas, H. V. Kaltenborn were the news broadcasters of the radio days. Added to that was Walter Winchell, a gossip reporter.

These newscasters were on the evening news. When Americans were first privileged to have electric, they purchased a radio, which became their mode of entertainment. Evenings were spent around the radio listening to the news and President Roosevelt and his “Fireside Chats.”

Daytime radio was filled with soap operas, but I don’t recall a morning news program.

Gabriel Heatter began his broadcast career in 1933. As World War II heated up the news was not good. Heatters’ voice gave optimism to his listeners. He started his program with the “good news tonight” catch phrase, which he continued to use throughout his career.

He never had the arrogance of Walter Winchell. Winchell was a gossip columnist as well as a news reporter. He had a quick wit and a sharp tongue. He opened his broadcast with the sound of a telegraph key creating a sense of urgency. His catchphrase was “good evening Mr. and Mrs. America, from border to border and coast to cost and all ships at sea. Let’s go to press.” He spoke fast at nearly 200 words per minute while most people spoke 150 words per minute. He popularized such words and phrases as “scram,” “G-man,” “pushover,” “making whoopee,” “blessed event,” “reno-vated,” “a New York heartbeat,” “giggle water” and “flicker.”

Lowell Thomas was well educated and had a bachelor of arts degree from Valparaiso University. In the 1920s he was a magazine editor but in 1930 he became a broadcaster with the CBS network. In 1940, Thomas anchored the first live telecast of a political convention. He commented on the news of the day for 40 years until his retirement in 1976. His signature sign on was “good evening, everybody” and his sign off was “so long until tomorrow.”

H.V. Kaltenborn joined NBC in 1940. On election night in 1948, he and Bob Trout, were at the NBC news desk to broadcast the returns of the White House race between President Harry S. Truman and challenger Thomas E. Dewey. Throughout the evening, the returns were too close to call. As the evening progressed, Kaltenborn could see a swing in Dewey’s favor. It was enough for him to project Dewey the winner, although the returns were still close. What Kaltenborn didn’t foresee was another swing in the votes going to Truman. As evening turned to early morning, Kaltenborn retracted his original projection and announced Truman as the winner.

On his newscast, Kaltenborn described how Truman did an impersonation of the journalist describing how he (Truman) was losing the election. Kaltenborn later stated, “We can all be human with Truman. Beware of that man in power who has no sense of humor.”

He did not use a prepared script but spoke extemporaneously created from notes he had previously written. His analysis was welcomed into homes, especially during the war and the time leading up to America’s entry into it. He had an international reputation and was able to speak intelligently about events because he had interviewed many of those involved. From the contacts he developed in his travels and his ability to speak fluent German and French and his education from Harvard gave him the background needed to be knowledgeable about world events.

The birth of television changed the newscast. A morning show with Jack Paar and later Steve Allen informed the country with the latest news. What about our local newscasters?

More next week.

 

Jo-Ann Boepple works at the Edwardsburg Area History Museum.