On the evening of October 30, 1938, millions of Americans tuned in to CBS Radio for what would become the most infamous broadcast in radio history. Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air presented their adaptation of H.G. Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds,’ but what made this broadcast revolutionary was its format: a series of simulated news bulletins that convinced many listeners that Martians were actually invading Earth.
The broadcast began innocently enough with dance music, interrupted by breaking news reports of explosive gas eruptions on Mars. As the program progressed, these interruptions became more frequent and alarming, describing mysterious objects landing in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, and hostile alien machines attacking civilians. The production’s verisimilitude was masterful – featuring authentic-sounding field reports, interviews with fictional experts, and even the death of a news reporter on air.
While the exact scale of the panic has been debated by historians, contemporary accounts describe thousands of terrified citizens flooding police stations, newspapers, and radio stations with calls. Some families packed their cars and fled their homes, while others wrapped their faces in wet towels to protect against nonexistent poison gas.
What made this broadcast so effective was its exploitation of radio’s unique intimacy with its audience and the public’s growing reliance on radio for breaking news. Welles understood that radio’s power lay in its ability to speak directly into people’s homes, and he used that power to create an unprecedented form of storytelling that blurred the lines between fiction and reality.
The aftermath was equally significant. The Federal Communications Commission established stricter regulations about fictional news broadcasts, while the episode sparked serious discussions about media responsibility and the public’s vulnerability to mass communication. The broadcast launched Orson Welles to national fame, leading to his subsequent film career and the creation of ‘Citizen Kane.’
Eight decades later, ‘The War of the Worlds’ broadcast remains a fascinating case study in the power of media to shape public perception and the responsibility that comes with that power. In our current era of ‘fake news’ and viral misinformation, the lessons of that Halloween eve in 1938 are more relevant than ever, reminding us how compelling storytelling combined with the authority of a trusted medium can have extraordinary real-world consequences.