On October 30, 1938, residents of New York and New Jersey panicked after hearing reports on the radio of an alien invasion in Trenton, NJ. The broadcast was in fact Orson Welles adaptation of H.G. Wells science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Even though the program included various disclaimers that the broadcast was fiction, local police departments received many confused and often frantic calls, demanding more information about the hostile invasion occurring in the New York and New Jersey areas. One letter written to the Federal Communications Commission from a city manager in Trenton said that “the situation was so acute that two thousand phone calls were received in two hours, all communication lines were paralyzed and voided normal municipal functions.” The FCC also received several letters from supporters of the program, who did NOT see the monsters landing in war-like regalia in the park across the street, but sat serenely entertained no end by the fine portrayal of a fine play. With thousands of letters demanding action from both sides, the FCC chose not to punish the station or Orson Welles, though they did prohibit false news broadcasts from being included in any future radio dramas.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 16:29:06 +0000
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