(10-3-23) Orson Welles‘ “War of the Worlds” broadcast has become famous for convincing some of its listeners that a Martian invasion was actually taking place due to the “breaking news” style of storytelling employed in the first half of the 1938 radio show.

The illusion of realism was supported by the Mercury Theatre on the Air‘s lack of commercial interruptions, which meant that the first break in the drama came after all of the alarming “news” reports had taken place.

Popular legend holds that some of the radio audience may have been listening to The Chase and Sanborn Hour with Edgar Bergen and tuned in to “The War of the Worlds” during a musical interlude, thereby missing the clear introduction indicating that the show was a work of science fiction. Contemporary research suggests that this happened only in some instances.

Tomorrow the USA will be a part of the FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test (Wednesday) October 4th.

Don’t be surprised what takes place tomorrow when the tests are sent all over the country…will it be as bad the ‘War of the Worlds‘? Probably not…but it could happen so be aware and make sure that you all know what is taking place. With the current world situation uninformed individuals may head for the hills or jam up the 9-1-1 system, just like some did that during the 1938 broadcast of ‘War of the Worlds‘.

Again remember…’THIS IS ONLY A TEST‘.

Orson Welles – War Of The Worlds – Radio Broadcast 1938 – Complete Broadcast.

David Webb – You Tube Video

Orson Welles – War Of The Worlds – Radio Broadcast 1938 – Complete Broadcast. The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by 23 year old Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds. The first two thirds of the 60-minute broadcast were presented as a series of simulated “news bulletins“, which suggested to many listeners that an actual alien invasion by Martians was currently in progress.

Compounding the issue was the fact that the Mercury Theatre on the Air was a ‘sustaining show’ (it ran without commercial breaks), thus adding to the program’s quality of realism. Although there were sensationalist accounts in the press about a supposed panic in response to the broadcast, the precise extent of listener response has been debated. In the days following the adaptation, however, there was widespread outrage.

The program’s news-bulletin format was decried as cruelly deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast, but the episode secured Orson Welles’ fame.