Martians Land in New Jersey! New Jersey Shrugs; Newspapers Panic on Its Behalf
Earth has fallen. Or rather, it fell between 8 and 9 o'clock this evening, Eastern time, on the Columbia Broadcasting System, and has since been restored in time for the late news.
The invasion began innocently enough, with the dance music of Ramon Raquello and his Orchestra, "live from the Hotel Park Plaza." The orchestra was in fact in a CBS studio, making it the first casualty of the night: its own address. Bulletins soon interrupted the rumba to report explosions of incandescent gas on Mars, followed by a "huge flaming object" striking a farm near Grovers Mill.
A Princeton astronomer, Professor Pierson, offered calm expert reassurance. Professor Pierson was played by Orson Welles, who also directed and narrated the evening, raising questions about how many Princeton astronomers are, in truth, Orson Welles.
By the 40-minute mark, Martian machines were reportedly gassing Manhattan. By the hour's end, the invaders had been defeated by ordinary earthly bacteria, the first time in history germs have been the heroes of a news story.
The broadcast, an adaptation of H.G. Wells's novel by the Mercury Theatre on the Air, was announced as a play at the outset and twice more during its run. Unfortunately, a great many Americans were tuned to NBC's Chase and Sanborn Hour, where Edgar Bergen and his wooden friend Charlie McCarthy hold the Sunday crowd. Some listeners who wandered over during a lull in Bergen arrived just in time for the apocalypse, minus the disclaimer.
This newspaper can report that terror gripped the nation. Our evidence: several telephone calls, a wire-service dispatch, and the sincere hope that you will stop buying radios. Asked for comment, the radio said it was "terribly sorry," which is more than the Martians managed.
Radio Is a Menace, and You Should Get Your News Here Instead
Tonight proved what we in the printing trade have long warned: radio cannot be trusted with news. It is fast, it is free, and it reaches people in their homes before we do. These are grave defects.
A newspaper would never fool the public. A newspaper would take a few scattered phone calls and report them responsibly, as a nationwide stampede, on page one. Advertisers, please note the difference, and remit accordingly.
On October 30, 1938, CBS aired the Mercury Theatre on the Air's adaptation of The War of the Worlds, directed and narrated by 23-year-old Orson Welles and written as fake news bulletins about Martians landing at Grovers Mill, N.J. Some listeners were frightened, but historians say the "mass panic" was greatly exaggerated by newspapers eager to discredit radio, their rival for news and ad money; a Hooper survey that night found only 2% of households tuned in. Welles told reporters the next day, "Of course, I'm terribly sorry now."