In your younger years, how did you get the news?  Commonly, a local, weekly paper provided what’s happening in both the past and the present.  Most people did not have a radio until the 1930’s, if they could afford one.  

The radio became very important for news in the 1940’s during WWII.  Families would crowd around the radio to hear the evening news broadcast.  One of the popular broadcasters was Walter Winchell.  He would start his program with – “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and all ships at sea.”  In the background you could hear the keys of the teletype machine.  

Some people gathering the news were imbedded within our troops, fighting on the European Front or the Pacific Theater.  More correspondence, such as Erie Pyle, risk their lives to bring news of the war’s progress.

By the time WWII was over, a new type of media, TV, was available to keep the people up-to-date on the news.  Now you could make a judgment on who was presenting the news.  Their physical appearance was part of the presentation.  Most news gathering and presentation was controlled by men.  

A favorite TV news reporter was Walter Cronkite.  He was a “main stay” on CBS for 19 years.  He was voted by many people as the most trusted man in America.  His appearance and voice added to the presentation on the evening news broadcast.  As he gained popularity, he was part of a TV series depicting American history events.  These films were popular because Walter Cronkite provided the narration.  

Today, the TV network news is presented by an anchor, sometimes two people.

Think of where we have come in a short period of time.  The newspaper has the longest history, but is slowly being replaced by electronic devices we carry with us for instant news.  That is, news that comes to us from our present-day global culture.  To some people, this becomes overwhelming, and they tune it out.  

Part of the curriculum for social studies offered to the high school students was World Affairs.  When I joined teaching faculty, I added a current events program at the seventh-grade level.  This included a weekly film strip covering world news up to date as of Monday of each week.  

Each frame of the film strip was narrated by the teacher.  Students took notes and a ten-point quiz was completed.  This was a highly successful lesson because the student was tasked with listening, seeing, and note taking.  In many schools today, each classroom is equipped with a TV and the day begins with a news presentation.  

Thinking back to my own younger years, I recall my step-grandfather prepared for retirement by buying my grandma a globe for her birthday.  This was when news was delivered by radio and not TV.  The globe was placed on top of the radio console, ready to be used when they tuned into the news.