"The Radio Was Always On…:"
The Information Highway
Radio and posters
The American public learned about world and national events in a variety of ways during World War II. Perhaps the most immediate source of breaking news was the radio. Americans listened to the radio at home, in local businesses, and in their cars. They also learned about the latest war news at the local movie theatres. Movie Tone Newsreels proceeded each feature film with the latest footage from across the ocean and from across the country. Print media was another source of news for Americans. Life magazine was one of the most widely read of the news magazines. Life photographers and reporters captured the essence of World War II in their detailed reporting, campaign maps, and images of service personnel fighting on two fronts.
In a letter to subscribers in September 1939 and in the 26 January 1942 issue, Life publisher Roy E. Larsen wrote, "With the beginning of the Second World War, Life has undertaken a new and grave responsibility—the responsibility of recording for the American people what may well prove to be the most crucial era in the history of the world—and the responsibility of helping America see with its own eyes what it means for the world to be at war." Life magazine became a news lifeline for a nation at war. Life Magazine
c1935 Radio
c1940 Life Magazines
From the Collection of the Sumter County Museum