Calling All Cars: Radio Dragnets and the Technology of Policing

1. Policing Perception: Public Image Management and the Creation of the Radio Crime Docudrama

Like the soap opera and variety program, among others, the radio crime docudrama drew on existing cultural forms but was nonetheless unique to radio. While vigilante-styled dramas had clear precedents in pulp fiction, the origin of those programs that claimed to present true stories of policing is less obvious and ultimately more complicated. Created in cooperation with police forces intent on improving their public image, by advertising agencies devoted to furthering the commercial interests of their commercial clients, for broadcast on commercial radio networks concerned with government interference in their efforts, the programs grew out of the contradictory attempts to please a range of interests. This confluence of interests is evident in Los Angeles Police Department Captain James E. Davis’s address to radio listeners at the beginning of the regionally broadcast radio crime docudrama Calling All Cars. Given the negative images of policing circulating through the cultural landscape, listeners of the time would not be surprised to learn that Davis had originally approached the project with “a certain amount of misgiving.” 33 c h a p t e r 1 Policing Perception Public Image Management and the Creation of the Radio Crime Docudrama Good evening friends. Tonight is the 100th broadcast of Calling All Cars. It was with a certain amount of misgiving that I appeared on that first broadcast a hundred weeks ago tonight. But my desire to bring the policeman’s side of the story to the public outweighed the fear of possible criticism. The public spirit and civic-mindedness of the Rio Grande Oil Company in maintaining these broadcasts and the unflagging zeal of William S. Robson, their author and producer, in dramatically presenting them, have justified my decision. —“Lt. Crowley Murder,” episode of Calling All Cars, 1934 34 policing perception Yet as image management came to increasingly occupy the attention of reformers, what better way to feature “the policeman’s side of the story” than to cooperate with radio professionals? For corporate sponsor Rio Grande Oil Company, it appeared entirely fitting to parlay its contract as the exclusive supplier of gas to the Los Angeles Police Department’s growing fleet of motor cars into the sponsorship of a radio program through which it could receive weekly praise not only for the quality of its product but for its “public spirit and civic-mindedness.” Program creator William Robson could proffer his “unflagging zeal” as proof of his commitment to the program’s public service goals. And for the sponsor and network, what better way to ensure consistent audience attention than the creation of what Davis asserted was a “splendid,” “interesting,” and “thrilling” program ? Is it any wonder that radio crime dramas became a staple of broadcast schedules during the golden age of radio (Fink 1981, 189; MacDonald 1979, 155)? The radio crime docudrama was a unique program form that drew from a range of generic influences. MacDonald suggests that the first realitybased drama was True Detective Mysteries, which debuted on radio in 1929. Adapted from the Bernarr Macfadden publication, the show achieved moderate success. No doubt there were other attempts at reality-styled police programs, but it was not until the 1930s that the more successful ventures began. Syndicated program Police Headquarters was produced in 1932. Recorded on electrical transcription disks, the program was sold to various NBC West Coast radio stations, which were then free to fill the lengthy music segments of the recording with local advertising. While not directly based on solved police cases, it attempted to tell authentic police stories (Sies 2000, 632). Calling All Cars debuted in 1933 on the regional Don Lee Network.1 Nineteen thirty-five marked the debut of the FBIendorsed and controlled G-Men, produced by radio showman extraordinaire Phillips H. Lord, sponsored by Chevrolet, and airing on NBC. After airing a mere thirteen episodes in early 1936, Lord retooled the formula and premiered Gang Busters on CBS for sponsor Colgate-Palmolive. This program would stay on the air, making several shifts of network and sponsorship , through 1957.2 The radio crime docudrama grew out of the historical confluence of the not-always-reconcilable needs of a group of historical actors, including policing perception 35 police forces, radio professionals, corporate sponsors, advertising agencies, and the commercial radio networks. Police reformers, actively seeking to improve and control their public image, sought ways to educate the public about the developing professionalism of police forces. Those...