The Big Story
Forty Minutes to Meet a Deadline
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The Big Story turns real newspaper reporting into radio drama, following reporters as they pursue the facts behind cases that have captured public attention. In “Forty Minutes to Meet a Deadline,” Cleveland Press reporter Bus Bergen investigates a poisoning accusation involving industrialist Joseph Gogan, his estranged wife, and a dog named Mitzi.
The story centers on a detail that troubles Bergen: Mitzi was reportedly in the room when cyanide spilled during a struggle, yet showed no signs of poisoning. Bergen’s question about the dog’s survival gives the defense a crucial line of inquiry. The episode draws its tension from the reporter’s effort to test a dramatic accusation against the evidence, while the deadline presses on.
The series presents journalism as active investigation, with reporters gathering information, questioning people close to a case, and shaping discoveries into a story. Its dramatic style brings the work of the newsroom and the stakes of a real-life mystery to the listener, balancing courtroom suspense with the careful attention to detail that can change how a case is understood.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.