For many families in America during World War I, newspaper reports were their only connection with loved ones serving in the trenches. On this edition of Up to Date, Steve Kraske talks with a journalism historian and an archivist from the World War I museum about the life of journalists reporting from the front lines during the Great War.
We delve into the artifacts of Otto Higgins, a reporter with the Kansas City Star, who covered the conflict in Europe. We learn how correspondents' stories had to pass muster with the U.S. Army Censor, where they were allowed to go, and the lengths they went to in order to get their stories.
Guests:
- Jonathan Casey is the Museum Archivist and Edward Jones Research Center Manager at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City.
- James Startt is a journalism historian and author of several books on early-20th century journalism including Woodrow Wilson and the Press.
Excerpts from the dispatches of Otto Higgins:
The following is the story of a French lieutenant returning to his hometown as the war is coming to a close.
Otto Higgins and two fellow American journalists attempt to get to the front lines at the French town of Sedan before the end of the war.
