by Jamie Hyndman, Mawer Investment Management
In 1938, at 8:00pm EST on October 30th, Martians attacked Earth. It happened at the Wilmuth farm in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. Well, it sort of happened. In truth, it only happened in Studio 1 on the 20th floor of the Columbia Broadcasting System in New York City. For it was here that Orson Welles, the 23 year old radio show director, led what would become the most famous broadcast in radio history – the telling of War of the Worlds. It became known as the “panic broadcast.”
In 1938, radio was in 80% of households across America and acted as a lifeline to the outside world. News bulletin interruptions were the norm in radio when something timely and important needed to be communicated to the masses. As such, they were always taken seriously by the listening public. So when Orson Welles turned his broadcast of War of the Worlds into a series of very detailed news bulletins about how Martians were attacking Earth, it was all too real for the unsuspecting listeners – especially those listeners who had tuned into his broadcast part way through, missing the initial announcement that it was fictitious, and not real.
The play was brilliant. It started with a breaking newsflash…
“We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin… a farmer in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey has observed a streak of greenish light that led to a huge impact in his field. People were gathering about, when suddenly, strange tentacled creatures came out of the mysterious cylindrical object on the ground and started spraying the crowd with heat rays, killing everyone in their path.”
Then, as the reporter was relaying the horror of what he was observing, he himself screamed – evidently he, too, had been killed by the Martians! Next, the radio went dead silent. Welles held the silence for far longer than anyone on radio had ever done before. This was a stroke of genius. The realism sent many listeners into a state of hysteria. An “official” report was then released from a government agency announcing that Earth had, in fact, been attacked by creatures from Mars, and that all roads, rails and bridges in the area had been destroyed. A report from a military commander confirmed that it was a full scale Martian invasion and that the U.S. Armed Forces were vastly outnumbered and in full retreat. Hospital spokespeople reported hordes of dead and injured.
42 minutes into the broadcast, mayhem had broken out and CBS executives were forced to stop and remind listeners that it was fictional. But it was too late; thousands of terrified people had already fled their homes. Millions of people were convinced that the U.S. was being attacked by Martian invaders and Welles did it all with just a few microphones and ten very good actors.
Many misleading stories are told in the investment industry as well. This coming RSP season, watch out for the promise of exaggerated returns. Be cautious with complex, overpriced, and sensationalized products. Beware of investments or firms that don’t have long-term track records.
In short, beware the tellers of tall tales.
Jamie Hyndman
Copyright © Mawer Investment Management
