Version Thirteen
Fan-Created Newspaper Mockups
If you don't listen to Decoder Ring Theatre, really, you should.
I have a project on another page of compiling the cast and roles for each episode of the two main series of full-cast audio dramas. Here, I've got some fan stuff. Specifically, I have made some newspaper mockups which correspond to specific episodes.
Red Panda universe: the Toronto Chronicle
The Red Panda universe's main newspaper is the Toronto Chronicle. Employees of the newspaper are significant recurring characters, including the Editor-In-Chief, Timothy J. Pearly. It is known that there are other newspapers in Toronto (including the Sentinel), but when I wanted to make a mockup, the only real choice was the Chronicle. I wanted the Chronicle to have a sense of a national paper, so I chose to put the Canadian flag (the Canadian Red Ensign; the current maple leaf flag was not adopted until 1965) on the masthead, in color on Sunday and in greyscale on weekdays, and I added a tagline (borrowed from the modern Chicago Sun-Times) of "The Hardest-Working Paper In Canada." At least during World War II, I also have added the length of the war so far, dating from the invasion of Poland (so 01 September 1939 is Day 1). I also referred to a nonstandard Chronicle as a "Special", as Editor Pearly does in Episode 69 (talking about other papers).
Black Jack universe: the Gazette
In the Black Jack universe, which very intentionally is set in an unnamed American city, the paper is the Gazette, and we are told (in Episode 41) that there is a Morning Gazette and an Evening Gazette. Again, while I assumed it was a broadsheet (and despite the fact that I grew up as a loyal Chicago Tribune reader and disdained the "other paper"), I borrowed a bit from the Sun-Times here, particularly the weather phrase on the left side of the masthead. Given the unnamed city in this universe, I chose to quasi-nationalize the Gazette, using the tagline "An American Paper for American Readers", and putting the United States flag in the middle, between the words Morning/Evening and Gazette. As with the Toronto Chronicle, I assumed there was only a single edition on Sunday, with a color masthead. A nonstandard edition of the Gazette is called an "Extra", as appears in Episode 41.
- Red Panda Loiters
From Episode 76: "The Milk Run", we have a half-page mockup of a Sunday page inspired by the episode. In the episode, in response to a particular suggestion, the Red Panda says, "Red Panda Loiters – there's a headline!" So this particular paper doesn't actually exist even in-universe, but I still thought it was fun. The center column has the story, assuming that Kit Baxter (appropriately credited) actually did write the "Red Panda Loiters" story; I tried to mimic her style there. The last line, "trying to solicit information about a rumoured ring of counterfeiters peddling fake ration books", is exactly what was happening in the episode. The left-hand column has a Pearly editorial on the subject, written in what I imagine to be his blood-and-thunder style. The right-hand column gives a report on two NHL games; Toronto was the Stanley Cup Champion in 1942, coming back from 3-0 down to beat Detroit in seven games, and this reports on a game between the same two teams in Toronto the night before the paper's date.
- Tom Albright
From Episode 11: "Justice in Love and War", we have a full-page mockup of a page specifically foreshadowed in the episode. In the episode, Jack recites the copy of the first paragraph in the right-hand column (so that paragraph is written by Gregg Taylor). I wrote the rest of that story, using facts from the episode mostly described by Trixie as being in the newspaper. I imagined the Gazette here as a twelve-page broadsheet, and I put a table of contents at top left, with a completely made-up phone number (despite the fact that it could be a phone number in the city where I went to high school given that exchange), in part so Jack can find the puzzle. After some debate (we know the episode happened on a Tuesday night, so all I could be sure of is that the paper would be Wednesday morning's edition), I set the paper in September 1952, so the center column talks about a new Gallup poll on the Presidential election (which is accurate for that month) (which also allowed me to use one of my favorite Stevenson quotes), the left-hand column talks about the end of the baseball season and the pennant races, and the editorial at bottom center refers to the story of the day as well as some previous bits of story arc.
- Sarah Brindle
From Episode 41: "Man's Best Friend", we have a half-page mockup of a page specifically mentioned in the episode. In the episode, Trixie presents Jack with an EXTRA edition of the Gazette, trumpeting the kidnapping of Sarah Brindle. The headline and most of the text are read by Jack (and therefore written by Gregg Taylor), though Jack trails off with "yadda yadda" at one point, and I decided not to print that (though I thought it would have been funny). As we know from the episode that Trixie has to show Jack a picture of Sarah Brindle at a ball last season, I assume that was on Page 2 (of a likely four-page paper, but I kept the price the same as the twelve-page edition), so given the undeniable ego of Royson Brindle, the publisher of the Gazette, I decided it would be his picture, not hers, which appeared on the front page. Since it was only a half-page mockup, I only needed the top of the picture and didn't have to worry about Royson Brindle's face. It's actually a picture of Gene Lockhart in a publicity shot for Going My Way, because he was the first actor that came to mind who I thought could project the noble yet empty pompousness I imagined for Royson Brindle.
- Canada Declares War
From Episode 1: "Ignition Point", we have a full-page mockup of a page specifically metioned in the episode. The headline and subhead are written by Gregg Taylor, because in the episode, Kit Baxter reads the headline aloud. I made up both Pearly's editorial and the story about the declaration; the picture of HM George VI's signature is from the actual Canadian request to issue a declaration.
- Red Panda Captures The Blink
From Episode 3: "Blink and You'll Miss It", we have a half-page mockup of a page which both exists and does not exist in the episode. Both the main headline (which is mentioned in the episode to be large enough to be clearly visible in low light) and the left-column headline (which is the main headline in another version of this page) are mentioned in the episode (and so were written by Gregg Taylor), but I wrote the copy of both articles (though of course the copy of the main article borrows heavily from actual words in the series).
- Terror At The Hat Show
From Episode 5: "New News in the New Court", we have a full-page mockup of Kit Baxter's first byline with the Toronto Chronicle, which occupied the entire front page of the paper. All of the text here is actually written by Gregg Taylor, because in the episode, Kit Baxter reads the entire story to her editor.
