The Big Story was a true crime radio drama that focused on real-life news stories, primarily featuring murder and other violent crime cases from the perspective of a newspaper reporter. Each week, the show dramatized the heroic deeds of a different news reporter who had solved a crime, exposed corruption, or performed a notable public service. At the end of each program, the actual news reporter was brought on the air and given a $500 reward by the show's sponsor, Pall Mall.

The Big Story aired between April 2, 1947, and March 23, 1955, primarily on NBC radio network. The radio series was top-rated, even surpassing the ratings of Bing Crosby's Philco Radio Time in its first year on air. Sponsored by Pall Mall cigarettes, the program was produced by Bernard J. Prockter, directed by Tom Vietor and Harry Ingram, and scripted by Gail Ingram, Arnold Pearl, and Max Ehrlich. The radio series was also adapted into a television crime drama on NBC which aired from September 16, 1949, until 1958. The TV series transitioned from NBC to syndication for its final season, featuring notable guest stars such as James Dean, Lee Marvin, Walter Matthau, and Steve McQueen.

Sources: archive.org, wikipedia.org, otrcat.com