Allen Funt's Candid Microphone reaches radio

JUN 28 1947

Allen Funt's Candid Microphone debuted on ABC radio, recording ordinary people's unguarded reactions to contrived situations without their knowledge. The format was a direct ancestor of every hidden-camera show that followed, establishing both the technique and the ethical convention of securing consent before broadcast. It ran until September 1948, by which point Funt was already moving the idea to television.