So I have a somewhat oddball question for the history buffs. Recently I stumbled upon some archives of an awesome radio show circa 1957 called "Unit 99". It seems this was the one and apparently only predecessor of "COPS". I've been trying to find some type of news article(s) that discuss the history of this show, but I found almost nothing. So, I have the impression it never had a large audience. But in any event, does anyone know why this show only lasted 1 season? Also, were there any similar shows between 1957 and 1989 (when COPS started)? Did this type of show format not become popular until COPS?
From what I gather, this show was based on field recordings made by Sac PD at incident scenes. The audio quality is surprisingly good for the time period; it almost seems like they used multiple microphones with a high quality multichannel field recorder (presumably very expensive in 1957), or maybe some type of a condenser. Some of the episodes include material that would never be aired today, such as an apparent hospital room interview of a subject who attempted suicide.
From what I gather, this show was based on field recordings made by Sac PD at incident scenes. The audio quality is surprisingly good for the time period; it almost seems like they used multiple microphones with a high quality multichannel field recorder (presumably very expensive in 1957), or maybe some type of a condenser. Some of the episodes include material that would never be aired today, such as an apparent hospital room interview of a subject who attempted suicide.
