Historical research suggests the panic was far less widespread than newspapers had indicated at the time. The panic and mass hysteria so readily associated with 'The War of the Worlds' did not occur on anything approaching a nationwide dimension", American University media historian W. Joseph Campbell wrote in 2003. He quotes Robert E. Bartholomew, an authority on mass panic outbreaks, as having said that "there is a growing consensus among sociologists that the extent of the panic … was greatly exaggerated".
This position is supported by contemporary accounts. "In the first place, most people didn't hear [the show]", said Frank Stanton, later president of CBS.
According to Campbell, the most common response said to indicate a panic was calling the local newspaper or police to confirm the story or seek additional information. This, he writes, is an indicator that people were not generally panicking or hysterical.
