Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea! This is Walter Winchell in New York. Let’s go to press.

Walter Winchell (1897–1972) was a hugely influential American newspaper columnist and radio commentator known for rapid-fire delivery and a mix of political commentary, show-business gossip, and news items. The line “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea!” functioned as his signature radio opening, used to address a mass national audience during the golden age of network radio (especially in the 1930s–1940s). “Let’s go to press” echoes the newsroom world that made him famous and frames the broadcast as if it were a live edition of a paper being put to bed—an on-air cue that the bulletin-style roundup is about to begin.

The greeting is both theatrical and democratic: it hails “Mr. and Mrs. America” (ordinary citizens) while also nodding to far-flung listeners (“all the ships at sea”), projecting a sense of national—and even global—reach. By naming himself and his location (“Walter Winchell in New York”), Winchell asserts authority from the media capital, then pivots to urgency with “Let’s go to press,” borrowing the tempo and finality of deadline journalism. The phrasing encapsulates his persona: brisk, omnipresent, and performatively plugged into the latest information, turning news and gossip into a nightly ritual of immediacy.

“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea. Let’s go to press.”
“This is Walter Winchell. Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea—let’s go to press.”
“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea—this is Walter Winchell.”