Definition

Noun: A short motion picture, typically shown in cinemas before the main feature, presenting a series of news stories and events with accompanying commentary. It was a primary means of visual news reporting before the widespread adoption of television.

Usage

A "newsreel" is a historical term for a specific type of media. It is used as a countable noun to refer to individual films or the genre as a whole. It describes a format, not the content of the news itself. * You watch or see a newsreel. * A newsreel shows or reports on events.

Examples

• The newsreel before the movie showed footage of the royal wedding.
• Historians often study old newsreels to understand how events were portrayed at the time.
• That clip of the parade comes from a 1940s newsreel.

Advanced Usage

• "Newsreel footage": This phrase refers specifically to the filmed segments used in a newsreel. It is often used to describe historical film material.
  • The documentary included newsreel footage of the moon landing.

Variants and Related Words

• Newsreel cameraman (n): A photographer who filmed events for newsreels.
• This word is historically related to modern terms like news broadcast, news program, and documentary, though these are distinct formats.

Synonyms

• News film: A very close synonym, emphasizing the filmed aspect.
• Short subject: A broader category of short films shown before features, which could include newsreels, cartoons, or comedies.

Antonyms

• Feature film: The main, long film that a newsreel would precede.
• Live broadcast: A contemporaneous method of news delivery that replaced the newsreel.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• "Like something out of a newsreel": Used to describe a scene or event that has the dramatic, historical, or black-and-white visual quality characteristic of old newsreels.
  • The chaotic protest looked like something out of an old newsreel.

Noun

1. a short film and commentary about current events