newsreel
short motion picture of current events introduced in England about 1897 by the Frenchman Charles Pathe. Newsreels were shown regularly, first in music halls between entertainment acts and later between the featured films in motion-picture theatres. Because spot news was expensive to shoot, newsreels covered expected events, such as parades, inaugurations, sport contests, bathing beauty contests, and residual news, such as floods.
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