Newsfilm was used in broadcast for television newscasts from 1948 until the 1970s. Television from this time period is very different from the television news we know and count on today. During the early history of newsfilm local stations relied heavily on their cameramen to capture local news stories - there were no feeds between stations because the technology to do so was not yet in place. Cameramen would go out and capture the stories on 100 foot reels, return to the studio and process this reversal film stock (film stock that passed through the camera and was broadcast ready after a one-step development process), the film would then be viewed and edited, and put on a film chain (device that included one or more film projectors aligned to TV pick-up camera ) ready for the news broadcast. These 16mm reels were filmed in black & white and then color with sound and without sound in the era before videotape was widely used. Unlike videotape or digital capture which can be easily erased for re-use, film can only be used one time. Film is also the most long-lived of the moving image formats and therefore newsfilm from collections like these are unique filled with one-of-kind images and interviews.
For more search options, go directly to the Newsfilm Database
Note: The WALB-TV Newsfilm Collection is not included in the Newsfilm Database.
