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  • © 2018

Researching Newsreels

Local, National and Transnational Case Studies

Palgrave Macmillan
  • The first collection to explore the international landscape of newsreel studies
  • Brings together a team of leading experts in the field across methodological approaches
  • Traces the importance of newsreels over time in the first half of the twentieth century and beyond

Part of the book series: Global Cinema (GLOBALCINE)

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
  2. Introduction

    • Ciara Chambers, Mats Jönsson, Roel Vande Winkel
    Pages 1-13
  3. The Newsreel Audience

    • Luke McKernan
    Pages 35-49
  4. Newsreel Production, Distribution and Exhibition in Belgium, 1908–1994

    • Roel Vande Winkel, Daniel Biltereyst
    Pages 231-246
  5. Researching the Issued Content of American Newsreels

    • Scott L. Althaus, Kylee Britzman
    Pages 247-263
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 301-309

About this book

This volume addresses the underscrutinised topic of cinema newsreels. These short, multi-themed newsfilms, usually accompanied by explanatory intertitles or voiceovers, were a central part of the filmgoing experience around the world from 1910 through the late 1960s, and in many cases even later. As the only source of moving image news available before the widespread advent of television, newsreels are important social documents, recording what the general public was told and shown about the events and personalities of the day. Often disregarded as quirky or trivial, they were heavily utilised as propaganda vehicles, offering insights into the socio-political norms reflected in cinema during the first half of the twentieth century. The book presents a range of current research being undertaken in newsreel studies internationally and makes a case for a reconsideration of the importance of newsreels in the wider landscape of film history.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Film and Screen Media, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Ciara Chambers

  • Department of Cultural Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mats Jönsson

  • University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Roel Vande Winkel

About the editors

Ciara Chambers is Lecturer in Film and Screen Media, University College Cork, Ireland, author of Ireland in the Newsreels (2012) and screenwriter of the television series Éire na Nuachtscannán (TG4, 2017). She is a member of the IAMHIST Council, Associate Editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television and a member of the Editorial Board of Alphaville Journal of Film and Screen Media.

Mats Jönsson is Professor in Film Studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has written three monographs, edited seven anthologies, and has published several international articles. He is a member of the editorial boards for the interface filmarkivet.se and for the book series Media History Archives.

Roel Vande Winkel is Assistant Professor in Film & TV Studies at KU Leuven, Belgium and at LUCA School of Arts, Belgium. He is Associate Editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television and is co-editor of Silencing Cinema: Film Censorship around the World (with Daniel Biltereyst) and Cinema and the Swastika: The International Expansion of Third Reich Cinema (with David Welch).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Researching Newsreels

  • Book Subtitle: Local, National and Transnational Case Studies

  • Editors: Ciara Chambers, Mats Jönsson, Roel Vande Winkel

  • Series Title: Global Cinema

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91920-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-91919-5Published: 06 October 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-06328-3Published: 29 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-91920-1Published: 14 September 2018

  • Series ISSN: 2634-5951

  • Series E-ISSN: 2634-596X

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXI, 309

  • Number of Illustrations: 32 b/w illustrations, 19 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Film History, Film Theory, Documentary, European Cinema and TV, American Cinema and TV

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access