newsreel

American  

[nooz-reel, nyooz-] / ˈnuzˌril, ˈnjuz- /

noun

1. a short motion picture presenting current or recent events.

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newsreel British  

/ ˈnjuːzˌriːl /

noun

1. a short film with a commentary presenting current events

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Etymology

Origin of newsreel

First recorded in 1915–20; news + reel ¹

Explanation

A newsreel is a short, informative documentary film. In the early part of the twentieth century, newsreels were usually shown before movies in theaters. In the early 1900s, newsreels ran (often along with a cartoon) before a film. During World War Two, newsreels gave movie-goers news about the war as well as current events at home. The word dates from about 1915, from news and reel, the cylinder that film was wound around for being projected onto a screen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

newsreel

Several years later, World War I served as the “force multiplier” for newsreels, which benefited from cameras becoming smaller and lighter, and newsreel editors and cameramen more professional.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

My social media timeline transformed into a newsreel of sobbing men and women chased down by anonymous agents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

The product wasn’t profitable, and every user who spliced themselves into a World War II newsreel or Hollywood chase scene drew down a finite resource.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

Kyiv was in the depths of a frigid winter so monochrome that the scene on the platform could have been an old newsreel, but it was 2022 and happening in a technicolour, digital age.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

I wonder if it'll land me in a tattler or scandal sheet or the late-night newsreel.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton