As predecessor to the internet and television news, newspapers played an integral role in the daily lives of individuals and were vital to the dissemination of civic and entertainment information. Spanning a wide range of topics from wood pulp paper manufacturing to content presentation to vintage printing and reporting techniques, this historical compilation includes (7) films which outline the methodology and ideology of newspaper production during the hay day of print news.
Included Films:
Good Neighbors
Good Neighbors
Produced: 1944
Length: 22 Minutes
Minnesota is a state filled with hard working, friendly people. The peoples respect of individual freedom, the states progress in arts and sciences, and the economic wealth found in their industry, all conspire to make Minnesota a good neighbor. Minnesotas finest newspapers contribute to the ideal of perfection and progress on which Minnesota prides itself. The Morning Star Journal and The Tribune are the pride and joy of Minnesota. Here, we receive a behind the scenes look at what makes the papers tick and their different responsibilities. We see interesting scenes of making the paper in considerable detail. The film also pays proper homage to the men and women who work tirelessly to bring the news to the great state of Minnesota.
From Trees to Tribunes
From Trees to Tribunes
Produced: 1931
Length: 25 Minutes
Before companies started hiding their impact on the environment films such as ‘Trees to Tribune,’ were produced to show the glorious process of making newspapers. Not content with simply showing the act of printing news on paper with old fashioned linotypes, the film takes us through the process of actually felling the trees, showing the camps built for the loggers, the supplies shipped to the camps and every step between cutting, transporting, and mulching the trees. Made in the 1940s as propaganda and advertisement, the Chicago Tribune works hard to show it is the best paper, starting from the source. Including superb footage of loggers at work, dynamite explosions, and different divisions of the Chicago newspaper at work.
Spot News
Spot News
Produced: 1937
Length: 9 Minutes
This is a fascinating look at how pictures were transferred by wire just after the technology was introduced in the early 1930s. Wire service changed the way information traveled and increased the speed at which news could be disseminated.
17 Days: The Story of Newspaper History in the Making
17 Days: The Story of Newspaper History in the Making
Produced: 1945
Length: 16 Minutes
July 30, 1945 was like any other day in the great city of New York – until the call for “strike!” went up amongst the workers of New York’s newspaper delivery men. “17 Days: The Story of Newspaper History in the Making” is the newspaper industry’s take on seventeen days without the daily newspaper, showing how the people of New York were determined to get their paper even if it meant standing in hour long lines. The documentary of this epic delivery strike is slightly skewed by the industries opinions but it clearly documents the power of unions and the power of the people striking for the betterment of working conditions.
Dateline Long Island
Dateline Long Island
Produced: 1940
Length: 28 Minutes
Long Island, New York is a place of contrasts, where mansions meet rolling development communities and farmer meets businessman. Or at least it was in the 1940s. Dateline’s ‘Long Island’ explores the booming town with emphasis on how the community is changing and being changed by the local newspaper. As the city grows and develops, the newspaper must keep abreast of the circumstances and provide people with the information they need to carry out daily living. Historically poignant for a city that continues to grow to this day, the film also includes incredible footage from inside the newsroom and the antiquated, though effective for the time, machinery used to print the news. Beyond being a place of contrasts, Long Island is a place of news, and this film proves it.
Brazil Gets the News
Brazil Gets the News
Produced: 1942
Length: 10 Minutes
Brazil Gets the News is a highly fictitious World War II Propaganda piece that insists Brazils media was as free and unrestricted as Americas, as well as other dubious claims. Brazil was being courted by the United States for help in World War II, and this film was a part of that effort. The footage itself, propaganda aside, is full of fantastic shots of historic printing presses and other newspaper production machinery. Other ludicrous claims, like how Sao Paulo is the Detroit of Brazil, make this historical film engrossingly antiquated. Brazil Gets the News is a superb vintage video for several reasons.
