How we used to consume ‘reel’ news

Before television, Swiss cinemas showed weekly news reels. The “Schweizer Filmwochenschau” was commissioned by the cabinet in 1940 to counter Nazi propaganda. (SRF/Schweizer Filmwochenschau/swissinfo.ch)

This content was published on November 14, 2016 - 17:00

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Wie aktuelles Zeitgeschehen konsumiert wurde
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Le journal en images d’avant la télévision
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Quando si andava al cinema anche per informarsi
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Cuando se acudía al cine para informarse
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أخبار سويسرا المصورة في عصر ما قبل التلفزيون
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在电影院看新闻的时代…
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Архив швейцарских кино-новостей доступен онлайн

From wolf hunts to military parades and gymnastic events: For 35 years weekly news reels provided the Swiss with moving images of their country and the world. Besides radio and newspapers, the Filmwochenschau was the only source of news.

Leading Swiss filmmakers of the day produced reports for the reels. Each episode was made in three languages. Production came to an end in 1975, when TV news became ubiquitous.

Around 6,500 archived film reels are now being digitalised in order to be made available online. The project is a joint venture between the National Film Archives, the Swiss Federal Archives and Memoriav.

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How we used to consume ‘reel’ news

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