"Film at 11", "Pictures at 11" or "News at 11" is a US idiom from television
news broadcasting
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...
, where viewers are informed that footage of a breaking news story will be screened later that day. The word "film" in the phrase dates back to the early decades of TV news when footage was regularly recorded on film. 11 PM is the traditional time for
late evening local news broadcasts in the Eastern and Pacific time zones of the United States, while the late evening news comes at 10 PM in the middle time zones (Mountain and Central).
History
Television news gathering originally involved crews using
16 mm film
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
(or, at lower-budget stations,
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format.
The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8& ...
)
that would be processed at the station and had to be edited before it could be aired. The time taken for this process meant that film of an early evening event would only be available in time for the late newscast.
[Kovalchik, Kara (25 March 2014)]
The Origins of 8 Nearly Obsolete Phrases
''mental floss''
The purpose of these "Film at 11" promotions was to attract viewers and increase the program's ratings. However, news broadcasts were not counted in ratings during the time 16mm film was used in newsgathering and hence promotions typically took the form of "newsflashes" or "special reports" that conveyed the facts of the story.
The phrase entered popular culture in the 1970s, often describing ordinary or mundane events with an implication that the said events were being overly sensationalized, or as a short-hand expression akin to "tell you later."
Whether or not he is to be credited with originating the phrase, in West Coast local news the phrase is commonly attributed to
Jerry Dunphy
Gerald Raymond Dunphy (June 9, 1921 – May 20, 2002) was an American television news anchor in the Los Angeles/Southern California media market. He was best known for his intro "From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, a go ...
during his time with
KABC-TV
KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network. ...
in Los Angeles. The phrase was used in many TV shows and movies from the 1960s through the 1980s.
The phrase became obsolete with the advent of
videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
as the medium of choice for news reporting, which made playing back news stories instantaneous. In the 21st century, this has transitioned even further to
digital video
Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...
.
See also
*
Do you know where your children are?
"Do you know where your children are?" is a question used as a public service announcement (PSA) for parents on American television especially from the late 1960s through the late 1980s. Accompanied by a time announcement, this phrase is typical ...
*''
Pictures at Eleven'', a Robert Plant album named for the phrase
*"
Fighting the frizzies - at 11" - a similar phrase popularized by the ''
Star Wars Holiday Special
The ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' is a 1978 American television special that originally aired on November 17, 1978, on CBS. It is set in the universe of the sci-fi-based ''Star Wars'' media franchise. Directed by Steve Binder, it was the first ' ...
''
References
American English idioms
Television news
Film production
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