''Fox News'' was the original

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...

established by movie mogul William Fox. It was eventually replaced by Fox's pioneering sound newsreel, ''

Fox Movietone News Movietone News was a newsreel that ran from December 1927 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Spain in the early 1930s a ...

'', which began regular operations in December 1927. William Fox had great ambitions for his newsreel from the very beginning; he even managed to secure a letter from President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

endorsing his newsreel. At its launch in 1919, Fox had already secured a network of cameramen spanning the globe.

Ernest Howard Culbertson Ernest Howard Culbertson, also known as E. H. Culbertson and Howard Culbertson, (April 29, 1886, New York – July 1972, New York City) was an American newsreel editor, journalist, playwright, and screenwriter. Educated in Washington D. C., Culber ...

served as head of the newsreel features department. Although the newsreel began acquiring stories in August 1919, the newsreel did not begin a regular, twice-weekly release until October 1919. From the beginnings of its operations, ''Fox News'' main domestic rivals were ''Hearst News'', ''

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

'', ''

International News International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

'' and ''Kinograms''. Like its competitors, ''Fox News'' released two newsreels each week. The scope and content of these reels established a pattern for moving image journalism that carried forward to television news. Headlining stories of global or national importance were followed by others touching on events both serious and not-so-serious. Sports and celebrity news (especially arrivals on ocean liners docking in New York) were common items. Human interest stories were also of import. The final issue of ''Fox News'' (volume 11, number 53) was released to theaters in March 1930. During its production, Fox's New York offices acquired millions of feet of negative film from all over the world. Also included in this library were the negatives for Fox's other non-fiction shorts like ''Fox Varieties.'' When

Fox Films The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox. It was the corporate successor to his earlier Greater New ...

ceased production of ''Fox News'', the extensive library of unused and outtake film was folded into the ''Fox Movietone News'' library and was used internally as stock footage by

and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

until the corporation ceased production of ''Fox Movietone News'' in 1963. As part of its gift of newsreel material to the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

announced in 1979, 20th Century Fox donated all remaining elements from the original ''Fox News'' library. Estimated at 3 million feet of film, the original, camera‐negative

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitration, nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitri ...

from this newsreel is arguably the most significant film record of American life, politics, and culture in the 1920s. ''Fox News'' developed a comprehensive library system to keep track of the negative films being sent to New York from all over the world. Library story numbers were assigned to each roll of film and these numbers are still used today by the University of South Carolina to identify the films. On each "dope sheet" (i.e., the notes taken by newsreel cameramen in the field) was stamped a unique library number and this number was then written onto the tail of the film negative. ''Fox News'' story numbers run in series: 0001–9999, A0001–A9999, B0001–B9999, C0001–C9999, and D0001–D4444. The last films registered into the ''Fox News'' library date from April 1930. Moving Image Research Collections at the University of South Carolina provides access to ''Fox News'' and ''Fox Movietone News'' materials online. A comprehensive listing of companies and cameramen that submitted film to Fox News is available online. This listing provides names and locations of over 700 individuals and 170 businesses or organizations.

References

External links

Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox News (1919 - 1930) Newsreels Fox Film