News Serial

a periodic film release, usually containing information on the life of the country and its social and political events (domestic and international) and consisting of separate installments.

News serials had their beginning in the Soviet Union in 1918. The first serial was called Film Week. By the beginning of the 1970’s there were more than 50 such serials being produced in the USSR. The most popular of these is called The News of the Day, released under this name five times a month since 1944. Usually the serial contains six to eight installments. There are also news serials on special themes, such as Soviet Sport, Agriculture News, Pioneer Life, and Foreign News Journal. Several Union republics and krais issue their own film-news serials; examples of these are Soviet Ukraine, Soviet Kazakhstan, and Eastern Siberia.

In socialist countries, news serials are a source of information on the life of the working masses and socialist construction. In capitalist countries, commercial advertising and sensational news coverage make up the major part of the news serial.