A spinning newspaper is a

film transition A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

device. At the conclusion of a

scene Scene (from Greek ') may refer to: General * Scene (performing arts), a part of the story held in a single location * Scene (perception), a set of information that can flow from a physical environment into a perceptual system via sensory tran ...

or act, an image of a rapidly spinning

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

is displayed. The newspaper stops spinning to reveal a headline that reflects what happened between the preceding and subsequent segments of the film story, preparing the audience for what follows. It may be accompanied by other similar

tropes Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in m ...

, such as a newsboy declaring "Extra, extra, read all about it," or a stack of newspapers being thrown to a street vendor from a delivery truck, and then shown in close-up. Many

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s utilized the spinning newspaper effect to narrate important plot points that occurred offscreen. The effect necessitated the appearance of a realistic front page, which consisted of a main

headline The headline is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents. The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th century when incre ...

relevant to the plot, and several smaller headlines used as filler. A large number of these spinning newspapers included stories titled "New Petitions Against Tax" and "Building Code Under Fire." These phrases have become running jokes among B movie fans.

References

Film and video terminology {{Filming-stub