Sacramento California-1982: Hand Holding Up a Newspaper Front Page With a River Flood Headline

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit

This is a dated 1982 establishing insert for productions on California winter floods, Sacramento local history or early-1980s news.

Period detail

The printed dateline reads February 17, 1982, and the teasers about GM plant closures, Love Canal and a port on a budget hit list place it in the early 1980s.

Home-movie behavior

An amateur filmmaker opens a flood film by holding up the morning paper to the camera, recording the day's news in their own way.

What appears in frame

The frame shows a hand gripping the top corner of the paper, The Sacramento Bee masthead, the flood headline, a photo of cars in floodwater, a flooded building among trees, and a corrugated metal wall behind.

Film character

Super 8 colour grain, soft focus, early scratches and dust, and a gentle handheld drift give the shot an authentic projected-film texture.

Edit role

Use it as an opening establishing shot or a dated news insert before river and dam flood footage.

Historical context

The page puts local flood news beside national economic stories, including GM plant closures and federal budget cuts affecting the Sacramento port, during the 1980–82 recession.

Research note

The newspaper's text, photographs and the GM logo are third-party copyright and trademark material; the partly visible person is not identifiable, but likeness and publisher permissions are separate questions to resolve for any use.

Research search match

Researchers might search: Sacramento Bee 1982 front page, Super 8 flood newspaper headline, American River flood 1982 home movie, early 1980s newspaper insert footage.

Archive pairing path

Pair it first with the same reel's Nimbus Dam sign and spillway, onlookers at the flood release, the American River Parkway sign, the sunset over the flooded river and the beaver on debris, then with other Sacramento-area footage from 1982 and other flood material.