Weekend Update (or Saturday Night News or SNL Newsbreak) Is a sketch that occurs in every episode of SNL, commenting on or parodying current events as a 'fake news' sketch with one or two cast members pretending to be anchors, reading the week's important news headlines (and a few wierd stories) and deadpanning a joke about each. "Guests" played by other cast members tend to show up and talk with the anchor(s).

1975-1980Edit

Weekend Update was created by original anchor Chevy Chase and SNL writer Herb Sargent,^{[citation needed]} and appeared on the first SNL broadcast on October 11, 1975. Chase popularized several catch phrases during the segment, such as his "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" greeting; and his repeated announcement that "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead". When Weekend Update begins, Chase was consistently on the phone presumably talking to his lover, and would talk until realizing he was "on air."

In addition, the practice of a picture insert of a person simultaneously giving the news read in sign language for the hearing impaired—common in the days before captioning—was parodied by Garrett Morris. Chase would sometimes repeat the top story at the end of the segment, while Morris simply cupped his mouth and shouted the headline loudly. He would also end the segment with the line "That's the news, goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow."