What does "awash in smudged newsprint" mean?
Most people only knew shapes and shadows of famous people awash in smudged newsprint.
Dwight Eisenhower and Roy Rogers came to life in bright tricolor prints, a process so rare and complicated few photographers used it.

Question

Answer

I guess, from the second sentence that "awash in the smudged newsprint" refers to the blurry black and wight photos in the old newspaper where you couldn't quite discern what was in the photo.

The key word is smudged which means smeared and blurry.

Hope this helps :)

Answer

Я читала определение из словаря, мне оно не помогло.

Answer

awash (in) 
1. covered with (a liquid or something similar) 
2. full of [something]

The first meaning is literal. The second one is figurative.

Answer

Спасибо, Роман. Меня больше всего смутило слово awash.

Answer

которыми истекали размазанные страницы газет

something like that :)