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KNTV Channel 11 News Archive
1983-68
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Title: KNTV Channel 11 News Archive
Dates: 1965-1980
Collection Number: 1983-68
Creator/Collector:
KNTV (Television station : San Jose, Calif.)
Extent: 4700 films and 22 linear feet of scripts
Online items available
Repository:
History San Jose Research Library
San Jose, California 95110
Abstract: Local news film (16mm) reels, shot between 1965 and 1980, both silent and with sound, taken by KNTV cameramen. They include
black-and-white and color footage, and are accompanied by newscast scripts and film storage logs. The films for 1970-1975
were not included in the original donation and were likely destroyed at the time.
Language of Material: English
The scripts are available to the public for research by appointment with the Curator of Library & Archives. Only films that
have been digitized are available for viewing.
KNTV Channel 11 News Archive. History San Jose Research Library
The collection was donated to the San Jose Historical Museum in 1983 by the KNTV Station Controller.
Biography/Administrative History
KNTV began in 1955 as the first independent television station in San José. In 1960, it became an ABC affiliate, but maintained
a reputation for strong local news and entertainment programming. Throughout this period, KNTV news continued to focus on
local news for the South Bay and an emerging “Silicon Valley,” and Monterey and Salinas--a region distinct from San Francisco-Oakland,
or the North Bay. KNTV was sold to Landmark Communications in 1978, and in 2002, became a NBC station and later moved out
of San Jose.
Scope and Content of Collection
These local news film (16mm) reels, shot between 1965 and 1980, were donated to the San José Historical Museum by the controller
of local station KNTV Channel 11. The films, both silent and with sound, were taken by KNTV cameramen. They include black-and-white
and color footage, and are accompanied by newscast scripts and film storage logs. These newsreels cover a significant period
of change as the small communities of the South Bay transitioned from a largely agricultural economy and rural-suburban demography
to a region-wide, internationally known high-tech center. Coverage of national events--elections, civil rights, the war in
Vietnam--also reflect a regional perspective as political debates, student protests, peace marches, and events surrounding
local farm worker and tech worker organization were covered.
During newscasts, stories often required at least two film chains (two projectors, synchronized and running simultaneously):
the A roll featuring the anchor or reporter in the field, and the B roll, a highly edited silent piece used as background
showing the subject as reported. The sound from A roll could continue for the broadcast while the TV image dissolved into
the B roll. As a result, in this pre-video tape era, there was no single recording of the show as seen by the television viewer;
instead, this is reflected in the written scripts, backed by the relevant film rolls.
Television broadcasting of news
Television stations
Nineteen sixties
Nineteen seventies
KNTV (Television station : San Jose, Calif.)
San Jose (Calif.)
Santa Clara County (Calif.)
Salinas River Valley (Calif.)
Monterey County (Calif.)
San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)
motion pictures (visual works)
television scripts