Catalog | Public Records | Private Collections | Photographs | Film | Artifacts

KCRA Film Collection
One of SAMCC's largest private collections is the KCRA Film Collection. The collection contains approximately 10 million feet of local news footage filmed by the NBC affiliate KCRA Channel 3. The earliest daily news film footage dates from the late 1950's. The daily news reels end with film from 1982, when the station switched to using video tape. The collection also includes over 1500 specials produced by KCRA on subjects as varied as "1973 Olympics" to "Moon Landing" to "Fads/Fashions."

Use of the KCRA Film Collection
The KCRA Film Collection is one of very few sources for local television news footage in California and even the United States. The rare collection allows producers to document events and activities from the second half of the 20th century with unique film footage. Film from the KCRA Film Collection has been used in major documentaries for public television including "Eyes on the Prize," "Chicano," "Berkeley in the Sixties," and "America's War on Poverty." Commercial production companies from around the world have licensed to use film from the KCRA Collection. Also, the collection has provided footage for both network and cable television programs.

"In the Can"
The majority of the KCRA Film Collection is still "in the can," meaning it has not been transferred to video. Unlike the rest of SAMCC's collections, the KCRA Film Collection is not readily accessible for researchers. For further information about the KCRA Film Collection at SAMCC, please contact one of the archivists.