About Bay Area Television Archive

Established in 1981, the TV Archive preserves 6000 hours of newsfilm, documentaries and other TV media produced in the Bay Area and Northern California between 1950-2000. We are a part of the J. Paul Leonard Library's Department of Special Collections and oversee material owned by local TV stations KPIX-TV, KRON-TV, KQED and KTVU. The Bay Area TV Archive’s digitization projects are supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. (more)

Total number of items
2,884
Total number of views
11,473,244

Collections

Marin City Collection

Local television newsfilm and broadcast video relating to Marin City, an unincorporated community in Marin County about 4 miles north of San Francisco over Golden Gate Bridge.

Los Siete de la Raza

Local newsfilm reports relating to the arrest, trial and release of Los Siete de la Raza in San Francisco, from 1969-1970

San Francisco State Strike Collection

Local newsfilm covering events relating to the San Francisco State College Strike, from the late 1960s.

David N. Caldwell Collection

Documentary films and special video programming produced by KPIX-TV in the 1960s and 1970s, preserved by former Ch.5 director David N. Caldwell.

Occupation of Alcatraz Collection

Local newsfilm and documentaries relating to the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969-71).

Black Panther Party Collection

Local newsfilm and privately produced footage relating mainly - but not exclusively - to the Black Panther Party's Oakland Chapter, from the 1960s & 70s.

Iranian Diaspora Collection

Local newsfilm reports from the 1950s-1970s featuring events, issues and culture relating to the Bay Area's Iranian diaspora.

Bay Area Nurses Strike, 1966

Local TV newsfilm relating to the Bay Area nurses salary dispute and strike action of 1966.

James M. Fortier Collection

Raw footage originally shot on BetaCam SP videotape by James M. Fortier for the PBS documentary 'Alcatraz is Not An Island', which was kindly donated to the TV Archive by Fortier in 2020.

Synanon Collection

Local TV newsfilm reports featuring the Synanon organization in the Bay Area, from the 1960s and 1970s.

Sausalito Houseboat Collection

Local TV newsfilm and media productions featuring the lifestyle and social impact of Sausalito's houseboat dwellers in the 1960s and 1970s.

Joan Baez Collection

Local TV newsfilm material featuring musician and activist Joan Baez in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

Jimmy Lester (aka the Bayview Blaster) Collection

Local newsfilm clips featuring interviews with and footage of middleweight boxer Jimmy Lester (aka the Bayview Blaster), from 1965-1970.

Sirhan Sirhan Collection

Local newsfilm and a documentary special relating to Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted of assassinating New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. This footage mostly relates to Sirhan's incarceration in the late 1960s and 1970s in California's prison system.

African American Art Exhibitions, 1968-1973

Newsfilm reports featuring African American art exhibitions, artists and organizers in San Francisco and Oakland, covering the period 1968-1973.

Hip Hop Culture

Local television coverage of music, fashion, art and social issues relating to hip hop culture from the 1980s and 1990s .

Ronald Reagan Collection

Local TV news and documentary film featuring Ronald Reagan from 1965-1979.

Muhammad Ali Collection

Local newsfilm relating to former boxing heavyweight champion of the world and cultural icon Muhammad Ali, produced between 1965-79.

The Ray Balberan Mission MediaArts Archive

Films produced by the Mission Film Workshop in the 1970s, focussing on the Mission District in San Francisco.

Robert F. Kennedy Collection

Local newsfilm and documentary material relating to the political career of Robert F. Kennedy, including visits to the Bay Area as a U.S. Senator working with the Poverty Program in 1967 and run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1968.

Renaissance Pleasure Faire & Great Dickens Christmas Fair

Local newsfilm from the 1960s and 1970s, featuring the Northern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire and the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, both co-created by Phyllis and Ron Patterson.

Belva Davis Collection

News and special interest reports produced for local TV stations by pioneering Bay Area TV journalist Belva Davis, between 1976-2004.

Bay Sunday Show

Co-created in 1989 and hosted by Barbara Rodgers, Bay Sunday was an award winning public affairs program, produced by Ch.5 KPIX-TV.

Movie Stars Collection

Local TV newsfilm featuring movie stars working, relaxing and speaking in the Bay Area.

KRON-TV's Assignment Four

KRON-TV's Peabody Award winning documentary series from the 1960s and 1970s, which covered issues on a weekly basis that affected Bay Area communities.

Horton Collection

Local news, special interest reports and current affairs material, produced in the 1980s and 1990s by KPIX-TV/Group W and KTVU. Videotape copies loaned to the archive for transfer and preservation by John Horton.

Juan Corona Murders Collection

Local newsfilm relating to the investigation and trials of serial killer Juan Corona, who was convicted of murdering 25 migrant farm workers in Sutter County.

Edmund Kemper Murders Collection

Local newsfilm relating to the investigation and trial of serial killer Edmund Kemper from 1973.

Zodiac Killer Collection

Local TV newsfilm footage relating to the serial killer known as Zodiac, who operated in Northern California during the 1960s and 70s. This case has remained open in several counties since 1969.

Herbert Mullin Murders Collection

Local newsfilm relating to the investigation and trial of serial killer Herbert Mullin from 1972-73.

John Linley Frazier Murders Collection

Local newsfilm featuring the mass murders committed by John Linley Frazier (aka The Killer Prophet) in Soquel California, on October 19th 1970. Includes footage covering the discovery of the killings, the subsequent investigation and the trial of Frazier.

Zebra Murders Collection

Local newsfilm reports featuring press conferences, interviews, protests and crime scenes relating to a series of killings in San Francisco that happened between 1973-4, which came to be known as the Zebra murders. 

People Are Talking Collection

Selected episodes of KPIX-TV's long running chat show 'People Are Talking' and also 'The Afternoon Show', with hosts Ann Fraser and Ross McGowan.

Earliest KPIX-TV Clips (1948-1952)

Our earliest surviving footage featuring Ch.5 KPIX-TV, San Francisco's first television station to go on the air. Covering 1948-1952.

1966 Bayview Hunters Point Uprising

Local TV news footage and news bulletins relating to the Bayview Hunters Point social uprising, from late September and early October of 1966. As residents around San Francisco's Third Street vented their frustration over living conditions and the fatal shooting of Matthew 'Peanut' Johnson, the National Guard was called out.

Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) Collection

Local TV newsfilm and documentary footage relating to civil rights activist and organizer Kwame Ture (born Stokely Carmichael), from 1966-1977.

Dr. Maya Angelou's Blacks, Blues, Black!

A 10-part TV series made by Dr. Maya Angelou for KQED in 1968 called Blacks, Blues, Black!, which examines the influence of African American culture on modern American society.

Willie L. Brown Jr. Collection

Archival film and video featuring the life and work of politician Willie Brown, covering the 1960s-90s.

Suzie Larsen Collection

8mm silent films produced by SF State alum Karl Griepenburg in San Francisco, featuring the fire which destroyed Sutro Baths in 1966 and a rock concert at Golden Gate Park, c1970. This collection was donated to the TV Archive by another SF State alum Suzie Larsen (Griepenburg’s daughter) and transferred by Movette Film Transfer.

Anton LaVey Collection

Local newsfilm reports from the 1960s relating to author and occultist Anton LaVey, who practiced sorcery from his home at 6114 California Street, in San Francisco.

Adult Entertainment Industry

Local newsfilm reports featuring the adult entertainment industry from the 1960s to the 1980s, including topless dancing, erotic movies and legal disputes.

Johnny Barnes Selvin Collection

Documentary and special interest programs produced for KTVU in the Bay Area between 1976-1991, by Johnny Barnes Selvin.

KQED Film Unit

Documentary films produced by the KQED Film Unit between 1963-73.

Glide Collection

Newsfilm, documentaries and footage relating to the work of Rev. Cecil Williams and the Glide Memorial Church, covering the 1970s-90s.

KPIX Collection

Newsfilm, documentaries and programs produced by KPIX-TV, covering the 1950s-1990s.

Videowest Collection

Selected TV programs produced by independent studio Videowest, from the 1980s.

KRON-TV's Bay Area History Series

Experience San Francisco's rich history throughout the Twentieth Century in KRON-TV's Emmy award winning Bay Area History series.

Dorothy Goldner Collection

Stunning Kodchrome color footage shot at the Golden Gate International Exposition on San Francisco's Treasure Island (1939/40), produced by Orville C. Goldner.

Japanese American Collection

Local newsfilm and programs relating to the Bay Area's Japanese American community, covering the 1950s-1990s.

Local Emmy Awards

Local Emmy Awards winning programs produced in the Bay Area, from the 1980s & 90s.

TV Archive Related

Short films about the TV Archive, it's collections and work.

KTVU Collection

Newsfilm and other  reports and programs produced by KTVU from the 1960s through to the 1990s.

KRON Collection

Newsfilm, documentaries and programs produced by KRON-TV, covering the 1950s-1990s.

KQED Collection

Newsfilm, documentaries and programs produced by KQED, covering the 1960s-1980s.

AIDS Crisis Collection

A compilation of local and national news reports and special programs relating to the AIDS crisis, from the 1980s and 90s.

Bay Area Sports Collection

Bay Area local news coverage of sporting events and personalities including football, baseball, basketball, boxing, athletics and more.

Wine Country

Local newsfilms and documentaries from the 1960s and 70s, featuring the winemaking industry in Sonoma County.

San Francisco Street Artists Movement

Local newsfilm reports from the 1970s covering the San Francisco Street Artists Movement and their attempts to challenge local government restrictions.

César Chávez Collection

Local newsfilm and special programs relating to César Chávez, the United Farm Workers union and agricultural workers, from the 1960s & 70s.

Bayview Hunters Point Collection

Local television newsfilm and documentaries featuring the Bayview Hunters Point Community in San Francisco, covering the 1950s-70s.

KPIX Discovery Collection (1953)

Episodes from an early TV series about the arts called Discovery, produced in 1953 by KPIX-TV and the San Francisco Museum of Art.

KPIX San Francisco Pageant Series

A Peabody Award winning series produced by KPIX-TV in the 1960s, about the history of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Fog Town Network Collection

Selected episodes from the Fog Town Network variety show, produced by Albert P. Pappalardo in San Francisco between 1993-96.

Saul Rouda Collection

Documentary films produced in the Bay Area from the 1960s-80s, made available by local filmmaker Saul Rouda.

Contact

The Bay Area Television Archive is a collection maintained by the Leonard Library.

The Bay Area TV Archive’s digitization projects are supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

For questions or comments about the Bay Area Television Archive, contact:

Alex Cherian, Bay Area Television Archivist

Email - acherian@sfsu.edu