KTLA Newsfilm Collection: Diverse Communities of Los Angeles

Thanks to a generous grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, the UCLA Film & Television Archive has digitally preserved, cataloged and made publicly accessible online a curated selection of 65 television news stories documenting diverse communities in Los Angeles circa 1970–1980. These news segments, broadcast on local Los Angeles station KTLA, cover topics relevant to African American, Asian American, Chicana/o/x, Latina/o/x, LGBTQ+ and Native American communities and encompass issues including civil rights, poverty, public policy and more.

Mostly unseen since their original broadcast, the selected news stories and file footage, held on 16mm film elements, illuminate the history of complex sociological and economic challenges that continue to impact the Southern California region and all of its residents. By extension, original station descriptions of the newsfilm from the 1970s are instructive in revealing cultural and institutional biases that can oppress and marginalize. In the process of preserving these film reels, archivists came across some under-identified content whose labels used stereotyping language and was incomplete. Librarians worked in accordance with UCLA Library's ethical description practices to update these items so they could be easily accessed for the future.

Additional footage from the KTLA Newsfilm Collection can be viewed through the UCLA Film & Television Archive website(opens in a new tab).