NBC 5 Archive Includes Rarely Seen Footage Related to the Watershed Moment that Changed the Course of American History
Dallas, TX – August 13, 2024 – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza – the only museum dedicated to the life, legacy, and assassination of President John F. Kennedy – the Museum has announced the acquisition of WBAP-TV (now KXAS-TV) footage from NBC 5. This archive, spanning from 1956-1983, documents John F. Kennedy’s visits to the Dallas area going back to 1956, the events of the weekend of the assassination, and the earliest assassination anniversaries, allowing scholars and the public to gain a greater understanding of how this chapter of history unfolded. The donation from NBC 5 ensures that local news broadcasts from the weekend of November 22, 1963, are represented in the Museum’s collection, which also contains assassination-related film and video from the other three local news stations broadcasting in Dallas in 1963: WFAA-TV (the ABC affiliate), KRLD-TV (then the CBS affiliate), and KTVT-TV (then an independent station).
“The Sixth Floor Museum is a vital resource for all those who are interested in the events and effects of November 22, 1963, and the Museum’s news footage collections are a powerful tool for understanding this history,” said The Sixth Floor Museum CEO Nicola Longford. “We are grateful for the efforts of Brian Hocker and the Museum’s late colleague Gary Mack for helping to build the Museum’s archive of footage captured by Dallas local news and to NBC 5 for its generous donation and partnership in the Museum’s endeavor to tell the story of a critical day in American history.”
The NBC 5 Archive includes 16mm film taken in Dealey Plaza during the immediate aftermath of the assassination by WBAP-TV photographer Jimmy Darnell, who was riding in a press vehicle in the Dallas motorcade approximately eight cars behind the presidential limousine. Additional footage captures the trial, appeal, and death of Jack Ruby; the Secret Service reenacting the assassination in Dealey Plaza; and numerous moments that contextualize the assassination within the larger history of Dallas County during this era, with appearances by influential figures including Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Jimmy Hoffa.
“NBC 5 is proud of our longstanding service to North Texas and our 40-plus year legacy of covering the most important news and events that impact our communities and people,” said Tony Canales, President and General Manager of NBC 5 / Telemundo 39. “Donating the station’s archival footage of President Kennedy, his assassination and aftermath to The Sixth Floor Museum ensures that this firsthand documentation of a tragic day that changed our nation’s trajectory will remain accessible to scholars, researchers, and the general public seeking to learn more about this important event for generations to come.”
In total, the Museum holds over 220 hours of professional news footage – encompassing video, film and audio – capturing the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, as well as related events that shed light on the historical context of the assassination. The Museum’s collection also includes a majority of the amateur home movie films most associated with the assassination event, including those taken by Abraham Zapruder, Charles L. Bronson, Robert E. Hughes, Elise Dorman, Orville Nix, Tina Towner, and Mark Bell. These holdings are complemented by over 120 hours of audio recordings from KRLD Radio, WFAA Radio and WBAP Radio.
The effort to digitize audio, video, and film from all four local news stations and share this footage on a new collections website is ongoing and will be completed later this year. Click below to view highlights from the NBC 5 Archive on the Museum’s website.
ABOUT THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DEALEY PLAZA
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is the only museum dedicated to the history of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a watershed moment that changed the course of American history. Located in the former Texas School Book Depository building in downtown Dallas, the Museum provides unparalleled insight into this generation-defining moment in the very place where the sniper’s perch was discovered, providing an authentic, powerful connection to the events of November 22, 1963, and those that surround it.
Located at 411 Elm Street in downtown Dallas, the Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit jfk.org or call 214.747.6660. Admission – purchased in advance: $22 Adult, $20 Senior, $18 Youth (children aged 5 and under are free).
ABOUT NBC 5
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth / KXAS is the NBCUniversal Local station serving the communities of North Texas with quality local news, weather forecasts, consumer and investigative reports and sports and entertainment programming across all platforms, including the station’s dedicated website NBCDFW.com, its mobile app, social media channels and on COZI TV (Digital 5.2) and OXYGEN (Digital 5.4) the station’s multicast channels.