William Knight Collection
Scope and Contents
The William B. Knight Collection consists of images of wildlife and events across Southern California as well as footage of news stories in Los Angeles. Much of Knight’s photography found in this collection created during his tenure at the Los Angeles Mirror focused on wildlife, including 400 negatives of hunting and fishing alone, because he was the Outdoors Photographer for the newspaper. There are approximately 1,800 images in this collection.
Series I Los Angeles Mirror News features Knight’s professional news photography for the Los Angeles Mirror, much of which spans the years 1951 and 1963 and covers a wide range of topics, such as wildfires, traffic accidents, hunting, and fishing. Notable figures featured in his photos include Leo Durocher, Liz Renay, and Carlton Young. This series consists of negatives, clippings, and realia.
Series II KTLA and Television News features Knight’s television news footage from his time at KTLA News, such as the 1976 Nash Flagship Department Store fire, footage from the Watts Rebellion, an Iranian riot, and the 1974 SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) Shootout. This series consists of 16mm film and a videocassette.
Series III Personal features some of Knight’s personal photography, such as his family life. This series consists of negatives.
Collection folders are arranged alphabetically by title.
Dates
- Creation: 1950-1984
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown.
Biographical / Historical
William B. Knight, or Bill Knight, was born September 3, 1931 in Los Angeles to Bert and Viola Knight. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, Knight started working for the Los Angeles Mirror in his early 20s and had an almost decade-long career as an outdoor and general assignment photojournalist. In the early 1960s, Knight made the switch to television news, becoming a cameraman for KTLA News.
Outside of his professional life, Knight was heavily involved with the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles (PPAGLA). During his involvement with the PPAGLA, Knight held various leadership roles. He served as the president of the association three times, first in 1971, then in 1990, and once again in 1991. Additionally, Knight held the positions of Vice President and Director and was an active member of the Board of Directors for many years, contributing significantly to the promotion of photojournalism in the Greater Los Angeles area. In recognition of his work, Knight received the annual TV Spot News Award from the PPAGLA on several occasions.
Knight was an avid outdoorsman, spending his leisure time hunting and fishing. When he retired, Knight established the Bill Knight Endowment at the PPAGLA, which funds the Video Spot News award. On January 17, 2019, William B. Knight died at 87 years of age.
Partial Extent
1.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Partial Extent
5.15 Gigabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
William B. Knight, also known as Bill Knight, was a news photographer and cameraman. Beginning his career at the Los Angeles Mirror, the afternoon counterpart of the Los Angeles Times, Knight worked for the Los Angeles Mirror for almost a decade before moving to television news and becoming a cameraman for KTLA. During his time as a photojournalist, Knight captured a wide range of events, from wildfires to traffic accidents to the stocking of fish in local lakes. This small collection spans the 1950s to 1980s and consists largely of negatives and audiovisual materials.
Arrangement
Series I: Los Angeles Mirror News, 1953-1963
Series II: KTLA and Television News, ca. 1965-ca. 1984
Series III: Personal, 1950-1962
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Chris Knight, 2019
Processing Information
Prach Prasertwit, 2023
Genre / Form
- Title
- Guide to the William Knight Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- 2023-05-10
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections & Archives Repository
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge CA 91330-8326 USA
818-677-4594
asksca@csun.edu