KRLD-TV camera #3 and tripod #1 used the weekend of November 22, 1963

Object number2022.031.0001

Date11/22/1963 - 11/24/1963

ClassificationsArtifacts

ObjectCamera

Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection

MediumMetal; Plastic; Glass

DimensionsCamera attached to tripod: 54 × 50 × 30 in. (137.2 × 127 × 76.2 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionGeneral Electric Image Orthicon television camera, identified as Camera #3, operated by Dallas CBS affiliate KRLD-TV during the weekend of the Kennedy assassination. The camera is mounted on a Houston Fearless tripod identified as tripod #1. This television camera was used to broadcast breaking news of the Kennedy assassination investigation to a national audience via CBS News. Set up in the basement assembly room of Dallas Police headquarters at midnight on November 22, 1963, it captured a short press briefing with assassination suspect Lee Harvey Oswald as he was surrounded by law enforcement and a large crowd of journalists.

Curatorial Commentary

KRLD-TV Camera #3 can be seen set up in the basement assembly room at Dallas police headquarters for the Oswald press showing at midnight on November 22, 1963 in this Dallas Times Herald photograph: https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/3957. Bill Mercer, the KRLD-TV broadcaster who ultimately informed Lee Harvey Oswald that he was being charged with President Kennedy's murder, can be seen next to the camera wearing a suit coat and tie.

In January 2023, we had the great honor of reuniting 96-year-old Bill Mercer with KRLD-TV Camera #3 for the first time in nearly sixty years. A video documenting his visit can be found here: Rediscovering History: KRLD-TV Camera 3 with Bill Mercer - YouTube. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Curatorial Commentary

In addition to the midnight press showing of Lee Harvey Oswald at Dallas police headquarters, this camera - or an identical KRLD-TV camera - may have been used on November 22, 1963 for pool coverage of the Dallas Trade Mart luncheon.

In 1963, a major news event like a presidential visit generated a significant amount of local coverage by newspaper, radio and television outlets. Large locally-broadcast events during President Kennedy’s trip to Texas, such the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce breakfast and the arrival of the Kennedys at Dallas Love Field, were often managed by cooperative pool coverage among local TV stations. In those instances, one outlet—such as ABC affiliate WFAA-TV at Love Field and CBS affiliate KRLD-TV at the Dallas Trade Mart luncheon—set up a camera to capture a pool feed that would be distributed to other local television stations for broadcast. This allowed for immediate coverage of an evolving news story in a practical and efficient manner, considering the transportation and setup logistics for bulky equipment and mobile news cruisers. - Stephen Fagin, Curator