This collection contains media created, acquired, and broadcast by NBC-5 (previously KXAS and WBAP-TV). The bulk of the collection consists of daily television news footage recorded on 16 mm film and a variety of videotape formats including 2" and 2" tape, 3/4" UMatic, Betacam, DVCPro, and DigiBeta. Although the station began broadcasting in 1948, the earliest known surviving daily news film is from 1951.

During the early 1950s, a day's broadcast for The Texas News consisted of a small number of stories that focused on events relevant to the Dallas-Fort Worth region including local politics, crime, and human interest stories. As the station continued broadcasting in the 1960s through the mid-1970s, the number of stories created and broadcast by the station increased, resulting in a larger number of materials from this time period. Many of the film reels contained in this collection are partially silent due to the practice of a news anchor reading a broadcast script on-air. Material includes full stories or news packages as well as b-roll, raw footage, and outtakes.

The station used material from the daily news reels to create special Year In Review programming that featured highlights from that year's news. This practice was sometimes documented with a label on the original film reel and it is sometimes indicated where the material was relocated to (e.g. "Diving Tiger in X-Mas 1961" or "LBJ Out"). Because of this practice, some stories were removed from their original broadcast reels and never returned. Some of this extracted footage appears in designated "Year In Review" reels.

During the 1970s, the station expanded its programming to include two television news magazine programs, "Inside Area 5" (IA-5) and "Texas '70s," both contained in this collection. Texas '70s was a monthly 30-minute program that featured reporters and camera operators traveling across the state of Texas to film stories about people and events unique to the state of Texas.This collection contains only production elements from the Texas '70s program, including A-Roll, B-Roll, soundtracks, credits, and outtakes. No known completed prints exist in the collection.

In 1976 - 1979, the station recorded news on both film and videotape. After that time,the station recorded news exclusively on videotape. This transition from film to videotape resulted in a larger number of stories and broadcasts. In the 1970s - 1980s, geographical coverage expanded beyond the immediate Dallas-Fort Worth area but remained largely focused on events and people from the state of Texas. As videotape and broadcast technology evolved in the 1990s and 2000s, the station began to broadcast more national and international news coverage. Videotaped materials include full stories or news packages as well as b-roll, raw footage, and outtakes.

This collection also includes station promotions and specials, local business commercials, and public service announcements. Athletic films include high school, college, and professional football as well as coverage of the Colonial National Invitation golf tournaments. A portion of this collection remains unprocessed including 2" and 1" videotape and sound recordings. Some materials not listed here have been temporarily removed due to advanced deterioration.