Summary Information
Wilson Hall Papers
1953-1973
U.S. Mss 184AF
0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a former NBC foreign correspondent who covered events in
Cuba, Latin America, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Included are scripts
for Emphasis and Monitor, some written in
conjunction with his wife Lee Hall, and scripts and production notes
for stories aired on the Huntley-Brinkley Report, Today, and other network news programs.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0184af ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Wilson Hall, a well-known foreign correspondent and reporter with
NBC for over 20 years, was born in Champaign, Illinois, on November 5,
1922. After receiving a degree in Speech and English from the
University of Illinois in 1943, he enlisted in the army and served in
Europe until his discharge in 1946. Hall then returned to the United
States where he was offered a job by his alma
mater as an instructor. In 1947 he enrolled in an M.F.A. program
at Yale University, but not long after completing his degree, he again
enlisted in the army and this time served in Korea until 1953.
Hall began his broadcasting career immediately after his discharge,
staying in Korea to cover the prisoner exchange program and
treatysigning at Panmunjom for NBC. In October 1953 he opened the
network's bureau in Cairo, and for the next three years he covered
various trouble spots throughout the Middle East. This assignment ended
when illness forced him to return to the United States early in 1957.
After several years as a commentator in NBC's New York headquarters,
Hall was assigned to Cuba. This assignment coincided with the
revolution, and he was briefly jailed following Castro's rise to power.
Hall's next assignment was in Latin America, which he covered for over
four years as bureau chief in Rio de Janeiro. From 1965 to 1967 Hall
did a daily “Vietnam Report” on the Today show from New York. In the fall of the latter year he became a
war correspondent, covering the Tet offensive from Saigon, Hue, and
DaNang. Hall returned briefly to the United States to be a floor
reporter for NBC's radio news coverage of the 1968 political
conventions. Later that same year he was again sent to the Middle East,
this time as bureau chief in Beirut. After returning to the United
States in May 1971, subsequent assignments took him to New York and
Washington, D.C. In October 1968 he became anchorman and managing
editor of WAST-TV, a CBS affiliate in Albany, New York.
Scope and Content Note
The papers consist almost entirely of news scripts and related
production reports written by Hall, either alone or in collaboration
with his wife Lee Hall. The SCRIPTS divide into two categories: program
and subject files. The former consists of alphabetically-arranged
scripts identified by program title. Many of the scripts are undated,
although Hall has supplied information on the approximate period of
broadcast. Two programs, Emphasis: World Beat and
Monitor: Ring Around the World, are subdivided by
geographic area. The majority of the program files relate to overseas
assignments, but some Emphasis: News Beat and some
syndicated features were prepared while Hall was assigned to the New
York City head-quarters during the early 1970's.
The subject files consist of scripts and production reports which
could not be definitely identified by broadcast format. This section is
arranged alphabetically by country or geographic area and then
subdivided by media. Notes on some of the scripts indicate that they
may have been prepared for particular news programs such as
Today and the Huntley-Brinkley Report, although there is no indication of how many stories were
actually aired. Production notes attached on the television scripts
while on assignment in the Middle East and Vietnam are particularly
interesting, as they contain background information as well as notes on
crew assignments, film content, suggested introductions, and film
narrations. For some stories, such as a 1969 visit to a Palestinian
guerrilla camp in Jordan, the background notes are quite extensive.
The remainder of the collection consists of miscellaneous
correspondence and writings. The correspondence includes a lengthy
report from S.S. Hushmeh, an NBC stringer, concerning an assignment in
Bagdad in 1969, a note from Wilhelm Herkimer concerning prostitution
during the Vietnam War, and a letter from Hall to his wife concerning
experiences in DaNang in 1968. The miscellaneous writings include a
1971 piece written for the Overseas Press Club's annual Dateline concerning his experiences as a correspondent in the Middle
East and an article on Cuban response to Chinese films.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Wilson Hall, Washington, D.C., October 15, 1976. Accession Number: MCHC76-096
Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, August 1979.
Contents List
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Series: Miscellany
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Correspondence, 1968
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Writings, 1960, 1971
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Series: Scripts
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Subseries: Program Files
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Emphasis
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Box
1
Folder
3-4
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“News Beat,” 1971-
1972
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Box
1
Folder
5
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“Viewpoint,”
1972
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“World Beat”
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Middle East, 1953-1956
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Cuba, 1959-1960
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Latin America, 1960-1966
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Unidentified
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Box
1
Folder
10-12
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Monitor, ;“Ring Around the
World,” 1961-1964
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Specials
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Syndications
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Box
2
Folder
2
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“Feature,” 1972-
1973
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Box
2
Folder
3
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“Political Report, ”
1972
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Weekend Report, 1962-
1963
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Subseries: Subject Files
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Middle East
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Box
2
Folder
5-6
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Radio, 1968-1971
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Box
2
Folder
7-8
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Television, 1968-1971
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Operations Logs, 1970
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Nigeria
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Box
2
Folder
10
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Radio, 1968
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Box
2
Folder
11
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Television, 1968
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Vietnam
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Box
2
Folder
12
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Radio, 1967-1968
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Box
2
Folder
13
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Television, 1967-1968
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