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.
