Samuel Chase; Broadcaster, Former Billboard Editor

Samuel L. Chase, a broadcaster who developed radio programs on social issues in the 1960s and was a former editor of Billboard magazine, has died at the age of 80.

Chase died Aug. 11 of heart problems, his son Bradley said from New York City.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chase had a long career in magazine publishing and broadcasting, and collaborated with major U.S. magazines to produce syndicated radio news shows.

With Newsweek, Chase created “What Must Be Done,” a series carried on more than 250 stations that focused on the black community and problems such as housing, employment and education.

“At Issue,” created in collaboration with Harper’s, featured 15-minute weekly interviews with some of America’s leading literary and political personalities and was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations.

Chase worked at Billboard magazine for 16 years, rising by 1963 to editor in chief and assistant publisher.

In 1980, he founded the classical music magazine Ovation, serving as editor and publisher until 1986. The magazine issued a regional edition in Los Angeles in collaboration with former classical radio station KFAC-FM.

From 1966 to 1969, Chase served as a vice president of New York City’s WBLS-FM and WLIB-AM radio stations, which have a primarily black audience. There, he created a number of programs, two of which won Peabody Awards, broadcasting’s top citation.

He also worked for Associated Press from 1945 to 1946 as a radio news writer in New York.

Chase is survived by his wife, Nancy; his sons Marc of Oceanside, N.Y., and Bradley of New York City; and two grandchildren.