Jack L. Siegal, 75; His Chagal Cos. Owned Radio Stations in L.A.

Jack L. Siegal, 75, the president and general manager of Chagal Cos., which owned FM radio stations including Los Angeles’ KJOI and KFOX, died of unstated causes Friday at UCLA Medical Center.

Siegal, a West Virginia native who grew up in Philadelphia, spent his adult life in radio and television. He started the University of Pennsylvania radio station in his student years, and after graduation joined the Navy and became a radio combat correspondent in the Korean War. He also arranged radio and television coverage of the Korean War truce negotiations at Kaesong and Panmunjom.

After a stint as reporter and director on Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now” on CBS-TV, Siegal managed IBM radio, television and film activities, including coverage of the Gemini and Apollo space missions. By the 1960s he had moved into developing television and radio stations in Vermont.

In 1970, Siegal relocated to Los Angeles and put radio station KJOI on the air. Stations to follow included K-LOVE, KNTF and K-SURF, as he worked to convert Southern Californian listeners from AM to his FM stations. His most recent station was KFOX, which provides Korean-language programming. Siegal was also active in Santa Monica, chairing the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.