George Clinton Hatch, 89, a pioneer in Utah media, died Aug. 30, 2009, in Salt Lake City.
He had at one time owned the Standard-Examiner in Ogden, KALL radio and KUTV, through a family company.
Hatch began his broadcasting career in 1941 as the manager of KLO radio. He married Wilda Gene Glassmann, whose father owned both KLO and the Standard-Examiner, in 1940.
In 1945, he moved to Salt Lake City and started KALL radio.
A year later, KALL had the exclusive contract to broadcast University of Utah football games and to carry the World Series play-by-play coverage for the Salt Lake area. KALL also had 90 minutes of top-rated children's programming with "Buck Rogers," "Superman," "Tom Mix," "Hop Harrigan" and "Captain Midnight."
He later acquired KUTV and launched the Intermountain Network, which grew to more than 90 radio station affiliates.
In 1968, Hatch co-founded Telecommunications Inc., which became the largest cable TV company in the U.S.
Through newspaper editorials, broadcast documentaries and news reports, Hatch and his wife sought to preserve Utah's canyon country for future generations. They worked with Sen. Frank Moss and other Utah leaders to establish Capitol Reef and Arches national parks, expand the borders of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and create Antelope Island State Park.
Hatch was also a member of the Utah Board of Regents and an active Democrat.
Memorial services will be held on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m. in the Memorial Building at Memory Grove.