Robert Hartley's journalism career began in the late 1950s in Idaho, where he served as a reporter for the Twin Falls Times-News. Over the next twenty-seven years he worked in a variety of newspaper positions. He served as editor of the central Illinois Lindsay-Schaub chain of newspapers during the 1970s and eventually became publisher of the Bellevue, WA Journal-American in 1981. Throughout his career, he has been an enthusiastic observer of Illinois politics and history and has published several works on the subject, including books on Senator Paul Simon and Governor Jim Thompson.
Interview Links
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Hartley’s early life and career as a journalist
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Work with the Lindsay-Schaub newspapers and early writing career
Interview Session 03 (Audio)
On Jim Thompson, Paul Powell, coal mine disasters & more
Interview Session 04 (Audio)
Discussion on Paul Simon, and the future of journalism in America
Transcript
Photos
Caption
Bob Hartley takes a break from his work as city editor of the Twin Falls, Idaho Times-News, circa 1960.
Where:
Twin Falls, Idaho
When:
circa 1960
Ownership:
Narrator’s Photo
Caption
Editors and reporters at the Metro-East Journal go over 1964 election results in the newsroom. Bob Hartley, assistant city editor, is second from left. Rube Yelvington, news editor, is at the far right, and to his left is Ed Belz, city editor.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1964
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Kelso Towle, general manager of the Decatur Herald and Review, far right, meets with the paper’s department heads in 1967. Bob Hartley, editor, is third from the left.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1967
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Sen. Charles Percy, second from left, talks with Decatur Herald and Review editor Bob Hartley, to his left, in 1972. H. G. “Skinny” Taylor, Macon County Republican party chairman, is at far right.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1972
Ownership:
(Narrator’s photo)
Caption
Sen. Charles Percy, second from left, visited with newspaper editors while on a campaign swing in 1972. Ralph Johnson, left, was editorial page editor for Lindsay-Schaub Newspapers, and Bob Hartley, to Percy’s left, was editor of the Decatur paper.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1972
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bob Hartley, editor at Lindsay-Schaub, stands atop China’s Great Wall in 1978. He and 19 other U. S. newspaper editors, all members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, toured the People’s Republic as guests of Xinhua, the New China News Agency.
Where:
Great Wall of China outside of Peking (Beijing)
When:
1978
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bob Hartley, editor of Lindsay-Schaub newspapers, at his desk in the home office of the newspaper organization in 1978.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1978
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bob Hartley addresses the newspaper staff of the Journal-American in Bellvue, Washington for a Sunday edition in 1982.
Where:
Bellvue, Washington
When:
1982
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo