One of network television’s most respected correspondents, Robert Hager, retired Friday.
Hager spent 35 years at NBC News covering everything from the Vietnam War to the fall of the Shah of Iran. I conducted an e-mail interview with him last week, before his retirement.
Hager told me that he has filed more than 5,000 reports for the “Today” show and “NBC Nightly News.” His work was so respected by his colleagues that “NBC Nightly News” included a story about his career as their closing item on Friday night. Anchor Tom Brokaw said, “There has never been a better working day to day reporter than my pal Bob Hager.” NBC’s Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief Tim Russert added, “People will always remember him for being there first, and getting it right and getting it best.”
The American Journalism Review referred to him as a “premier general assignment correspondent.”
If Bob Hager’s name is not familiar to the average TV viewer, it is not because they haven’t seen him on TV. Newsday called him “one of the most visible correspondents on network TV.” A university study on how often network correspondents appear on the air showed that for the 20 years the researchers studied, Robert Hager “towered above all others in visibility.” Between 1995 and 2002, Hager was the single most visible correspondent six out of the seven years, the study said.
Hager is a reporter’s reporter. His most recognized area of expertise is covering transportation issues. He has reported on nearly every major airliner crash in the last 20 years, including the Swissair accident in Nova Scotia, the TWA explosion off Long Island, and the downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Hager covered truck, train, auto, commuting and highway safety issues for years. Hager uncovered scandals in Transportation Department spending.
Hager also has an affinity for covering hurricanes. Beginning with Hurricane Frederick in 1979, he has covered the biggest storms in modern history including Hurricane Andrew and Hugo. Twenty-five years later he was in Florida covering Hurricane Ivan as it swept across the state.
In 1999, one researcher who was studying how media covered hurricanes said:
The reporting by NBC’s Robert Hager was that of a science teacher trying to educate an unknowing public. Those watching Hager’s reports would have benefited whether they were within Georges’ grasp or not. Those who were not would be better prepared for their own possible future victimization by another storm. For example, Hager demonstrated that where he was standing would likely be well under water in 24 hours as the storm surge preceding Georges would flood the area in which he was standing. Detailed analysis was provided demonstrating what a storm surge is, how it is dangerous and why residents should evacuate. He even noted that many hesitate to do so, but outlined the reasons why it would be better to err on the side of safety. Instead of following an entertainment norm, this NBC coverage embraced a public service norm. Robert Hager’s reporting on Hurricane Georges should be held up as a model for television broadcasting everywhere.Hager often covered environmental issues, and in June 2000 was honored by the United Nations Environmental Program for his reporting about Ozone depletion, El Niño, and on the Environmental Protection Agency scandals in the early 1980s when the EPA Administrator tried to dismantle much of the Agency’s regulatory capacity.
Hager started his broadcasting career in radio, first in Lexington, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C. Then he moved to television at WBTC in Charlotte, then to NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. From there, he moved to the network.
His first assignment in June 1969 was Vietnam. He found himself in other hot spots, including Iran in 1979 when he covered the overthrow of the Shah, and Panama in 1989, where he witnessed the U.S. invasion. In 1984, he was arrested while covering the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.
Hager’s daughter Christina Hager is a general assignment reporter at CBS 4 in Boston. In a story for the “Today” show about her father’s career she said, “I can only hope to be as insightful and sincere and conscientious a reporter and as inspiring a parent as he has been.”
His first stop as a retired correspondent is a trip back to Vietnam, which he says he has not visited since the war. I interviewed Hager by e-mail on his last day at NBC. As usual, he completed his assignment of answering the questions on deadline, before he left for his trip to Asia.
Tompkins: Other NBC correspondents have told me stories about your seemingly unquenchable thirst for reporting. Why are you a reporter? Hager: I got a “bug” for radio when I was confined to bed for weeks with an ear infection, the summer after 5th grade. I listened all day long, and developed a love for news and sports. So from then on, career choices were easy for me: I always knew what I wanted to do. Only later, on the job, did I discover it’s also a profession in which we can hold our heads high, because I think when we do our jobs well, we perform a tremendous public service for our readers, viewers, and listeners, helping them to stay informed. And then, I have to admit that, excepting the grim stories, it’s also a lot of fun — gets the adrenaline pumping.
It is admittedly an unfair question, but looking back on 35 years of reporting, what were the turning points you remember most? Why?
The physical turning points were the coming of videotape, instead of film, and satellites, which permitted pushing deadlines much later, almost right up to news time; the advent of “live” field reports (which were extremely rare on the network news when I began) where you ad lib more and simply tell what you know without worrying about production; and the inauguration of the all-news cables which free us from the confines of a tight half-hour of news.
The editorial turning points were the change in philosophy that each evening newscast experienced, from the old idea that each had to be a newscast “of record” with a nod to ALL the day’s major stories. Instead, with the proliferation of channels (outlets) now, the major evening programs concentrate more on fewer major stories of the day (confining them to, say, the first one-third to one-half of the newscast) and then, for the rest of the news, do other, interesting investigative or in-depth pieces that are less tied to the news of that particular day.
There are also, now, all the new, opinion-oriented “talk” TV news programs, especially in prime time at night. They are not all my “cup of tea” (some are, some aren’t) but they are certainly well-viewed, so they are here to stay.
You staked out transportation and weather as you key areas of expertise. How did that happen?
It was an accident! After 10 years as a war correspondent, European reporter, and then a regional reporter out of New York, I finally persuaded the company to move me where I wanted most to be: to Washington, D.C.
But at the time, all the traditional beats — Congress, White House, State, etc. — were taken. So I had to “invent” a beat and it was my idea to cover things that really affected people’s everyday lives: a sort of consumer reporter but straightforward, without being a consumer “advocate.” As for two specialties, aviation and weather, I must say I particularly like the science of both: the science of investigating accidents, and the tremendously complex science of what drives violent storms.
NBC Executives tell me that you are famous for short, tight, clear writing. What are the best secrets you can share on how to write short and still write well?
Keep it simple: subject, verb, object is the most powerful, but save that for when you really need to drive it home! Otherwise, at least keep thoughts in a logical order, remembering, for television, the copy is heard, not seen.
I’m criticized sometimes for taking liberty with the rules of grammar –incomplete sentences and the like…sometimes. But I think the most important thing is to deliver the text to our audience in whatever way they can best understand it.
On TV, you’re always fighting for viewer attention, with whatever pictures are on the screen, so whenever you can write to the pictures (referencing what’s going on) it sure helps.
Finally, remember, most of all, you have to explain it well. It’s like teaching. I love TV reporters who can turn a juicy, artful phrase, but that’s never been one of my strengths. I think you could say my scripts are more meat and potatoes: a lot of facts and what people really need to know about a story.
What would you tell young reporters about how to survive and thrive 35 years in the daily news trenches?
Energy, enthusiasm, determination. When I sneaked into the NBC newsroom in New York one time when I was still in college, and talked the chief assignment editor into giving me some brief advice, he told me not to waste my time trying to be “on air” for a network –that with my tenor voice he could guarantee me I’d never make it.
Also, over the course of a long career, I don’t know any on-air person who hasn’t had ups and downs: you’re “in favor,” you’re “out of favor.” The trick is to hang in there and work hard: everything comes full cycle (hopefully).
Finally, don’t burn any bridges. We’re a small, incestuous fraternity. The executive you cross on his or her way out, may return four months later to be your boss!
You are a reporter who has a rich Rolodex of contacts, names and numbers. What is the secret to building sources who have stayed with you for years?
Sources are our life blood. Take good care of them. Call them. Visit them. And try never to burn them! Protect their anonymity even in casual conversation. And remember the best sources are often honest laborers buried deep within the bureaucracy — they’re the ones who know where the skeletons are, not the bosses on top.
The toughest situation is when you must, out of honesty, do a piece that you know a good source is not going to like at all. About all you can do is warn them in advance and try to explain why you are doing what you believe is right.
Is there anything more you want to say about the state of the craft of reporting and journalism?
Well, it’s certainly changing. Over the whole spectrum there’s more “opinions” and sometimes a lot of shouting. But it’s my belief that you can’t reverse that. It’s driven by the economics of the business.
Meantime, there’s still plenty of room for straightforward reporting: giving at least some time within a piece to both sides of the story and explaining it well. And fortunately there are some master craftspeople in our business that are first rate role models for young journalists.
I’d like to observe that what we do is, in my belief, a great way to spend one’s life: interesting, challenging, rewarding, and — apart from some of the grim stories — often a lot of fun!
