Robert Hager, an enthusiastic journalist, has had a very successful career in his field. Starting in high school as a radio reporter for WHWB in Proctor, Vermont, Hager has covered the Vietnam War, the Challenger Explosion, the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and much more. Hager visited the PrHS Journalism class to share his experiences and journalism career. 

Hager found his love for journalism when he was bedridden all summer after fifth grade with an ear infection. ”All I could do that summer was listen to the radio,” he said, mentioning that he’s lucky to have known what he wanted to do since a young age. Shortly after, he bought a tape recorder and used it to practice news broadcasting. Hager attended Woodstock High, where he would attend his school’s sports games and use the tape recorder to practice commentating sports. He was never embarrassed because everyone thought he was broadcasting. 

After Hager graduated from high school, he attended Dartmouth College. “I took a lot of courses that were out of my field and major,” he said. According to Hager, having general knowledge of lots of different subjects is very important in journalism, as well as having good writing skills. 

Hager also talked about the importance of being enthusiastic about whatever you want to do. “Ambition or desire is what makes you serious, and it’s really important,” Hager said, referring to this feeling as “fire in your belly.”

After graduating from college with a major in history, Hager reported for two radio stations and a local television news station in North Carolina. He also worked for a minor-league baseball team. After that, he worked for a local television news station in Washington, D.C. Finally, he started his career for NBC covering news in Vietnam. 

Hager worked for NBC for 35 years, covering many major events. “It’s egotistical like acting would be, but it’s very rewarding,” Hager said. Hager was in Vietnam for six months. “My wife and kids of course stayed in the States, so that was tough.” Hager reported stories about the troops in Vietnam and violence against prisoners. Hager and his crew got footage of a suspected View Cong being interrogated and brutally beaten by South Vietnamese soldiers while American troops watched. He decided not to send the story back until after he asked a military major a question about the laws of war. The major said that prisoners have the right to be treated fairly and should not be harmed. After Hager got that information, he sent the story back to NBC with the footage. 

Shortly after his time in Vietnam, Hager was reassigned to NBC’s Berlin bureau, where he covered the overthrowing of the Iranian Shah and the Invasion of Panama. Hager also covered four Olympic games for NBC, including the Black September terrorist attacks during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He was arrested in Moscow while visiting a farmer's market in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. 

Hager was a specialist in aviation news, covering the Challenger and Columbia accidents. He also covered the Air France Concorde crash and the downfall of the supersonic airliner. 

Hager has had a very extensive career in journalism with experience in many different fields. From being a radio broadcaster to a televised reporter, Hager has shown his skills and talent every step of the way.