(Jan. 6, 1898-Dec. 30, 1981). A newspaper reporter who covered the John Dillinger era of bank robberies in the 1930s, Robert L. Hoover, a graduate of Manual High School, started his journalistic career in 1919 with the Indianapolis News, where he worked for more than 30 years as both reporter and photographer.

Upon leaving the News in 1949, he became publicity director for the State Department of Conservation and editor of its magazine, Outdoor Indiana. In 1953, he joined the Indiana Motor Truck Association as publicity director. He became a broadcaster in 1957 when radio station WIBC employed him to cover police news.

A freelancer for several newsreel services, Hoover was the first to capture a confession on motion picture film while covering the 1954 “dresser drawer” murder case. A founding member of the Indianapolis Press Club and its president from 1934 to 1939, Hoover is in both the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame and the Indiana Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Hoover was still chasing down police stories in the 1970s as a radio newsman. The septuagenarian broadcaster delighted radio listeners through reports laced with crime cliches from earlier eras. Although his final reports were infrequent, he was still a WIBC employee when he died.

Revised March 2021
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