(Jan. 6, 1898-Dec. 30, 1981). A newspaper reporter who covered the era of bank robberies in the 1930s, Robert L. Hoover, a graduate of , started his journalistic career in 1919 with the , where he worked for more than 30 years as both reporter and photographer.
Upon leaving the in 1949, he became publicity director for the State Department of Conservation and editor of its magazine, . In 1953, he joined the Indiana Motor Truck Association as publicity director. He became a broadcaster in 1957 when radio station 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 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.
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