New Exec. Producer at Evening News
Rome Hartman, an award-winning and prolific "60 Minutes" producer since 1991, has been named Executive Producer of the "CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer" program. The appointment made by Sean McManus, President of CBS News and Sports, is effective Jan. 9, 2006.
Hartman, who will report directly to McManus, also will serve as an advisor to him on other elements of organization and news gathering, including evaluation and deployment of correspondents and producers and talent recruitment.
"Most people are familiar with the exemplary work that Rome has done on '60 Minutes,'" said McManus. "Rome's production experience, journalistic integrity and vision uniquely qualify him to take the 'CBS Evening News' to the next level. I will also rely on him to assist me in some key areas, including staffing and recruitment, as we continue to build CBS News into the leader in broadcast journalism."
Hartman, 50, succeeds Jim Murphy, who led the broadcast for six years, longer than any other executive producer in its more than 50-year history.
Of Murphy, McManus said, "I offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Jim Murphy for being a wonderful executive producer of the 'CBS Evening News.'"
"Jim came to me a while ago and said that he wanted a new challenge. I have tremendous respect for Jim's talents and his accomplishments as the leader of the broadcast, and he should be very proud of the job he did. Jim and I will continue to discuss his future role at CBS News."
Hartman joined "60 Minutes" in 1991 as a producer for Lesley Stahl when she joined the broadcast as a correspondent. He has produced more than 100 reports for the program, a figure reached by only four other producers in the 37-year history of the program. Among his most notable reports are one of the first stories about identity theft which caused the postal service to alter its change-of-address procedures, the first and only television profile of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas and the first behind-the-scenes look at Google after its 2004 stock offering. Hartman also served as the senior producer overseeing and responsible for "60 Minutes II" from January to early September of this year.
The datelines of his "60 Minutes" assignments have included Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Africa, Greece, India and Latin America, as well as cities and towns across the United States. Hartman has received two Emmy Awards, a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and a Gerald Loeb Award for business journalism.
Before his "60 Minutes" tenure, Hartman was the senior producer for the CBS Evening News in Washington, D.C. (1989-91), supervising the broadcast's coverage of politics and all other Washington events. Prior to that, he was CBS News' White House producer (1986-89), covering Ronald Reagan's second term and the first year of the George H.W. -Bush presidency.
Hartman joined CBS News in 1983 as a field producer in the Atlanta bureau, covering events throughout the South and Latin America, including leading the Network's coverage of the American invasion of Grenada.
He was a producer of the 6:00 and 11:00 PM newscasts at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. (1981-83) and a producer of the 11:00 PM newscast at WTVJ-TV, the then-CBS affiliate in Miami (1980-81). Hartman's broadcast journalism career began at WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla. (1977-80), where he held positions ranging from desk assistant, reporter, cameraperson, film editor and producer.
He was born in West Palm Beach. Hartman was graduated from Duke University in 1977 with a degree in political science. He lives Bethesda, Md., with his wife and two sons.