MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — John K. Hartman, 72, a Liberty Township resident since 2008, was inducted into the Central Michigan University Journalism Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Named an emeritus professor of journalism in 2015, Hartman retired from CMU after 31 years. During his time at CMU, he mentored students and worked to bring interesting and unique speakers to campus, according the Chad Livengood, a CMU journalism graduate who is chair of the hall of fame selection panel.
Hartman is the author of “The USA Today Way,” published in 1992, which analyzed the new ideas the national daily paper brought to the industry, Livengood, a senior reporter at Crain’s Detroit Business, said. Hartman wrote a follow-up book, the “USA Today Way 2 The Future,” in 2000.
Hartman writes a column about media and politics for the Columbus Free Press and serves as an alternate on the Liberty Township Zoning Board. He previously was a member of the township’s Board of Zoning Appeals.
He was educated at Bowling Green State University, where he earned a bachelor’s of journalism in 1967, a master’s in radio-TV-film in 1977, and a doctorate in communication in 1986.
A resident of Bowling Green from 1974-2008, Hartman was elected five times to the Bowling Green Board of Education, serving from 1978-1997.
Hartman is a 1963 graduate of Ashland High School and served as sports editor of the Ashland Times-Gazette from 1968-1971
He and his wife, Kay, have three daughters: Kimberly Brueck of Green, Alicia Wolshire of Dublin, and Jacqueline Ashley of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They have seven grandchildren.
