Bob Bartlett helped build KTAB News Abilene from the ground up and is now celebrating 45 years with the station.
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Bartlett and his baritone voice were hired on August 20, 1979, before the station began broadcasting. Speaking of building, the station says Bartlett actually helped build the first desks in the newsroom.
Later, on October 6th, KTAB went on air, his baritone voice being the first to be heard.
Already a familiar face on Big Country television, Bartlett had worked for then-competitor KRBC for eight years.
Throughout his career, Bartlett has reported on sports and served as news director, managing editor, and anchor. He has interviewed everyone from President Ronald Reagan to U.S. Senator John Tower and Bob Seger.
Growing up in the Midwest, Bartlett got his start in broadcasting as a radio DJ while still in high school. He continued in radio station work until moving into TV in Abilene. A piece of trivia for you: Bartlett's first TV appearance was a 1970 public TV fundraiser in Detroit, Michigan.
Bartlett has said in the past that some of the memorable stories he's covered include traveling to Somalia for a relief mission with Dyess Air Force Base airmen. He also anchored live coverage of the arrival of the B-1 bomber Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene in 1986. For decades, he hosted the West Texas Rehab Center’s annual telethon.
