Who is Richard Hyatt?
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Richard Hyatt — a reporter, writer and author — left the Toy Shop behind and became one of Georgia’s most respected journalists.
Starting as a Friday night stringer covering high school football games for $5.00 and a byline, he spent more than forty years with newspapers in Atlanta and Columbus, writing articles on a variety of topics from a variety of datelines around the world.
His childhood goal was to play first base for the Atlanta Crackers and Milwaukee Braves but a severe shortage of talent forced him to rewrite that dream. At Georgia State University, he switched his major several times, ending up in journalism — not because he felt that was his calling but because it did not require him to take a foreign language.
In a basic journalism class at GSU, he answered a call for help covering high school sports for the Atlanta Times.
He parlayed this part-time coverage into a real job and his ascent came quickly. Still in college, he started the 1964 season as an usher for the Braves on Aisle 103 at Atlanta Stadium and by the end of the year he had a seat in the working press box.
Hyatt became Georgia Tech’s first assistant sports information director on Sept. 1, 1965 — the day after the Times published its final edition. He spent more than three years with Tech’s athletic department before being named public relations director of the Atlanta Hawks. He was the first Atlanta native hired by the NBA club after it relocated from St. Louis. His career in pro basketball career was brief —consisting of one regular season game.
By the end of 1968 he was a member of the sports staff at the Atlanta Constitution where his primary assignment was college sports. Hyatt soon earned a reputation as a relentless reporter, breaking numerous headline stories.
Restless to write a regular sports column and to lead his own department, he left his hometown in 1972 and became sports editor of the Columbus Enquirer. At twenty-eight, he was the youngest sports editor of a major daily in the state.
Though he would return for two years in 1988, Hyatt drew disenchanted with sports and left it behind in 1974. As city editor of the Enquirer, he directed local news coverage before moving to the editorial page as associate editor.
Richard Hyatt held numerous titles at the Ledger-Enquirer but storytelling was usually a major part of his job. For twenty-eight of his thirty-five years in Columbus, he wrote an award-winning news column. The Georgia Press Association honored him as a serious and humorous columnist in four different decades and Georgia Trend deemed him one of the state’s most influential journalists.
Newspapers were not his only venue. He wrote feature articles for national and regional magazines and served as the host of “Talkline,” a daily radio talk show in Columbus.
As an author, he has written and published eleven non-fiction books and is working on his twelvth. His works include biographies of a President, governor, a Speaker of the House and a gospel singer who performed at the funerals of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley.
Most of Hyatt’s books are available at www.amazon.com.
The veteran journalist retired from the Ledger-Enquirer in early 2008 to spend more time on his career as a free-lance writer. He continues to write two columns a week for the Columbus newspaper.
His newspaper columns can be found at www.ledger-enquirer.com
Upon retirement from newspapers, he founded Richard Hyatt’s Columbus, a groundbreaking website local news and opinion. He also co-hosts the morning show on WDAK News Rasio 540.
At a Glance
Education
• Graduated from Sylvan Hills High School in Atlanta
• Attended Georgia State University
• Graduated from Columbus State University
Public Relations
• Assistant Sports Information Director, Georgia Tech 1965-68
• Coaches All-America Football Game 1967
• Public Relations Director, Atlanta Hawks 1968
• Peach Bowl Football Game 1968.
Newspapers
• Atlanta Times 1964-65
• Atlanta Constitution 1968-1972
• Columbus Ledger-Enquirer 1972-2008.
Broadcasting
• Sports Director WPLO-FM
• Play-by-play announcer, Georgia State University basketball
and Columbus Astros baseball
• Host of Talkline on WRCG in Columbus.
Free Lance
• Published in Inside Sports, Georgia, Atlanta Magazine, Georgia Trend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday Magazine, Florida Trend, NCAA Football Guide, ACC Football Preview, Georgia EMC and Columbus Magazine
• Contributing Editor, Atlanta Magazine
• Correspondent, Newsweek
• Advisory Board, University of Georgia Alumni Magazine
Professional Awards
• Twice nominated for Pulitzer Prize in Journalism
• Green Eyeshade Award for Commentary
• Associated Press Sports Editors Award for Commentary
• More than 40 statewide awards in journalism from the Associated Press, Georgia Press Association and United Press International
• Honored by Georgia Association of Educators and Professional Association of Georgia Educators
• Named one of the state’s Most Influential Journalists by Georgia Trend
• Twice nominated as author of the year by Georgia Writers Association
Published Books
• The Carters of Plains
• Those Trees Are Mine;
• Lewis, Jack & Me
• Kermit: Like the Frog
• Buick Southern Open: The First 25 Years
• Nothin’ But Fine: The Music and the Gospel According to Jake Hess
• Zell: The Governor Who Brought HOPE to Georgia
• Mr. Speaker: A Biography of Tom Murphy
• Charles Jones: A Biography
• Reflections on a Legacy: A History of the Country Club of Columbus
• Home of the Infantry: A History of Fort Benning
Personal
• Born May 11, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia
• Married to former Kaye Howell
• Two daughters, Heather and Kaitlin
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