Philadelphia Daily News
 

IT WAS A long way from the rowhouses of Frankford, where he was a 12-year-old paperboy, to the Center City penthouse office where he would serve as publisher of two of America's top newspapers.

But Robert J. Hall never lost sight of where that journey started.

"He never forgot where he came from," said Ronna Stroback Hall, his wife of 35 years. Even after a long tenure as publisher of the Philadelphia Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hall was still a guy who bantered with the drivers he'd known in his youth and who loved to eat Blizzards from Dairy Queen.

The papers' shirt-sleeved top executive still wanted everyone to call him "Bob."

And it was in typical understated fashion that Hall, 58, announced yesterday at the end of a managers meeting of Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. - the papers' parent company that he also chairs - that he would retire at the end of this year.

"Bob gave the Daily News a gift that few publishers have the courage to give," said Daily News Editor Zack Stalberg. "He always gave this newspaper the freedom to show its heart and kick some ass."

During Hall's 13 years as PNI's boss, he led the two newspapers through what has been described as one of the worst economic climates for advertising in memory, keeping both of them profitable.

"Going through difficult economic times is painful," said Hall, referring to cost-control measures he brought to PNI. "You must make decisions that are the right business decisions, but you know they will impact people's lives."

Orthodontist Phil Siegel, a Hall golfing buddy, called his friend "the most decent, moral, honest human being you could meet."

"The most difficult thing I saw him do was make the cuts at the Inquirer and Daily News," Siegel said. "I saw the pain he was going through."

Hall's instincts were driven by his common touch.

"Some people want to hide where they came from," Ronna Hall said. "He never did. When he plays golf, he gets the young kids as caddies, because he knows they are working for college like he did. He's one of those kids. He talks to them like someone who lived on their street."

But underneath Hall's modest exterior burns the quiet self-confidence and drive that fueled his success in the newspaper business.

"He always told me he had potential," said his wife, who still calls him "Bobby" as when they first met. "He said, 'I have no money, but I have potential. That's why you should marry me.' You believe in someone like that."

Hall started working for newspapers at age 12, as a paperboy for the Evening Bulletin. He later became a branch captain, collecting money for the people who delivered the paper. Hall - the son of a city bus driver and a homemaker - worried about saving his dollars for college.

He went on to earn an accounting degree at Drexel University, then became a certified public accountant. In 1973, Hall joined Knight Newspapers, which later became Knight Ridder, owner of PNI. He worked here in various finance and executive positions before moving to Detroit, where he became publisher of the Detroit Free Press.

In 1998, Hall was awarded the John S. Knight Gold Medal, the highest honor Knight Ridder can bestow.

As PNI chairman, Hall presided over construction of the company's $300 million printing plant in Conshohocken and oversaw sensitive negotiations with the 10 unions that represented 3,000 workers.

At the successful conclusion of particularly thorny contract talks a decade ago, Hall and Council of Newspaper Unions president Joseph Lyons, both wearing sports shirts, shook hands during a late-night meeting in a downtown hotel.

"Thanks for coming, Bob," Lyons said.

"My pleasure," Hall replied.

"He's a good guy, a man of his word," the union leader said, of his management counterpart.

Said the president of Teamsters Local 628, which represents 625 PNI workers: "When he gave you his word, you could count on it." John Laigaie called Hall "a decent man who never forgot the workers who put out the papers."

Dick Smoot, chairman of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Academy of Music, said that, in addition to his many civic contributions, Hall was "the most even-tempered man I've ever met. He's the same no matter what happens, even when things don't go the way you want them to."

In a joint statement, Knight Ridder Chairman Tony Ridder and newspaper division president Steve Rossi said, "Bob Hall's contributions to Knight Ridder over 30 years have been immeasurable." The statement cited Hall's "warmth, personal integrity, can-do creed and appetite for civic involvement."

Hall gave back much to the city in which he grew up.

Hall has served as chairman of Greater Philadelphia First, and the Arts and Business Council. He's been on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Children's Hospital and Drexel. He led the campaign to raise $10 million for Freedom Theatre.

"Bob's active community and civic participation are hallmarks of the commitment and dedication he has made to the region," said Mayor Street. "It was a pleasure to have worked with him to help preserve the New Freedom Theatre, a local mecca for minority children who want to pursue a career in the arts."

Gov. Rendell pointed to Hall's involvement in community affairs as one reason why he was "saddened for Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley" by Hall's retirement.

"He made PNI a great corporate citizen, and that wasn't easy to do because of the obligations of the two newspapers to report on events involving the city's institutions," Rendell said. "I don't think the Avenue of the Arts would have been as successful as it is without him. Besides, he's a really good guy."

But despite all his outside civic involvement, Hall said yesterday that being publisher of the Daily News and the Inquirer "is the best job you could ever hope to have."

"They are two great newspapers and I'm proud of the contributions they make to the community," Hall said. "No matter where you go, when you say you work for the newspaper, people have a comment. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, but it's always interesting."

Hall's retirement takes effect on Dec. 31. Officials with Knight Ridder said they hope to name his replacement in November.

One company executive who will miss working with Hall is PNI's president and general manager Fred Mott, who has known Hall for many years through Knight Ridder and who left his job as publisher of the State in Columbia, S.C., to work with him here. Mott said he'd believed, as many did, that Hall had planned to stay with the newspapers through their 2006 labor negotiations.

"He's going off and doing what his heart is telling him to do," said Mott, who said of Hall that "he's a class act, he's a friend, and he's one of the reasons I came up here."

Mott has already been mentioned as a candidate to be Hall's successor, but when asked last night if he considered himself a contender for the post, he replied: "I don't know."

In his retirement, Hall said, he will continue to live in the area. He hopes to teach business at a local college and to join the boards of one or two public companies. He plans to be active in the community and said he hopes to lower his 10 handicap in golf.