Tanner began his career with the
Valley Morning Star. In 1949, Tanner and his wife, Trinnia, founded the Killeen Publishing Company to purchase and operate the
Killeen Daily Herald the following year. Tanner was the president and editor, while Trinnia was the treasurer and a columnist. Tanner covered the oil and gas industry as a staff reporter for the
Journal. In 1961, he was part of the
Journal team that received a
Gerald Loeb Award for "New Millionaires". He received the Frank Kelley Memorial Award for excellence in journalism from the
American Association of Professional Landmen in 1968 for the article "Food from Fuel", which tells the story of T. W. Murray's rise to prominence in the oil industry. In 1981, Tanner was appointed Vice President in charge of the newly created international publications division of the Petroleum Information Corporation, where he edited
Petroleum Information International, a global energy newsletter. Tanner returned to
The Wall Street Journal by 1986. In 1993, he was included in
Forbes magazine's
MediaGuide 500: A Review of The Nations Most Important Journalists. ==Personal life==