Early life Hager was raised in
Woodstock, Vermont, United States. He was first drawn to journalism after being bedridden due to an ear infection during the summer after fifth grade. With nothing to do, he listened "all day long" to the radio, and "developed a love for news and sports."
Career After graduating from
Dartmouth College in 1960, Hager began his career by reporting for radio stations in
Lexington, North Carolina and
Raleigh, North Carolina. Because of his expertise in aviation accidents, Hager came back again to
NBC Nightly News to report on the August 27, 2006 crash of
Comair Flight 5191 and the October 12, 2006
plane crash that killed
New York Yankees pitcher
Corey Lidle. In March 2014, he again returned to NBC to report on the loss of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Hager returned to the air again in July 2014 (on
MSNBC) to provide his expertise and commentary on the shoot down of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, in which 298 people died. On October 14, 2012, Hager covered the Redbull Stratos high altitude skydive, broadcast on the Discovery channel and streamed live online. In the 2019 Drama,
The Irishman, Robert Hager is briefly mentioned as a broadcaster. ==Personal life==