The following recommendations are all from my LinkedIn profile. Since I don’t have their explicit permission to use names on my website, I will provide them on request and with their permission.
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In the newspaper business, many journalists become entrenched and only do what is asked of them. But the great ones always push the boundaries of what can be done. Robert is a great one. I’ve watched him develop from a cub reporter to an interactive innovator and eager self-promoter. He brings youthful enthusiasm and technical skill to every project and is an asset to our company. (Referencer currently news editor at 30,000-circulation newspaper in Ohio)
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Robert LaHue is severely under appreciated for the skills he has and the services he provides. As a top flight writer and reporter, he’s covered local municipalities well, but as an interactive producer he’s pulled out all the capabilities of a Swiss army knife in helping the Appeal-Democrat become an awesome online destination. LaHue and I would often discuss how best to approach online communities while I was at The Union because of the proximity of the two communities (Grass Valley, Calif. and Marysville/Yuba City, Calif.), their similar sizes and because we used the same content management platforms including video display providers. Needless to say, with all of the similarities he was constantly giving me something to look to do and imitate, and hopefully I was doing the same. But more than anything, I’ve always come away impressed with the polish of his projects, whether it be an interactive map, a database of some sort, or a highlights video he’d done. He’s constantly pushing the bar for quality and I’ve appreciated that from a short distance. I assume when he moves on, he’ll be extremely hard to replace. (Referencer currently online content producer for Boston Globe)
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“Robert is a talented, tenacious reporter who has the ability to take complex events or topics and communicate that information to his readers in a manner that is easy to comprehend. Robert is very comfortable using new media as a tool to get stories (or video) to his audience as quickly as possible. Robert is also comfortable writing about an array of topics, from politics to sports to feature stories. From Day One, Robert stakes out the pulse of the community and makes sure he knows what is important to them.” (Referencer currently writer in Chicago area)
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“Robert is our all-around multimedia guy. He knows a lot about creating and integrating visual, oral and written information in ways that are appealing and clear. And whatever he doesn’t know, he is quick to learn. In our newsroom, he serves as videographer, video editor and video reporter, but he often winds up acting as a tech support guy and media trouble shooter. Sometimes, he even stands in as a kind of technical social worker, guiding tech-challenged reporters like me through unfamiliar computer-related processes, and translating foreign tech language into terms we can understand and accept.
He seems to relish a creative or intellectual challenge of any kind, and can think on his feet — something he often has to do in our newsroom, where every workday and task requires a fresh approach.
Most important to his work at the Appeal-Democrat is Robert’s ability to remain flexible and open to a constantly changing environment. He often is required to design and create something entirely on his own, and then follow up with a project requiring him to execute very specific ideas generated by others who do not share his expertise. He makes those transitions smoothly and is able to accomplish whatever is required.” (Referencer currently reporter in Northern California)