H. R. Baukhage

H. R. Baukhage (1889–1976) was an American newsperson and broadcaster. His full name was Hilmar Robert Baukhage but he was known to the public only by his initials or just the mononym Baukhage.

Baukhage was born on January 7, 1889, in LaSalle, Illinois; his family later moved to Buffalo. A member of the University of Chicago class of 1911, he received a Ph.B. from that university and studied in Bonn, Kiel, Freiburg, and Paris.

Baukhage served on the Army newspaper Stars and Stripes in Paris during World War I, where he covered the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He served on Stars and Stripes with Steve Early, later a White House Press Secretary for the entirety of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.

Later, Baukhage was a wire service reporter for the Associated Press and worked under David Lawrence for United States News (later merged into U.S. News & World Report).

David Lawrence recommended Baukhage to NBC News and Baukhage began his radio career with five-minute wrapups on the National Home and Farm Hour in 1932 or 1934. Drawing on his previous experience as an actor and his natural gruff affect and raspy baritone, Bauckhage added a staccato verbal style and his signature abrupt sign-on "Baukhage talking" which became well-known to a generation of American news listeners. Radio shows for which Baukhage provided news commentary or reporting over the course of his career also included Along the News Front, Baukhage Talking, Four Star News, News and Comment, and Weekly War Journal.

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