Robert Horn, former Lash high school teacher, now news director for Radio Station WRFD in Worthington is in Washington, D.C. completing research work for a book which he writing on gathering and broadcasting of news.

Horn is a former newscaster at WMAN in Mansfield and WPAY in Portsmouth.  He started his work in radio broadcasting at the old Zanesville station, WALR.

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Of People And The Times

Article taken from The Zanesville Signal, June 4, 1972

Able to bring a vast and varied broadcasting background to his position, Rober C. Horn supervises educational communications for Zanesville City Schools and leads the radio staff at Zanesville High School. Providing students with radio studies as well as on the job experience. Horn is capable of bridging the gap between mere theory and practical experience. In addition to his broadcasting work, he coordinates the purchase of books for all the school libraries in the city including some material for the three parochial schools. His interest in communications media was sparked when he was teaching general science at Roosevelt Junior High School in the 1930's. Horn's program idea was "Highlights in the World of Science." this was an approach to education which led to one of the first organized high school radio staffs which planned, wrote and presented 13 radio programs a week over Zanesville's station WALR ( now WHIZ)

Left Zanesville

Broadcasting became such an interest and challenge that he left the Zanesville schools in June 1937 for a one year leave of absence to become program director for WPAY in Porsmouth and was one of the first Sohio reporters in the state. After two years at Portsmouth, Horn moved to Mansfield when he organized the local radio news beat and collected all the local news for the station. He coupled broadcasting with a demanding lecture series on the subject of radio news to acquaint listeners of the work behind the scences in gathering the news. At Mansfield, he was a member of publicity committees for many War Bond drives, the dedication of Mansfield's new airport and selection of an official seal for the city. Horn also operated a War Emergency Radio Service Station during WWII, along with editing and rewriting copy for major radio and newspaper press services. Horn, who moved from Mansfield to work as news director at Worthington and later as program director at Cambridge, established news and weather reporting departments at Portsmouth, Mansfield and Worthington

Radio Instructor

From 1947 to 1950, he served as instructor at Otterbein College in Westerville in radio speech and radio writing during that time, he directed the student operated "wired-wireless Radio-WOBC. Members of his classes were organized as a staff to operated the station during the evening hours. Horn later returned to Zanesville City Schools as an audio visual supervisor, a title which became supervisor of educational communications. "It became too demanding a field in that I had to move my family frequently," he said." With two small children, we needed stability that living in on area could give." A former teacher of business arithmetic and plane geometry at Zanesville High School, Horn returned as communications supervisor with 14 years in management and behind the microphone to his credit. Instead of working in the field, he chose to pass the skills he had to his students.

Taught At Branch

In addition to teaching at Zanesville High School, he assumed four classes of speech and one class of audio visual teahing aids at Ohio University-Zanesville then located in the high school. His basic idea of preparing and producing high school radio programs continued when he was in commercial radio. Horn's plans evolved from a radio staff to a radio engineers club when he was asked to reorganize a radio staff. His students have produced programs for WHIZ as well as hours of in-school programs. Additional education credits include being a ground school instructor during WWII for the Harrington Air Service at Mansfield Municipal Air port. It was there that he taught physics, mathematics and meteorology to Army and Navy Cadets. He holds a CAA rating as a ground school instructor in meteorology.

Served As Consultant

Horn also served for five years as educational consultant in the personnel department at the old Chicago Standard Transformer Corp., here. During that time, he planned and directed a supervisory program using visual materials in the training. Horn also spent two summers in the experimental laboratory as a lab technician. Horn was born April 10, 1906 which he notes is the "month and year of the great earthquake in San Francisco, Calif." He is a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fred H. Horn sr. He is married to the former Henrietta Gillespie, daughter of the late Dr. and Mrs. Roy P. Gillespie, and the couple has a daughter, Mrs. Brinley H. (Carolanne) Williams of Arlington, Va., and a son, Robert C. Horn Jr., Alexandria Va., an internal auditor with the American Automobile Association of Washington, D.C. They have a grandson, Brinley H. Williams III. The couple lives at 3275 Circle Court.

ZHS Graduate

Educated in Zanesville schools.  Horn graduated from Zanesville High School in 1925. He completed two years of engineering at Ohio State University before leaving there to work. Later he returned to OSU and entered the College of Education. Horn graduated in 1930 with a bachelor of science degree in education with magors in phusics and chemistry and minors in mathematics and industrial arts.

Since then he has completed post graduate work from Ohio State University, Muskingum College, Ohio University and the University of Utah.  He also completed a correspondence course in electronics from the RCA Institute.  Horn holds his FCC license in radio-electronics from the National Radio Institute in Washington, D.C. he also has a operator license from the Federal Communications Commission.  Horn is a member of the Brighton Prebyterian Church at Lexington avenue and Indiana street where he is an ordained deacon and serves as an elder.  Very active in community affairs, Horn is a member of Zanesville Optimist Club where he has served as president and vice president.  He appropiately serves as program chairman.

A member of local, state and national education associations, Horn is one of thefounders and charter members of the National Association of Radio News Directors.  He was a director of the Ohio Association of Radio New Directors.  A member of the Civic Forum while in Portsmouth, he is a member of the New England Lodge F&AM and Horace Wright Chapter R.A.M., in Worthington.  He also is a member of the Ohio Historical Society and the Muskingum County Historical Society.