Published Aug. 28, 2026
Story by Randall Roberts, BA ’88
Few media figures in St. Louis had the reach and influence of Ray Hartmann, BJ ’77, the co-founder of the Riverfront Times (RFT) and longtime co-host of the weekly televised roundtable Donnybrook. Hartmann, who started the RFT in 1977 as a weekly newspaper and later owned St. Louis Magazine, died April 23 at age 73 in a traffic accident in St. Louis County.
Hartmann launched the Riverfront Times at age 24 and spent the next two decades building it into one of the nation’s most influential alternative weeklies. In 1987, he helped launch Donnybrook, the public television roundtable that became required viewing for generations of St. Louisans interested in politics, development and civic life. In 1998, he sold the newspaper and turned his attention to St. Louis Magazine, which he revived and led for years. Even as his public profile grew, Hartmann remained committed to developing young journalists.
When Hartmann hired me at the Riverfront Times, I joined a long line of young reporters eager for bylines and experience. The paper itself felt oversize in every sense: physically thick, intellectually restless and stylistically freewheeling. Hartmann believed St. Louis’ wild history, culture and machinations were worth paying attention to.
The influence of that newsroom spread far beyond St. Louis. Trained himself in the Missouri Method, he understood that young reporters learn by doing. Former staffers and freelancers moved into newspapers, magazines and digital media across the country. Many arrived with little more than clips and a willingness to work. They left with careers.
Meanwhile, Hartmann became one of the most recognizable voices in St. Louis through Donnybrook, where for decades he debated politics, development projects and regional controversies with a mix of conviction, skepticism and humor.
Hartmann founded publications, mentored generations of young Mizzou graduates and helped define civic conversation in St. Louis. Yet his most enduring legacy may be the opportunities he created for others, and the confidence he showed in them before they had fully earned it.
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