By Mark Ambrogi
Bob Daugherty had his eye trained on the nation’s capital for more than 40 years.
Daugherty spent four decades as an Associated Press photographer in the Washington, D.C., bureau, but it was an assignment away from the nation’s capital that was his most memorable.
Daugherty, now a Noblesville resident, cited taking photos during President Richard Nixon’s trip to China as top memory.
“The trip to China opened up a lot of doors here and there,” Daugherty said. “It was an important trip, never mind his problems later.”
Daugherty, inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame on Oct. 24 in Bloomington, was at the White House the day Nixon resigned. He got a picture of Nixon giving the infamous victory sign after resigning.
“Less than an hour later, Gerald Ford was sworn in so we had an inauguration that was put together in an hour,” he said. “It was a lot cheaper than most of them.”
Among his other assignments were the Watergate hearings, the Paris peace talks, the Gulf War, World Series and Olympics.
Daugherty, now 76, who was raised in Marion, was with the Associated Press for 43 years, retiring in 2007.
He began working for the Marion Chronicle-Tribune and then worked for the Indianapolis Star for three years before moving on to the Indianapolis bureau of the Associated Press. After a couple of years, he was sent to the Washington bureau, where he covered the White House and Capitol Hill.
“I spent a lot of time at Federal Court with all the public officials being indicted,” Daugherty said.
Covering nine presidents in all, he said there were several he admired.
“(Ronald) Reagan was fun to shoot and (Lyndon) Johnson was,” he said. “Even Jimmy Carter, who did not particularly like the press, gave me one of my best pictures. I was in Bardstown, Ky., on a trip, and he got on top of his limousine, totally out of character.”
Daugherty said he learned of his induction into the hall of fame about two months ago.
“It was a well-kept secret by my friends who nominated,” he said.
Daugherty had previously received a Lifetime Achievement Award for the White House News Photographers Association in 2010.
To view Daugherty’s photos, visit blog.apimages.com/2015/10/21/indiana-journalism-hall-of-fame-inducts-bob-daugherty/.
