Changes

| parents=William Earl and Pina Head Hatten

| parents=William Earl and Pina Head Hatten

| alma_mater=Ouachita Parish High School<br>

| alma_mater=Ouachita Parish High School<br>

University of Louisiana at Monroe

[[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]

|branch=United States Merchant Marine

|branch=United States Merchant Marine

|battles=[[World War II]]}}

|battles=[[World War II]]}}

==Journalism career==

==Journalism career==

Hatten's career as a journalist began in 1948, when he was attending college. He joined the reporting staff at the former ''Monroe Morning World''. He remained at the ''News-Star World'' for fifteen years. By the middle 1950s, before he was thirty, Hatten was the managing editor ''The Morning World'', since merged into the ''[[Monroe News Star]].''

Hatten's career as a journalist began in 1948, when he was attending college. He joined the reporting staff at the former ''Monroe Morning World''. He remained at the ''News-Star World'' for fifteen years. By the middle 1950s, before he was thirty, Hatten was the managing editor ''The Morning World'', since merged into the ''[[Monroe News Star]].'' In 1956, he hired [[Sam Hanna|Samuel Andrew "Sam" Hanna, Sr.]], subsequently an award-winning journalist and newspaper entrepreneur in his own right, as an outdoor writer for ''The Morning World.'' By 1963, Hatten had left the Monroe newspapers to enter the [[insurance]] business.<ref name=hannajr/>  

In 1956, he hired [[Sam Hanna|Samuel Andrew "Sam" Hanna, Sr.]], subsequently an award-winning journalist and newspaper entrepreneur in his own right, as an outdoor writer for ''The Morning World.'' By 1963, Hatten had left the Monroe newspapers to enter the [[insurance]] business.<ref name=hannajr/>  

On January 1, 1965, Hatten purchased ''The Ouachita Citizen'' from the families of Lee Hawkins, Amos Hood, and Dewitt Henry. He penned "Inside Straight", an editorial column focused on the people, places and events in Ouachita Parish. ''The Ouachita Citizen'', a weekly newspaper, began in 1924 as the ''West Monroe Churchman''. He published ''The Citizen'' for twenty-one years. Hatten's daughter Beth handled the operations of the business. In 1986, Hatten sold ''The Ouachita Citizen'' to [[Robert E. Barton|Robert E. "Bob" Barton]], an employee of ''The Ruston Daily Leader'' in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish. After his time in West Monroe, Barton purchased ''The Bossier Press-Tribune'' in [[Bossier City]]. In 1995, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives for Bossier Parish and served one term in the chamber<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf |title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020|publisher=Hlouisiana.gov|accessdate=June 25, 2018}}</ref> but then lost a race for the state Senate.

On January 1, 1965, Hatten purchased ''The Ouachita Citizen'' from the families of Lee Hawkins, Amos Hood, and Dewitt Henry. He penned "Inside Straight", an editorial column focused on the people, places and events in Ouachita Parish. ''The Ouachita Citizen'', a weekly newspaper, began in 1924 as the ''West Monroe Churchman''. He published ''The Citizen'' for twenty-one years. Hatten's daughter Beth handled the operations of the business. In 1986, Hatten sold ''The Ouachita Citizen'' to [[Robert E. Barton|Robert E. "Bob" Barton]], an employee of ''The Ruston Daily Leader'' in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in Lincoln Parish. After his time in West Monroe, Barton purchased ''The Bossier Press-Tribune'' in [[Bossier City]]. In 1995, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives for Bossier Parish and served one term in the chamber<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf |title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020|publisher=Hlouisiana.gov|accessdate=June 25, 2018}}</ref> but then lost a race for the state Senate.

==See also==

==See also==

*[[Staci Albritton Mitchell]], first Republican and first woman mayor of West Monroe, elected in 2018 and endorsed by Bert Hatten.

*[[Staci Albritton Mitchell]], first Republican and first woman mayor of West Monroe, elected in 2018, term ends 2026, and endorsed by Bert Hatten.

==References==

==References==