Roldo Bartimole was born on April 5, 1933, and grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After graduating from Northeastern University in 1959, he began his journalistic career at the Bridgeport Post and other local newspapers before joining The Plain Dealer and working at the Cleveland office of The Wall Street Journal.
Inspired by Michael Harrington's book, The Other America, he left the conventional journalism world at the age of thirty-five, because, he said it was "impossible for me to remain a neutral observer." Bartimole started his own biweekly newsletter called Point of View which ran from 1968-2000, exposing "... not only the machinations of Cleveland's ruling class - the politicians, the corporations, the real estate interests, the fourth estate - but also the city's charities, foundations and labor unions."
Bartimole still writes for local alternative weeklies and websites, and is also the recipient of many journalistic awards, including the Second Annual Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage from the Safeek Nader Trust for Community Interest in Washington D.C., the Community Shares Award for Social Justice Reporting (for his work in The Free Times), and the Distinguished Service Award from the Cleveland Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was also inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame in 2004. He continues to write for CoolCleveland and other local publications.
From the guide to the Roldo Bartimole Collection, 1960-2010, (Cleveland State University)
