If you turn on the news today, it’s usually a mess. Screaming heads, political bickering, and a constant stream of "everything is broken" headlines. But every Friday evening, something strange happens on the CBS Evening News. The temperature drops. The heart rate slows down. You see a graying man with a kind face standing by a van or a quiet suburban street, and for a few minutes, you remember that people are actually pretty decent.
That’s steve hartman on the road.
It isn’t just a news segment; it’s a survival kit for the soul. Steve Hartman has spent decades proving that the "real" news isn't just what happens in Washington or on Wall Street. Sometimes, the most important thing happening in America is a retired cop in a small town doing laundry for the homeless or a six-year-old girl saving a research project for endangered salamanders.
Filling the Shoes of a Legend
You can’t talk about Hartman without mentioning Charles Kuralt. In 1967, Kuralt decided he was tired of the "hard" news and convinced CBS to let him wander the backroads of America in a motorhome. He did it for thirteen years, winning every award in the book.
When CBS decided to revive the franchise in 2011, they didn't just pick a random reporter. They picked Hartman.
He’s the first to admit he isn't trying to be Kuralt. "No one will ever become Charles Kuralt," Hartman once said. "And only tubas will ever share a voice that deep." He’s humble like that. But honestly? He’s done something Kuralt never had to do: he’s kept the spirit of "On the Road" alive in an era where kindness feels like a radical act.
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While Kuralt looked for the "eccentrics" and the colorful characters of a bygone era, Hartman focuses on something deeper. He looks for character. He looks for those tiny moments of grace that most of us walk right past.
How He Actually Finds Those Stories
People always ask: where does he find these people?
It’s not magic. It’s mostly just hard work and a very full inbox. For a long time, Hartman used a literal dartboard. He’d throw a dart at a map of the U.S., go to the nearest town, open a phonebook, and call a random person. The segment was called "Everybody Has a Story," and it proved exactly that.
Nowadays, steve hartman on the road relies on a small, tight-knit team. It’s basically just him, a producer, and a cameraman. No massive entourage. He gets thousands of emails at ontheroad@cbsnews.com, and though he doesn't like stories where people pitch themselves (it feels a bit "look at me," doesn't it?), he loves the ones where a neighbor or a friend says, "You have to see what this person is doing."
The "Hartman Formula" That Isn't a Formula
There’s a specific rhythm to his pieces. They start with a question or a simple observation. Then, he lets the people talk. He doesn’t over-narrate. He lets the silence sit.
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Take the story of Kelvin Ellis Jr., a nine-year-old who gave his only dollar—the one he earned for good grades—to a man he thought was homeless. That man turned out to be Matt Busbice, a wealthy businessman who was just having a rough morning.
In a "normal" news segment, that’s a 30-second feel-good clip. Under Hartman’s lens, it becomes a meditation on what "joy" actually looks like. When Matt gave Kelvin a shopping spree as a reward, the kid didn't even care about the bike he got. He just wanted the feeling of helping someone. Hartman knows how to stay out of the way of a moment like that.
Beyond the Friday Night Segment
Hartman’s impact has actually moved off the screen and into the real world. You might have heard of "Kindness 101." During the 2020 lockdowns, when schools were closed and parents were losing their minds, Steve and his kids, Meryl and Emmett, started filming lessons on character from their home in Catskill, New York.
It blew up.
It wasn't just a web series; it became a curriculum. In early 2026, it was announced that over 100,000 classrooms around the world use these stories to teach empathy. Just last week, in January 2026, Hartman was named the recipient of the Robert D. and Billie Ray Pillar of Character Award. It’s a big deal. It recognizes that he isn't just reporting the news—he’s modeling how to be a human being.
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Why We Still Watch
The world is louder than it was in 1967. We are more divided. We have social media feeds designed to make us angry at our neighbors.
That’s why steve hartman on the road is more relevant now than ever. He reminds us that the "other side" isn't a monolith. Whether he’s in a tiny town in Alabama watching three generations play baseball or in Michigan watching a marching band surprise a future recruit, the message is always the same: we have more in common than we think.
He’s won 14 Edward R. Murrow Awards, including a record 12 for writing. But if you asked him, he’d probably tell you the writing is just the easy part. The hard part is being worthy of the stories people trust him with.
Actionable Takeaways for the "On the Road" Spirit
You don’t need a CBS camera crew to live like a Hartman segment. If you’re looking to find a bit of that "On the Road" magic in your own life, here’s how to start:
- Look for the "Quiet" Helpers: Next time you're in your community, ignore the loudest person in the room. Look for the person doing something for no credit. That’s where the real story is.
- Practice Active Listening: Hartman’s secret is that he actually listens. Most of us are just waiting for our turn to speak. Try asking a stranger a genuine question and then just... wait.
- Share the Good Stuff: Algorithms thrive on outrage. Break the cycle. When you see someone doing something decent, tell people about it. It’s contagious.
- Reach Out: If you know someone in your town who is doing something extraordinary—someone who would never ask for the spotlight—send an email to ontheroad@cbsnews.com. You never know where that dart might land next.
The road is still out there. It’s long, it’s winding, and yeah, it’s got some potholes. But as long as Steve Hartman is driving it, we’ve at least got a map to the best parts of ourselves.
Next Steps:
If you want to dive deeper into these stories, check out the "Kindness 101" resources available for educators or watch the latest weekly segment on the CBS Evening News every Friday night. You can also follow the official "On the Road" social media channels to see behind-the-scenes footage of how Steve and his small crew capture these moments across the country.