Hartman earned a degree in broadcast journalism at Bowling Green State University, graduating in 1985.
From 1994 to 1998, he served as a feature reporter for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles,[6] and hosted a segment called "The Stevening News".
[5] In 1998, Hartman became a full-time CBS News correspondent; he served as 60 Minutes II essayist from 2002 until the show was canceled in September 2005.
[12][13] In 2002 Hartman received an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award from the Columbia Journalism School, for the Everybody has a Story series.
[14] He has received four Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), including three consecutive citations for Best Writing.