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Photo by RON EDMONDS/AP/REX/ShutterstockAward-winning television journalist Gwen Ifill died on Monday after battling cancer for several months. She was 61. To commemorate her life and contributions to this world, here are some of her noteworthy accomplishments.
NAME: Gwendolyn L. “Gwen” Ifill
LIFETIME: September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016
WHAT SHE’S KNOWN FOR: Gwen Ifill is a distinguished journalist and one of the most successful female African American news correspondents, according to Biography. She worked as the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week, a weekly political discussion show. She was also the managing editor of PBS NewsHour. On PBS, she co-anchored with Judy Woodruff during the show’s hour-long evening newscast, where she reported on a wide range of issues from foreign affairs and U.S. politics. Ifill has covered seven presidential campaigns in her career and she has moderated two vice presidential debates – in 2004 with Dick Cheney and John Edwards and in 2008 with Joe Biden and Sarah Palin).
“Gwen was one of America’s leading lights in journalism and a fundamental reason public media is considered a trusted window on the world by audiences across the nation,” Paula Krager, PBS’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
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However, before she came to PBS in 1999, Ifill served as chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News. She was also a White House correspondent for The New York Times as well as a local and national reporter for The Washington Post. And for her extensive work in the industry, Ifill has received various awards and more than 20 honorary doctorates. In 2015, she was awarded the National Press Club’s highest honor, the Fourth Estate Award.
WHY WE LOVE HER: Not only has Ifill had a successful career, she was also well-loved and highly respected by her audience for her warmth, integrity and professionalism. “Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry going through seismic change,” Sara Just, PBS NewsHour executive producer and senior VP of public television station WETA said in a statement. “So many people in the audience felt that they knew and adored her. She had a tremendous combination of warmth and authority. She was stopped routinely by people who just wanted to give her a hug and considered a friend after years of seeing her on TV.”
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Gwen Ifill was also a “journalist’s journalist,” Just said. Ifill was a mentor to various people throughout the industry and she was well respected across the political spectrum for setting an example to those around her.
FUN FACTS: Aside from being well-known in the news industry, Gwen Ifill is also a published author. She wrote the book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama” (2009), which discusses several African American politicians, including Barack Obama, and talks about why his presidency was a pivotal moment in American history.
But whether she was writing or delivering the news, Ifill was devoted to being impartial and doing her job. In response to her critics, she said, “I’ve got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I’m not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation. The proof is in the pudding.”
Throughout her life, her contributions to civic discourse, as Krager said, “cannot be overstated.” Gwen Ifill brought an important light to the big issues in our society and she did this “grace and a steadfast commitment to excellence.”
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