Barbara Walters.
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Barbara Walters, a pioneering television broadcaster who paved the way for women in male-dominated media, died Friday.
Her death was confirmed by her agent, Cindy Berger, that Walters died “peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones.”
“She lived a life of no regrets,” Berger said. “She was a trailblazer, not just for female journalists, but for all women.”
ABC, the network she last worked for, announced Walters’ death Friday night and aired a special report looking back at her career. Iger said in a statement that Walters died Friday night at his home in New York City.
He called her a “pioneer not only of women in journalism, but of journalism itself.”
Walters was best known in recent years as the co-creator and hostess of ABC’s hit show, The View, but older viewers believe she was the first female anchor of a network news show and the first female anchor on television. I remember being an outstanding interviewer. She gained a reputation for meticulously preparing for interviews, whether they were interviewing tyrants and divas, models and murderers.
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Walters said in a 2014 TV special, “I do a lot of homework. I know people better than they know themselves.”
That drive has proven vital to her success. When she entered the business in 1961 as a writer for NBC’s “TODAY” show, the idea of a woman sitting down and interviewing a sitting president on primetime network television (which she did more than a decade later) seemed more fantastic. The reality of an industry dominated by men like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.
Robert Thompson, director of the Television Popular Culture Briar Center at Syracuse University, told NBC: “She was literally and figuratively playing in a kind of network for the old. I didn’t answer,” he said. News before Walters died.
“At some point, what was a disadvantage to her as a woman trying to gain a foothold in a male-dominated industry started to become more of an asset,” Thompson said. , was ready, but at the same time seemed more caring (than his male companions).
“Barbara Walters has proven to be an evolutionary step between Edward R. Murrow and Oprah Winfrey.”
childhood exposure to celebrities
In a way, Walters has been preparing for trademark interviews all her life. Born Barbara Her Jill Her Walters in Boston on September 25, 1929, as the daughter of nightlife impresario Lou Her Walters, who owned clubs up and down the East Coast, the wealthy and famous I was able to see people up close.
“I learned that celebrities are human,” Walters said in 2014.
Following in his father’s drive, Walters graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a BA in English and entered the world of journalism as an assistant at NBC affiliate WRCA-TV. In 1955, she married businessman Robert Henry Katz, but her first love remained her fledgling career. The couple divorced after three years.
Walters, who was hired as a writer and researcher for TODAY, became the show’s sole female producer and began making occasional broadcast appearances as TODAY Girl, covering fashion shows, lifestyle trends, weather and more. rice field. It was previously held by Florence Henderson, famous for “The Brady Bunch” among others.
Hardly the kind of grim report Walters was clearly eager for.
Off-air, Walters married theater producer Lee Guber in 1963 and adopted a daughter, Jacqueline, named after Walters’ older sister, who is autistic. The marriage lasts thirteen years.
big breakthrough
Her big breakthrough was a mission to travel with Jacqueline Kennedy during the First Lady’s visit to India in 1962. That led to more news stories, and Hugh took co-hosting responsibilities on the other side of the Downs. Titles until 1974. By then, Downes had left the network and was replaced by Frank McGee.
Maggie, who died shortly after partnering with Walters, demanded that Walters ask everyone three questions in an interview in the studio.
As such, Walters began conducting interviews outside the studio and quickly developed a reputation as an astute and detailed questioner.
People were watching, including executives from competing networks. Walters earned an unprecedented $1 million a year, and she was invited by ABC to become the first female co-anchor of a primetime newscast. However, it didn’t take long for viewers to feel the tension between Walters and her co-anchor Harry Riesner.
Her newfound celebrity had trouble pronouncing the difficult R caricatured by Gilda Radner on “Saturday Night Live.” .
With her ABC news show’s ratings disappointing, Walters’ career was saved by a prime-time interview special she launched for ABC. Her first interview featured President-elect Jimmy Carter, and within a year she successfully conducted joint interviews with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
In 1979, she reunited with Downes on ABC News magazine’s 20/20 program, which went on for 25 years of success.
interview
But it was her interview that put together a mix of tough, funny questions on her trademark 3×5 index cards, and stuck with orders long after the cameras started rolling. In her 2014 television special to mark her retirement from journalism, Walters showed off an autographed photo of Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro hanging on the wall.
Walters received a lot of criticism for asking Katherine Hepburn, “What kind of tree are you?” — To be fair, a follow-up to what the legendary actor said — She looks Russian President Vladimir Putin in the eye and asks if he ever ordered the death of his rival, among the most difficult I was able to ask questions.
A 1999 exclusive interview with Monica Lewinsky garnered the highest rating ever for a primetime interview.In 1997, Walters debuted a new show closer to her “TODAY” roots. It’s a morning talk show with an all-female panel called “The View.” She was co-executing her producer and seated at the table, but named Meredith Vieira as the first moderator.
Over the years, the hit show has featured panelists Whoopi Goldberg, Star Jones, Lisa Ring, Joy Behar, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Rosie O’Donnell, and Megan McCain.
Walters managed to avoid controversy during his long career, but it was controversial when it was revealed that he had an affair with Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts in the 1970s.
After nearly 60 years in journalism, Walters announced his retirement in 2014.
“I don’t want to be on another show or climb another mountain,” she said. “Instead, there are very talented women, and men, who will take my place, sitting in a sunny field.”
