“She broke through the glass ceiling and became the face of a world dominated by men.” With these words, the news channel ABC News announced the death of American TV journalist and ratings canon Barbara Walters. She passed away on Friday at the age of 93. She spent most of her working life at ABC News.
Walters started there in 1976 and became the first female host of an evening news program to be broadcast nationally. Three years later she presented 20/20, an investigative journalism program. In 1999, some 74 million viewers watched Walters during her interview with Monica Lewinsky about the affair with then-President Bill Clinton. Walters asked Lewinsky what she would tell her future children about the affair, to which Lewinsky replied: “Mama made a big mistake.” Walters: “And that is the understatement of the year.”
In 1997 she launched The View, in which a permanent panel of women discussed current affairs. She presented the program until 2014.
During her career, Walters has interviewed Fidel Castro, Egyptian President Sadat, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others. She asked the latter if he had ever ordered anyone to murder. From the 1970s she interviewed every US president and first lady, rarely shying away from personal questions. In her career spanning more than fifty years, she won 12 Emmy awards. (NRC)
A version of this article also appeared in the January 3, 2023 newspaper