The world of journalism lost one of its brightest lights Monday when news came forth that PBS Newshour co-anchor Gwen Ifill died at the age of 61. As one of the first Black journalists to host a political news show among other amazing feats, Hip-Hop Wired takes a look at the amazing career of Ms. Ifill.
Although other trailblazing Black journalists came before her, few can look past Ifill’s prominence in the news space and her meteoric rise as one of the most respected people in her profession. While the nation mourns the loss of Ifill, and rightfully so, we’ve shared five reasons why Gwen Ifill was so important on the following pages.
Rest powerfully in peace, Gwen Ifill.
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Photo: By PBS NewsHour – https://www.flickr.com/photos/newshour/7907972936/, CC BY 2.0, Link
Gwen Ifill Came From Humble Beginnings
In a Washington Post report, it was mentioned that during Ifill’s coverage of the Department of Housing and Urban Development early in her career that she stated openly how much more money she’s made than her minister father. Ifill moved around a bit and lived in federally subsidized housing for a time.
She Was The First Member Of The Nation’s First All-Woman News Anchor Team
In 2013, Ifill and Judy Woodruff become co-anchors and co-managing editors of the PBS Newshour show.
Ifill Set The Stage For Several Black Anchors In The Modern Era
While Ifill’s accomplishments as an anchor have been unfairly overshadowed by her Black male counterparts, she became one of the nation’s first Black journalists to host their own political news show with Washington Week In Review, now known as Washington Week on PBS.
Ifill Was The First Black Woman To Moderate A Presidential Debate
Earlier in 2016, Ifill moderated a contentious debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a contested Democratic primary fight.
Authored One Of The First Books About The Obama Presidency
In 2009, Ifill released the critically-acclaimed book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, which examined the rise of President Barack Obama.
