Barbara Walters, Iconic TV Journalist, and Broadcaster Passes Away at 93
Barbara Walters, a pioneering television broadcaster who broke barriers for women in the male-dominated media industry, passed away on Friday at the age of 93. According to her representative, Cindi Berger, Walters died “peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones.”
ABC, where she last worked, aired a special report in tribute to her career and Bob Iger, CEO of ABC’s parent company, the Walt Disney Company, also released a statement acknowledging her passing. In addition to being known as the co-creator and leader of the popular ABC show “The View,” Walters was recognized as the first female anchor of a network news program and a top interviewer on television.
She gained this reputation through her thorough preparation and ability to interview a range of subjects, including dictators, celebrities, models, and murderers. In a 2014 special, Walters stated, “I do so much homework, I know more about the person than he or she knows about themselves.”
Barbara Walters’ determination and hard work played a crucial role in her success as a television broadcaster. When she began her career in 1961 as a writer for NBC’s “TODAY” show, it was difficult to imagine a woman interviewing a sitting president on prime-time network television, as she eventually did, in an industry dominated by men such as Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.
According to Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, “She was playing in a field that was such an old boy’s network, literally and figuratively, and she didn’t take no for an answer.” Thompson also stated that over time, what were initially seen as liabilities for Walters, being a woman trying to break into a male-dominated industry, eventually became assets. He noted that she was intelligent and well-prepared, but also appeared more compassionate than her male counterparts.
Barbara Walters was seen as a bridge between the traditional, hard-hitting journalism of Edward R. Murrow and the more personal, informative approach of Oprah Winfrey. According to Thompson, Walters’ career and reporting style were influenced by both of these legends in the journalism industry. Born in Boston in 1929, Walters grew up around celebrities due to her father’s ownership of clubs on the East Coast. This exposure to famous people helped her realize that “celebrities were human beings,” and she never saw them as “so perfect and wonderful that [she] should be put off.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Sarah Lawrence College, she started her journalism career as an assistant at NBC affiliate WRCA-TV. In 1955, she married businessman Robert Henry Katz, but her true passion remained her budding career. The couple divorced three years later.
Barbara Walters started her career as a writer and researcher on the “TODAY” show. She eventually became the only female producer on the show and occasionally filled in as the “TODAY Girl,” a role primarily focused on reporting on fashion, lifestyle trends, and the weather. Prior to this, the role had been held by Florence Henderson, among others. Despite her aspirations for more serious reporting, Walters took on this role.
In 1963, she married theater producer Lee Guber and the couple adopted a daughter, Jacqueline, named after Walters’ older sister who was developmentally disabled. The marriage lasted for 13 years. Walters’ big breakthrough came when she was assigned to travel with Jacqueline Kennedy on the first lady’s trip to India in 1962. This led to more news-oriented pieces and a promotion to co-hosting responsibilities alongside Hugh Downs, though she didn’t officially receive the title until 1974. By that time, Downs had left the network and was replaced by Frank McGee.