Gwen Ifill

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Gwen Ifill
Gwen Ifill.png
Basic facts
Organization:PBS
Role:Journalist
Location:Washington, D.C.
Expertise:Politics
Education:Simmons College (B.A.)
Website:Official website



Gwen Ifill was the moderator and managing editor for Washington Week on PBS as well as the managing editor and co-anchor of PBS NewsHour. In addition to her journalistic work, Ifill moderated two vice presidential debates and moderated the sixth Democratic presidential primary debate on February 11, 2016, along with her PBS NewsHour colleague, Judy Woodruff.[1]

Ifill died on November 14, 2016.[2]

Career

Gwen Ifill graduated from Simmons College in Boston.[3] She served as a local and national political reporter for The Washington Post.[4] After working with the Post, she was the White House correspondent for the The New York Times.[5]

In 1994, Ifill joined NBC News as the network's chief congressional and political correspondent.[5] In 1999, she transitioned over to PBS as the moderator of Washington Week and senior correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Ifill continued to act as a commentator for NBC as a PBS correspondent.[5] Ifill remained with both shows on PBS.

In 2008, Ifill hosted a 10-city whistle-stop tour during the 2008 elections for Washington Week. The series was awarded the Peabody Award for the program's "reasoned, reliable contribution to the national discourse."[3] Washington Week followed this in 2012 with a three-city tour covering the election.[3]

Ifill wrote The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama in 2009, which analyzes Barack Obama's election in 2008 and what role race played in the election.[6]

In 2015, Ifill was awarded the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award. She was also recognized by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center, The National Association of Black Journalists, and Ohio University, and she ranked among the top 150 Most Influential African Americans in Ebony Magazine.[3]

Ifill was on the board of the News Literacy Project and the Committee to Protect Journalists and served as a fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3]

In September 2015, Ifill received criticism for a tweet in which she retweeted a White House tweet of an image promoting the Iran nuclear agreement. Ifill added "Take that, Bibi" to the tweet, referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposed the deal.[7] PBS ombudsman Michael Getler responded to Ifill's tweet by calling it "inexcusable."[7]

2016 presidential elections

February 11, 2016, Democratic debate

See also: Milwaukee, Wis. PBS Democratic debate (February 11, 2016)

On January 11, 2016, PBS announced that it would host the sixth Democratic presidential primary debate on February 11, 2016. The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. The debate took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were the only two participants. The debate is part of PBS's NewsHour and WETA, the PBS Washington, D.C., affiliate.[8] Ifill had previously moderated the vice presidential debates, in 2004 between John Edwards (D) and Dick Cheney (R) and in 2008 between Joe Biden (D) and Sarah Palin (R).[4]

Media

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ PBS, "PBS NewsHour Democratic Debate," January 11, 2016
  2. ↑ Washington Post, "PBS anchor Gwen Ifill, one of the most prominent African American panelists and moderators in broadcast news, has died at 61," accessed November 14, 2016
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 PBS, "Gewn Ifill," accessed February 10, 2015
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 PBS, "Gwen Ifill, Washington Week," accessed February 10, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The New York Times, "Media Talk; Gwen Ifill Is Signing On With PBS," August 30, 1999
  6. ↑ The New York Times, "Demographics and Destiny," January 16, 2009
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 CNN, "Gwen Ifill scolded by PBS ombudsman for 'inexcusable' tweet," September 3, 2015
  8. ↑ PBS, "PBS NewsHour Democratic Debate," January 11, 2016
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