Trailblazing Broadcast Journalist Barbara Walters Dies at 93

(Image credit: Getty)

published 31 December 2022

Barbara Walters, a trailblazing pioneer who broke gender barriers in broadcast journalism, died yesterday at the age of 93.

Perhaps best known for her remarkable interviewing skills, her list of accolades is monumental and includes winning 12 Emmys for her work; becoming the first female anchor in evening news; launching The View and hosting the annual special Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People on ABC; and, as that network maybe put it best, being someone “who shattered the glass ceiling and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men.”

In 1974, Walters became cohost of Today—the first woman to hold such a title on an American news show. Two years later, in 1976, she became the first female co-anchor of a network evening news program, hosting the ABC Evening News alongside Harry Reasoner, and from 1979 to 2004, she produced and cohosted 20/20 on ABC. She also created The View for the network in 1997, which she also produced and cohosted, and on which she appeared until her retirement in 2014.

Upon her retirement that year, Walters said “I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain. I instead want to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women—and, okay, some men too—who will be taking my place.”

Walters was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, and in 2000 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Oprah Winfrey presented her with the latter award and said of her “had there not been Barbara Walters, surely all of the other women who have followed in her footsteps, including myself, could not stand where we stand and do what we do in this industry today.”

And, despite her impressive resume, opening doors for women who came behind her seems to have been what Walters was most proud of. Speaking in 2014, she said, “people ask me very often, ‘What is your legacy?’ and it’s not the interviews with presidents, or heads of state, nor celebrities. If I have a legacy, and I’ve said this before and I mean it so sincerely, I hope that I played a small role in paving the way for so many of you fabulous women.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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