The Good Die Young, RIP Gwen Ifill.

[+ glutes]

No agenda, straight shooter...

 

Gwen Ifill dead at age 61

By KELSEY SUTTON and HADAS GOLD

 

 

11/14/16 01:59 PM EST

 

Gwen Ifill, the longtime news anchor who had served as a co-host of PBS’s NewsHour and as moderator of “Washington Week,” has died after a battle with cancer, PBS has confirmed. She was 61.

 

"I am very sad to tell you that our dear friend and beloved colleague Gwen Ifill passed away today in hospice care in Washington," WETA president and CEO Sharon percy Rockefeller wrote in an email to staff at the public TV station Monday. "I spent an hour with her this morning and she was resting comfortably, surrounded by loving family and friends... Earlier today, I conveyed to Gwen the devoted love and affection of all of us at WETA/NewsHour. Let us hold Gwen and her family even closer now in our hearts and prayers."

[Kevin Slater]

Holy fuck. I didn't even know she was ill. I always really liked her. I'm deeply saddened.

 

Kevin Slater

[bigvalboy]

Very very sad...May she go in peace.

[+ José Soplanucas]

I hope she could enjoy her last days. She was great and will be missed. We need more journalists like her nowadays.

[rvwnsd]

Like Kevin, I had no idea she was ill. Always liked her. She will be missed.

[s1conrad]

I watch the PBS News Hour almost every night--this is a total shock. I'll miss her sharp analysis, her cool demeanor and her radiant smile.

[+ glutes]

She was so damn smart and informed. And yet so down to earth and friendly. I concur with with your other attributes s1conrad.

[bigvalboy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUxXuzFQNY

[+ Axiom2001]

Yesterday when I was at my Facebook page, I scrolled and suddenly encountered a post related to Ms Gwen Ifill's death. I was in disbelief because I'd known she had been away from her PBS post for the past two or three weeks, but I was under the impression that she was out doing a special assignment. ...had no idea that she suffered from cancer. ...so sad! We lost a stellar individual! May she rest in eternal peace!

[+ quoththeraven]

There was no public knowledge of her illness. I don't watch PBS News Hour, so my main exposure to her has been election night reporting, but there was an outcry from Twitter friends who watch. As one of them said, she departed at a time when we need voices and reporters like her.

[Bearofdistinction]

Very very sad...May she go in peace.

 

She was one of the last remaining real journalists

[TruthBTold]

I also was amazed that she passed. I also had no idea that she was ill but the last couple of days PBS explained that they explained this by stating that she was away on assignment. It is so sad. She was a correspondent that could explain the facts and the circumstances surrounding them. And at the same time I was always strangely comforted by her. I'm sure everyone will miss her.

[Bearofdistinction]

Holy fuck. I didn't even know she was ill. I always really liked her. I'm deeply saddened.

 

Kevin Slater

 

She knocked down barriers - a trailblazer -a true professional - a true loss for all of us - Hey Gwen let us know what heaven is like!!!

 

http://www.biography.com/people/gwen-ifill-212144

 

Synopsis

Distinguished journalist Gwen Ifill was of the most successful female African American news correspondents of all time, having worked for the Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC and PBS. She was the first African-American woman to moderate a vice presidential debate. In 2013, Ifill and Judy Woodruff became co-anchors and co-managing editors of PBS NewsHour, becoming the first women to anchor a network news program. Ifill died of cancer on November 14, 2016 at the age of 61.

 

Profile

Journalist, television news correspondent, news program moderator Gwen Ifill was born on September 29, 1955, in New York, New York. The daughter of a minister, she had a strong religious upbringing. Ifill went to Simmons College in Boston where she majored in communications, and through an internship got her first hands-on experience as a journalist.

 

After graduating in 1977, Ifill went to work for the Boston Herald-American as a reporter. She began to focus more on politics with her position at Baltimore's Evening Sun. While there, Ifill had her first opportunity in front of the cameras as the host of a news show for a local public television station.

 

After stints at such prestigious publications as The Washington Post and The New York Times, Ifill switched to television reporting when she joined NBC News in 1994 as a congressional correspondent. Besides her work as an on-air reporter, she appeared as a guest on several political programs, such as Meet the Press and Washington Week, a show that features a roundtable discussion on public affairs.

 

Impressed by her analytical skills and journalistic savvy, PBS hired Gwen Ifill for two of its news programs in 1999: NewsHour With Jim Lehrer and Washington Week. She worked as a senior correspondent for NewsHour, conducting interviews with key figures and filing reports on the latest news. Ifill also filled in as news anchor for Lehrer from time to time. On Washington Week, she served as the program's moderator and its managing editor.

 

 

In August 2013, Ifill and Judy Woodruff became co-anchors and co-managing editors of NewsHour. Ifill and Woodruff made history as the first women to anchor a network news program.

 

Well respected as a journalist, Ifill was called upon to moderate a number of political debates, including the first vice presidential debate during the 2004 presidential campaign between Dick Cheney and John Edwards and in the 2008 campaign, between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Ifill was the first African-American woman to moderate a vice presidential debate. She and Woodruff also moderated a Democratic primary debate in February 2016.

 

As a distinguished journalist with a long career, Ifill received 15 honorary degrees. Her book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama was published in 2009. She was also a board member of several organizations, including Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

 

Ifill died of cancer on November 14, 2016. She was 61. "Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry going through seismic change," PBS NewsHour executive producer Sara Just said in a statement. "She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum. She was a journalist's journalist and set an example for all around her. So many people in the audience felt that they knew and adored her. She had a tremendous combination of warmth and authority. She was stopped on the street routinely by people who just wanted to give her a hug and considered her a friend after years of seeing her on TV. We will forever miss her terribly."

 

President Barack Obama spoke about the passing of the pioneering journalist. “Whether she reported from the convention floor or from the field, whether she sat at the debate moderator’s table or the anchor’s desk, she not only informed today’s citizens, she also inspired tomorrow’s journalists,” President Obama said. “She was an especially powerful role model for young women and girls who admired her integrity, her tenacity and her intellect, and for whom she blazed a trail as one half of the first all-female network anchor team on network news.”

[+ Truereview]

I've arrived late to this tribute, but it is never too late to recognize brilliance and legacy.

 

What I take with me about Gwen and promise to upkeep to the best of my ability - though I'll mess up- is her quote:

 

Cynics believe they have already arrived at the answers to their questions;

skeptics hold out the possibility that there are always more questions to be asked.

Gwen, watch us toil here below, smile upon us when we strive to be our best.

[samhexum]

On 11/14/2016 at 2:32 PM, Oaktown said:

Gwen Ifill dead at age 61

On 11/14/2016 at 3:50 PM, Kevin Slater said:

Holy fuck. I didn't even know she was ill. I always really liked her. I'm deeply saddened.

On 11/14/2016 at 5:28 PM, latbear4blk said:

I hope she could enjoy her last days. She was great and will be missed. We need more journalists like her nowadays.

On 11/14/2016 at 11:24 PM, rvwnsd said:

Like Kevin, I had no idea she was ill. Always liked her. She will be missed.

On 11/15/2016 at 12:19 AM, s1conrad said:

I watch the PBS News Hour almost every night--this is a total shock. I'll miss her sharp analysis, her cool demeanor and her radiant smile.

On 11/15/2016 at 12:26 AM, Oaktown said:

She was so damn smart and informed. And yet so down to earth and friendly. I concur with with your other attributes s1conrad.

On 11/15/2016 at 12:08 PM, Axiom2001 said:

Yesterday when I was at my Facebook page, I scrolled and suddenly encountered a post related to Ms Gwen Ifill's death. I was in disbelief because I'd known she had been away from her PBS post for the past two or three weeks, but I was under the impression that she was out doing a special assignment. ...had no idea that she suffered from cancer. ...so sad! We lost a stellar individual! May she rest in eternal peace!

On 11/15/2016 at 12:54 PM, quoththeraven said:

There was no public knowledge of her illness. I don't watch PBS News Hour, so my main exposure to her has been election night reporting, but there was an outcry from Twitter friends who watch. As one of them said, she departed at a time when we need voices and reporters like her.

On 11/16/2016 at 4:35 PM, TruthBTold said:

I also was amazed that she passed. I also had no idea that she was ill but the last couple of days PBS explained that they explained this by stating that she was away on assignment. It is so sad. She was a correspondent that could explain the facts and the circumstances surrounding them. And at the same time I was always strangely comforted by her. I'm sure everyone will miss her.

NYC Parks announces $21 million to develop Gwen Ifill Park in Jamaica

The city announced a $21 million allocation from Mayor Bill de Blasio to develop Gwen Ifill Park into a community green space in Jamaica.

Located in the legendary newswoman’s childhood neighborhood, the park is one of 28 park spaces recently named in honor of the Black experience in New York City.

A community scoping meeting was recently held with southeast Queens residents to officially kick off the design phase of the project. Participants were encouraged to share their vision for the site, identify desired amenities, and discuss programming preferences.

NYC Parks’ Community Input Meetings are designed to provide residents an understanding of how the planning process can help public spaces better serve surrounding neighborhoods.

“Thanks to Mayor de Blasio, we will be able to create a beautiful new park for fitness, recreation and respite,” NYC Parks Acting Commissioner Margaret Nelson said. “Upon completion, the new Gwen Ifill Park will serve as a place of remembrance of her incredible talents and leadership in the field of journalism.”

Ifill was born and raised in Jamaica and was a leading journalist, television broadcaster and author. She was the first African-American woman to anchor a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program, “Washington Week in Review.” Later, she quo-anchored “PBS NewsHour.”

“Gwen Ifill was a favorite daughter of Queens, and her many accomplishments in journalism show us there are no limits to what we can achieve,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. “This $21 million project to develop Gwen Ifill Park will turn it into a neighborhood jewel that will greatly benefit the people of southeast Queens and do justice to Gwen’s memory. Thank you to Mayor de Blasio for allocating this funding, which will help ensure that Gwen’s legacy of journalistic excellence will never be forgotten.”

The former Railroad Park took its name from the LIRR whose tracks form the area’s southwest boundary. In 1962, the city of New York acquired the property from the Rochdale village limited-profit housing project and expanded the site through land acquired through condemnation the following year.

Community advocates including The Railroad Park Garden Club and the local Boy Scout troop often work together to assist Parks in the landscaping of the green space. Both groups work to raise awareness within the community of the park’s ecological benefits and natural resources.

Last June, NYC Parks pledged to continue to demonstrate how it stands in solidarity with the Black community in its fight to combat systemic racism.

Since then, the agency has named 28 park spaces, including Gwen Ifill Park, in honor of the Black experience to help acknowledge the legacies of these Black Americans, encourage discourse about their contributions, and work to make the park system more diverse and reflective of the people it serves.

“We are incredibly excited for this investment in Gwen Ifill Park and thank Mayor de Blasio for his support of southeast Queens green space and infrastructure,” Councilman I. Daneek Miller said. “In the past two years alone, we have been able to allocate nearly $130 million to local parks and recreation, a great benefit to the physical and mental health of district residents. We look forward to discourse and engagement with the community as feedback is collected and this project moves forward.”

Edited September 28, 2021 by samhexum