Legendary News Journalist, Dead at 75
Jarl Mohn, who is the President and CEO of National Public Radio, released the following statement to USA Daily Times and other media:
“We are saddened to hear that Cokie Roberts has passed away. Cokie was one of NPR’s ‘founding mothers,’ since 1978 her signature voice and commentary have accompanied public radio listeners, provided context for news and been a familiar presence in their homes. Cokie has won almost every award in journalism; she has been the trusted voice that Americans count on when political news breaks.
“Cokie was on the search committee that hired me and was a wonderful and strong supporter from day one and throughout my time at NPR. This is a huge loss for all of us. I am saddened beyond words.
“The NPR and public radio family join Cokie’s family, friends, and countless fans who will miss her so dearly.”
In addition to work with NPR, Roberts worked with ABC News and other networks.
It is noted in her official biography at NPR that:
“From 1996-2002 she and Sam Donaldson co-anchored the weekly ABC interview program This Week. In her more than forty years in broadcasting, she has won countless awards, including three Emmys. She has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, and was cited by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the fifty greatest women in the history of broadcasting.
“In addition to her appearances on the airwaves, Roberts, along with her husband, Steven V. Roberts, writes a weekly column syndicated in newspapers around the country by Universal Uclick. The Roberts also wrote From this Day Forward, an account of their more than 40-year marriage and other marriages in American history. The book immediately went onto The New York Times bestseller list, following Roberts’ number one bestseller, We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters, an account of women’s roles and relationships throughout American history. Roberts histories of women in America’s founding era — Founding Mothers, published in 2004 and Ladies of Liberty in 2008, also became instant bestsellers. Her most recent book, Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868, was published in 2015.
“Cokie Roberts holds more than twenty honorary degrees, serves on the boards of several non-profit institutions and on the President’s Commission on Service and Civic Participation. The Library of Congress named her a “Living Legend,” one of the very few Americans to have attained that honor. She is the mother of two and grandmother of six.”
RELATED:
Roberts studied the Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls school in New Orleans, before graduating from the Stone Ridge School, an all-girls school outside Washington, D.C., in 1960. She later graduated from Wellesley College in 1964, where she received a BA in Political Science.
