Barbara Walters, the iconic television presenter and interviewer who became a dominant force in an industry long dominated by men, has passed away. She turned 93. She announced it on Friday (local time) by ABC Newsthe American news channel where Walters worked for most of his career.
Walters joined in 1976 ABC News. She became the first female anchor of a nationally televised nightly news. Three years later she became co-anchor of 20/20, an investigative journalism program that she makes, among other things, news documentaries, reports and interviews. In 1997 you launched The View, in which a permanent group of women discuss current affairs.
She made her last appearance as co-host of The View in 2014 but remained an executive producer on the programme. She also continued to do interviews and specials for ABC News. In a career that spanned five decades, Walters won 12 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were employed by ABC News.
Walters crossed the Bay of Pigs with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and conducted the first joint interview with Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. You’ve also developed a reputation for asking tough questions. For example, you asked Russian President Vladimir Putin if he ever ordered anyone killed. She denied.
In 1999, an estimated 74 million viewers watched Walters interview Monica Lewinsky about her relationship with then-President Bill Clinton. Toward the end of the interview, Walters asked Lewinsky, “What are you going to tell your kids when you have them?” Lewinsky replied, “Mom made a big mistake,” to which Walters commented, “And that’s the understatement of the year.”
Not everyone appreciated Walters’ work
Over the years, people Walters interviewed have also criticized his interviewing style. For example, singer Ricky Martin said in 2021 that he was traumatized by a conversation with Walters in which she forced him to say something about her sexuality a decade before he came out publicly. Walters later apologized for this.
Actress Brooke Shields last year called her 1985 interview with Walters “unjournalistic and almost criminal.” Walters had asked the then 15-year-old Shields, among other things, to stand up and show her body.
Since the 1970s, Walters has interviewed every American president and first lady, from Nixon to Obama. You interviewed President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump before entering the White House.
Part of the headquarters of ABC News in New York was renamed the “Barbara Walters Building” in May 2014. During the naming ceremony, Walters said, “People often ask me, what is your legacy? It’s not interviews with heads of state or celebrities If I have a legacy, I hope I’ve played a small part in paving the way for many wonderful women.”
