Barbara Walters Dead at 93

In the 1970s, she became the first female network news anchor
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 30, 2022 9:06 PM CST
Barbara Walters Dead at 93
In this 2014 photo, Barbara Walters addresses an audience at the John F. Kennedy School of Government on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Barbara Walters, a pioneer as TV news’ first woman superstar, has died at age 93, according to ABC News. No cause of death was immediately announced. Walters made headlines in 1976 as the first female network news anchor, with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary, per the AP. During more than three decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters’ exclusive interviews with the famous and powerful brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs.

Her drive was legendary as she competed for each big “get” in a world jammed with more and more rivals, including female journalists who had followed on the trail that she blazed. As a highly successful side venture, she created and appeared on a daytime ABC talk show, The View. In May 2014, she taped her final appearance on The View to mark the end of her career on television, but she hosted occasional specials after that. "I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain," she said upon retiring. "I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women—and OK, some men too—who will be taking my place." (More Barbara Walters stories.)

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