Barbara Walters announces retirement: How she changed TV news
Barbara Walters, America鈥檚 first TV evening news anchorwoman, is retiring from the news business after 52 years of interviewing the world鈥檚 top leaders and celebrities.
ABC News that Ms. Walters will anchor and report for the organization for one more year before retiring in May 2014. She will make the official announcement Monday on 鈥�The View,鈥� an all women talk show she created in 1997.
鈥淭here鈥檚 only one Barbara Walters,鈥� ABC News President Ben Sherwood said. 鈥淎nd we look forward to making her final year on television as remarkable, path-breaking and news-making as Barbara herself.鈥�
She began her TV journalism career in 1961 at NBC鈥檚 鈥淭oday鈥� show, before moving to ABC鈥檚 鈥淓vening News鈥� in 1976 and later becoming co-host of 鈥�20/20.鈥� Her decades long career has included interviews with some of the world鈥檚 most interesting personalities including Saddam Hussein, Michael Jackson, Margaret Thatcher, and every US president and first lady since Richard Nixon.
In 1977, Walters landed an interview with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. He took her on a tour of the Bay of Pigs and into the mountains where he had been a guerilla. She grilled him about the country鈥檚 control over the media, asking why he didn鈥檛 allow dissenting opinions to be aired. 鈥淏arbara, we do not have your same conceptions,鈥� Mr. Castro said during the interview. 鈥淥ur concept of the freedom of the press is not yours. And I say this very honestly, I have nothing to hide.鈥�
The interview later aired in Cuba 鈥� more than three hours of questioning, minus his views on prisoners and torture 鈥� the first time an interview with an American journalist aired there, Walters with the Archive of American Television.
One of her biggest scoops came later that year, when Walters did a joint interview with Egypt鈥檚 president Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin 鈥� the first time the two leaders appeared together for the media. She beat out Walter Cronkite for the interview. It was the first time that President Sadat visited Israel 鈥� a step Walters called courageous due to their tumultuous relationship.
鈥淚t was a historic interview,鈥� Walters .
Fast forward to 2012, when Walters interviewed another Middle East leader: Syria鈥檚 Bashar al-Assad. In his first interview with Western media since the beginning of Syrian uprising, he denied allegations that he gave orders to attack or torture Syria鈥檚 citizens.
鈥淭here was no command to kill or be brutal,鈥� he said.
Not all her interviews were hard-hitting journalism, as Walters often sat down with celebrities or other people making headlines 鈥� like Monica Lewinsky.
Walters鈥檚 interview with Ms. Lewinsky had more than 74 million viewers when it aired in 1999 鈥� a record for ABC, .
鈥淚 have a lot of healing to do,鈥� Lewinsky told Walters, referring to the media coverage of her affair with President Bill Clinton. Lewinsky told Walters that if she ever had children, she would tell them that 鈥淢ommy made a big mistake.鈥�
鈥淎nd that is the understatement of the year,鈥� Walters said at the end of .
Whether she鈥檚 remembered for serious journalism or celebrity infotainment, there is no doubt that Walters pioneered a path for other female TV journalists.
鈥淪aying that Barbara Walters blazed a trail for a generation of female journalists would understate her impact,鈥� MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski, , when rumors of Walter鈥檚 retirement first surfaced. 鈥淏arbara broke the rules, made up a new set for women to work by, and broke them again in a sweeping, breathtaking career that revolutionized broadcast news and made my career possible."聽
TV anchor Dan Rather told the Daily Beast that Walters deserves to retire after decades of working against gender discrimination in the TV news industry.
鈥淏arbara is a marvelously determined person. But a lot of people had the dream, and even had the determination, but they don鈥檛 have the work ethic that Barbara has had,鈥� he said in March. 鈥淎nd can you imagine how difficult it was for any woman to break through on television? Barbara did it. A few other women have broken through, strictly on the entertainment side, but Barbara was the first one in news who really climbed to the top of Everest.鈥�
