JUST IN: PBS Newscaster Gwen Ifill Dies of Cancer at 61

Joelle Lang-Fredman
WMAL.com

NEW YORK — (WMAL) Longtime PBS newscaster Gwen Ifill has died at the age 61 due to cancer.

Ifill, who co-hosted the show NewsHour, had been absent from the show for the month of May due to health issues and was not on air last week.

Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, said in a statement that Ifill “was one of America’s leading lights in journalism and a fundamental reason public media is considered a trusted window on the world by audiences across the nation. Her contributions to thoughtful reporting and civic discourse simply cannot be overstated. She often said that her job was to bring light rather than heat to issues of importance to our society. Gwen did this with grace and a steadfast commitment to excellence.”

She was the moderator for the Vice Presidential debates of 2004 and 2008 and the 2016 Democratic primary debate.