Gwen Ifill, the co-anchor of the PBS News Hour, host of Washington Week in Review, and Vice Presidential moderator in 2004 and 2008, died of breast cancer today after a 6-year battle. She was only 61 years old.
I have watched her for over 15 years on Washington Week in Review and greatly appreciated her relatively objective and non-sensational review of the political happenings each week. This was a women who got her start as an intern after a co-worker sent her a note that said "Nigger go home". She didn't go home. Instead she worked in the media for over 40 years, not flinching when confronted by barriers. She was a beacon of journalistic integrity in a media establishment that seems devoid of actual journalists in recent years. She will be greatly missed.
