“It is such an honor to be recognized by Poynter, which from the day it opened its doors has been dedicated to nourishing excellent journalism as the foundation of our democracy,” said Woodruff. “Its mission of educating journalists at every stage of their careers has never been more important than it is now.”
“Judy Woodruff is not just one of the great broadcast journalists of this generation, she’s a pioneer who broke down barriers for women in the industry and stands as a role model — both as a professional and as a person,” said Poynter President Tim Franklin.
Woodruff joined NBC News in 1975 and was the network’s chief White House correspondent from 1977 to 1982. She was the first on the air in 1981 with news that President Ronald Reagan had been shot. Woodruff later served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, where her duties included anchoring the weekday program, “Inside Politics.”
At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.” From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS’ award-winning weekly documentary series, “Frontline with Judy Woodruff.” In 2013, Woodruff and Gwen Ifill were appointed as the co-anchors and managing editors of “NewsHour,” the nightly PBS news show. It was the first time that a network broadcast featured a regular female co-anchor team. The two anchors received a lifetime achievement award from the Women’s Media Center in 2015. Woodruff became sole anchor after Ifill’s death last November.
Woodruff serves on the boards of trustees of the Freedom Forum, the Newseum, the Duke Endowment, The Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Urban Institute. She is a former member of The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and a former Poynter National Advisory Board member from 1989-1990.
Woodruff is a graduate of Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita.
She is the recent recipient of the Cine Lifetime Achievement award, a Duke Distinguished Alumni award, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism/Television, the University of Southern California Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Al Neuharth/University of South Dakota Award for Excellence in Journalism and the Gaylord Prize for Excellence in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Oklahoma, among others.
The Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement recognizes the outstanding career achievements of a journalist whose work has made a lasting impact serving citizens in our democracy. Previous recipients were “CBS Evening News” anchor Schieffer (2015) and former “NBC Nightly News” anchor and New York Times best-selling author Tom Brokaw (2016).
Woodruff will be recognized at Poynter’s third annual Bow Tie Ball on Nov. 4 in St. Petersburg. Sponsorship and ticket information will be announced soon. (Join the mailing list to receive updates.)
SOURCE The Poynter Institute http://www.poynter.org
