Barbara Walters is being remembered as “the queen of broadcast news” by fellow broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour.
The broadcasting icon and Emmy winner died last week at age 93 at her home in New York.
“She will forever be the queen of our profession,” 64-year-old Amanpour, chief international anchor for CNN, wrote in an essay for People.
“It’s said that at least one of her male colleagues sniped that her hiring was ‘a gimmick’ when she became the first female to co-anchor a network evening news broadcast,” she continued. “Well, decades later, Barbara Walters was still beating the pants off everyone and proving she was no gimmick.”
Amanpour in the essay credits Walters with inspiring her to become a broadcast journalist, pointing in particular to her “exhilarating” 1977 sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, marking a first for the opposing politicians.
“And later I decided, that’s the kind of thing I want to do,” said Amanpour. “I was fortunate to eventually call her a friend. She was a mentor and gave wise counsel.”
Amanpour applauded “The View” creator for remaining “hugely competitive right to the very end” and not retiring until she was in her 80s.
“Barbara was obviously someone who aroused a lot of jealousy and backbiting, and that’s just the nature of the game. When you’re first, the most prominent, and often the only, that’s the burden you bear,” she said. “I think, she understood her role as the pioneer and as the warrior queen, and even when she asked weird questions ... it all caused water cooler moments.”
Boston-born Walters’ publicist Cindi Berger on Friday confirmed her death.
“She lived her life with no regrets,” read the statement. “She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women.”
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