Yesterday brought some very sad news. Gwen Ifill, co-host of the PBS News Hour, had died.
The tributes to her on last night's News Hour have been hard to watch. Amy Walter and John Dickerson, both journalists whose work I admire, were close to tears (as I was).
Although I never had the privilege of meeting her, she had become, in an odd way, a regular part of my life - over supper with the News Hour and on Fridays with Washington week.
Like Tim Russert, who we lost 8 years ago, she asked probing, insightful question (interestingly, the kind interviewees call "tough" rather than "good"), but did so in a disarmingly pleasant, even cheerful, way; occasionally with a hint of a mischievous smile, perhaps when she knew it was one with which her guest was going to struggle.
She was part of a diminishing circle of serious, highly competent journalists, the few who take seriously their role to inform intelligently.
This election cycle, if it is has shown us anything, is testament to just how much we need the kind of dedication to journalistic integrity for which Gwen Ifill was justifiably an icon, the country truly needs. |
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