Gwen Ifill
Journalist
About This Interview
In her hour-long Archive Interview, Gwen Ifill discusses her early love of writing and reading and how that carried her into a career in journalism. She knew at the age of nine-years-old that she wanted to be a journalist and later majored in Communications at Simmons College to help make her dream a reality. She describes working in print journalism for many years, covering politics for The Baltimore Evening Sun, Presidential Elections for The Washington Post, and Clinton's election and the White House for The New York Times. She recalls her first appearance on television and shares how mentor Tim Russert convinced her to get into television full-time. Ifill details stories she covered at NBC News, and outlines her transition from NBC to PBS. She speaks of becoming the first female, African-American moderator of Washington Week and talks of her work on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (aka PBS NewsHour). She discusses her experiences moderating Edwards/Cheney and Palin/Biden Vice-Presidential debates and expresses her thoughts on the Saturday Night Live sketch with Queen Latifah that parodies the Palin/Biden debate. Ifill offers tips on how to be a good moderator and gives her views on the future of television news. Karen Herman conducted the interview on October 20, 2011 in Washington, D.C.
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Highlights
Gwen Ifill on moderating Washington Week and changes she brought to the program
Clip begins at: 24:42, Duration: 02m 57s- Gwen Ifill on topics she covered on NBC News and Meet the Press
Clip begins at: 19:27, Duration: 01m 36s - Gwen Ifill on moderating a Palin/Biden Vice-presidential debate
Clip begins at: 34:40, Duration: 02m 14s - Gwen Ifill on how she keeps her personal views out of her reporting
Clip begins at: 54:16, Duration: 01m 21s - Gwen Ifill on tips for being a good moderator
Clip begins at: 30:22, Duration: 01m 12s - Gwen Ifill on Queen Latifah playing her in a Saturday Night Live sketch
Clip begins at: 55:37, Duration: 01m 08s
Interview
- Part 1
- On her early years and influences; on being a serious-minded child and loving to read and write; on watching the news with her father; on knowing she wanted to be a journalist at age nine; on majoring in Communications in college
Clip begins at: 0:12 - On her work in print journalism - covering food, Boston school systems, and writing about politics at the Baltimore Evening Sun; on working at The Washington Post and covering Presidential elections; on covering Clinton's election and the White House for The New York Times
Clip begins at: 08:53 - On her first television appearance; on Tim Russert talking her into going into television full time; on topics she covered on NBC News and Meet the Press; on certain stories being better for print than for television, and vice versa; on writing a blog
Clip begins at: 14:51 - On how stories were assigned at NBC; on transitioning to PBS; on moderating Washington Week and changes she brought to the program; on her weekly preparations for Washington Week; on tips for being a good moderator
Clip begins at: 23:21 - On moderating two Vice-presidential debates - Edwards/Cheney and Palin/Biden; on her 2009 book The Breakthrough, Politics And Race In The Age Of Obama and how it complicated her moderating the Palin/Biden Vice-Presidental debate; on the power of U.S. Presidential debates
Clip begins at: 31:34 - On starting on NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aka PBS NewsHour; on finances at PBS; on Jim Lehrer stepping down from NewsHour; on the show's online presence; on covering 9/11
Clip begins at: 41:53 - On Queen Latifah playing her in a Saturday Night Live sketch; on the future of television news; on advice to aspiring journalists; on her proudest career achievement
Clip begins at: 55:37
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This is an absolutely amazing interview. Watch it to the end where it was very poignant.
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