Gwen Ifill, the prominent African-American journalist who was managing editor of Washington Week and co-anchor of PBS NewsHour, has died. She was 61.
The veteran Washington newscaster who covered seven presidential campaigns and moderated the vice presidential debates in 2004 and 2008 had been missing from PBS’ election coverage in recent weeks.
According to The Daily Beast, she was “extraordinarily private about her health and was reluctant to publicly share the details of her battle with cancer.”
Ifill had taken a two-month leave of absence for an unspecified health issue earlier in 2016.
“I am very sad to tell you that our dear friend and beloved colleague Gwen Ifill passed away today in hospice care in Washington,” WETA president and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller wrote in an email to staff at the public TV station Monday. “I spent an hour with her this morning and she was resting comfortably, surrounded by loving family and friends… Earlier today, I conveyed to Gwen the devoted love and affection of all of us at WETA/NewsHour. Let us hold Gwen and her family even closer now in our hearts and prayers.”
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