Gwen Ifill - Page 2 | Author

In Memoriam: Gwen Ifill was the moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and co-anchor and managing editor for "The PBS NEWSHOUR w/ Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff."

The best-selling author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," (Doubleday, 2009), she also moderated the Vice Presidential debates during the Presidential elections in 2004 and 2008.

Gwen covered eight Presidential campaigns, and during the 2008 campaign season, won the George Foster Peabody Award after bringing Washington Week to live audiences around the country as part of a 10-city tour.

Now in its 49th year, Washington Week is the longest-running prime-time news and public affairs program on television. Each week, Gwen brought together some of the best journalists in Washington to discuss the major stories of the week with the reporters who actually cover the news that emanates from the nation's capital and affects the nation and the world.

Gwen joined both Washington Week and PBS NewsHour in 1999, interviewing newsmakers and reporting on issues ranging from foreign affairs to politics. Before coming to PBS, she was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, White House correspondent for The New York Times, and a local and national political reporter for The Washington Post. She also reported for the Baltimore Evening Sun and the Boston Herald American.

"I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, and my first love was newspapers," Ifill said. "But public broadcasting provides the best of both worlds-combining the depth of newspapering with the immediate impact of broadcast television."

A native of New York City and a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Ifill received more than 25 honorary doctorates. In 2015 she was awarded with the National Press Club's highest honor, the Fourth Estate Award. She has also been honored for her work by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center, The National Association of Black Journalists, Ohio University, and was included in Ebony Magazine's list of 150 Most Influential African Americans.

She also served on the board of the News Literacy Project, on the advisory board of the Committee to Protect Journalists and was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Full Bio

Politics Nov 20

Gwen’s Take: 10 questions every presidential candidate should know how to answer

Any candidate should have a cogent response to these 10 questions. And if they don’t, you are the only one who gets to decide if that matters.

Politics Nov 13

Gwen’s Take: Of truth, myth and cherry trees

I have never been accused of chopping down trees, but like many children, I was taught early on about the value of honesty through an oft-told story about our first president and a cherry tree.

Politics Nov 06

The politics of resentment: winning 2016

The 2012 election was supposed to be a test of a weakened president and his ambitious and unpopular health care plan. Challengers saw a chance to take down a Democratic incumbent after the excitement of his history-making election had faded.

Politics Oct 23

Gwen’s Take: Turning bad into good

I am in the bad news business. Seldom do I get to report on puppies, rainbows or the sounds of children giggling. But sometimes a child with a little red wagon can remind us that bad news can take us…

Politics Sep 25

Gwen’s Take: Processing

This has been a week for introspection. As the Papal whirlwind shut down the nation’s capital, Republicans and Democrats were forced to sit side by side and listen, for a change. Some wept…

Politics Sep 18

Gwen’s Take: 5 things we warned you about the GOP debate

Last week, I advised what to watch for in the second Republican debate, so I felt duty-bound to sit through all three hours of it -- if only to see if I steered you right.

Politics Sep 11

5 Reasons to watch the next GOP face-off

Yippee. Another Debate. Another chance to decide which Republican on the crowded stage in Los Angeles next week deserves the chance to face the Democratic nominee a year from now. Depending on how things shake out, there may even be…

Politics Sep 08

Remembering Andy Kohut, pollster and NewsHour regular

Those of us who love to cover politics loved Andy Kohut. He was courtly, incisive and smart. The pollster and NewsHour contributor died Tuesday at age 73.

Nation Aug 28

Gwen’s Take: New Orleans today is a story of pessimism, optimism and grit

NEW ORLEANS -- When I set off for New Orleans to help cover the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this week, I confess I expected to bear witness to remarkable rejuvenation.

Politics Aug 21

Gwen’s Take: It’s only August, but this campaign really is different

The strategy is clear: if you can’t beat Trump to the media spotlight, join him there.