Full Episode
Sunday, Oct 5
PBS NewsHour
  • Episodes
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletters
  • The Latest
  • Politics
    Politics
    • Brooks and Capehart
    • Politics Monday
    • Supreme Court
  • Arts
    Arts
    • CANVAS
    • Poetry
    • Now Read This
  • Nation
    Nation
    • Supreme Court
    • Race Matters
    • Essays
    • Brief But Spectacular
  • World
    World
    • Agents for Change
  • Economy
    Economy
    • Making Sen$e
    • Paul Solman
  • Science
    Science
    • The Leading Edge
    • ScienceScope
    • Basic Research
    • Innovation and Invention
  • Health
    Health
    • Long-Term Care
  • Education
    Education
    • Teachers' Lounge
    • Student Reporting Labs
  • For Teachers
    Education
    • Newshour Classroom
  • About
    • Feedback
    • Funders
    • Support
    • Jobs

A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy

Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue
Donate now
PBS News

Get news alerts from PBS News

Turn on desktop notifications?

Judy Woodruff

  • Full Episodes
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletters
  • Live
Judy Woodruff

About Judy @judywoodruff

Judy Woodruff is a senior correspondent and the former anchor and managing editor of the PBS News Hour. She has covered politics and other news for five decades at NBC, CNN and PBS.

At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. From 1984 – 1990, she also anchored PBS' award-winning documentary series, "Frontline with Judy Woodruff." Moving to CNN in 1993, she served as anchor and senior correspondent for 12 years; among other duties, she anchored the weekday program "Inside Politics." She returned to the News Hour in 2007, and in 2013, she and the late Gwen Ifill were named the first two women to co-anchor a national news broadcast. After Ifill's death, Woodruff was named sole anchor.

In 2011, Judy was the anchor and reporter for the PBS documentary "Nancy Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime." And in 2007, she completed an extensive project on the views of young Americans, titled "Generation Next: Speak Up. Be Heard." Two hour-long documentaries aired on PBS, along with a series of reports on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NPR, in USA Today and on Yahoo News.

From 2006 – 2013, Judy anchored a monthly program for Bloomberg Television, "Conversations with Judy Woodruff." In 2006, she was a visiting professor at Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. In 2005, she was a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

At NBC News, Woodruff was White House correspondent from 1977 to 1982. For one year after that she served as NBC's Today Show chief Washington correspondent. She wrote the book, This is Judy Woodruff at the White House, published in 1982 by Addison-Wesley. Her reporting career began in Atlanta, Georgia, where she covered state and local government.

Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women's Media Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging women in journalism and communication industries worldwide. She serves on the boards of trustee of the Freedom Forum, The Duke Endowment and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and is a director of Public Radio International and the National Association to End Homelessness. She is a former member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, a former director of the National Museum of American History and a former trustee of the Urban Institute.

Judy is a graduate of Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita.

She is the recent recipient of an Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Radcliffe Medal, the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University.

She is the recipient of more than 25 honorary degrees.

Judy lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, journalist Al Hunt, and they are the parents of three children: Jeffrey, Benjamin and Lauren.

Full Bio

Judy’s Recent Stories

Nation May 07

How a social network is bringing people together in increasingly divisive times

Large social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok have billions of users across the globe. The decisions they make about privacy, content moderation and misinformation can impact people’s social lives and mental health. A different kind of social…

Nation Apr 23

How Springfield and its Haitian immigrants are still dealing with election’s spotlight

During the campaign, Springfield, Ohio, became a flashpoint in the national conversation when Donald Trump and JD Vance amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating pets. Months later, Springfield is reckoning with its turn in the spotlight…

Nation Apr 09

Michael Lewis highlights crucial work of public servants in ‘Who is Government?’

The role of the federal government has been at the center of a national debate over the last few months. But who really is our government and what is it made of? Judy Woodruff set out for answers in her…

Nation Mar 26

Ex-NIH director and truck driver explore how to bridge divisions deepened by the pandemic

Americans were sharply divided over the public health response to COVID-19, including masking, remote learning, business closures and vaccines. Five years after the start of the pandemic, Judy Woodruff sat down with two people on opposing sides of that divide…

Nation Mar 19

Michigan community attempts to heal political divisions deepened by the pandemic

Five years after the pandemic, the impacts on our politics, public health and civic life continue to be felt across communities. Judy Woodruff spoke to community members in Southeastern Michigan to explore how divisions that emerged during the public health…

Nation Mar 17

Why police still lack training to effectively respond to people with disabilities

Despite the rise of people diagnosed with autism, explicit training for law enforcement to respond to people with developmental or intellectual disabilities is still rare. Misunderstandings between officers and people with disabilities can lead to tragic consequences. Judy Woodruff reports…

Nation Mar 12

How San Bernardino is fighting for a comeback after decades of decline

Political scientist Robert Putnam told Judy Woodruff that strengthening the country’s democracy would begin with grassroots efforts by people stepping up in their own communities. Those efforts will be her focus this year and she begins by visiting a down,…

Nation Feb 25

How Department of Education cuts could hurt resources for students with disabilities

As the Trump administration continues to downsize and dismantle government agencies, the Department of Education could be next on the chopping block. At stake are resources for more than seven million students with disabilities who depend on the agency to…

Nation Feb 19

Robert Putnam reflects on how America became so polarized and what can unify the nation

For over two years, Judy Woodruff has traveled the country exploring the roots of America’s divisions over race, religion, culture, wealth and more for America at a Crossroads. The series returns with political scientist Robert Putnam, who has spent decades…

Nation Jan 08

WATCH: Judy Woodruff on Jimmy Carter’s life and legacy

Americans are paying respects this week to former President Jimmy Carter, who died last month at age 100.

Jump to the First Page Previous Page
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 34
Next Page Jump to the Last Page

Support Provided By: Learn more

Educate your inbox

Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

Form error message goes here.

Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm.

PBS News

© 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.

PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Sections

  • The Latest
  • Politics
  • Arts
  • Nation
  • World
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Health
  • Education

About

  • About Us
  • TV Schedule
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Funders
  • Support
  • Newsletters
  • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • X
  • TikTok
  • Threads
  • RSS

Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins

Form error message goes here.

Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm.

Support our journalism

Support for News Hour Provided By

  • BDO
  • BNSF Railway
  • Consumer Cellular
  • Raymond James
  • Viewers Like You