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Veteran Journalist Honored With Black Heritage Stamp

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The U.S. Postal Service is putting the late Gwen Ifill on a stamp, honoring a journalist whose face and voice were known to millions.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GWEN IFILL: A Nobel Peace Prize shocker, plus Afghanistan health care and the Supreme Court tonight on "Washington Week."

NOEL KING, HOST:

Gwen Ifill was the first African American woman to host a nationally televised political talk show. She joined Judy Woodruff to be the first all-female anchor team on a TV network news program, "PBS NewsHour."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PBS NEWSHOUR")

IFILL: Good evening. I'm Gwen Ifill.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And I'm Judy Woodruff. On the "NewsHour" tonight, the pressure for military action intensified today in a...

INSKEEP: During decades in journalism, Gwen Ifill weathered intense political pressure. When she hosted a vice presidential debate, she faced false accusations of bias based on false descriptions of a book she was writing at the time. She was then played on "Saturday Night Live" by Queen Latifah.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

QUEEN LATIFAH: (As Gwen Ifill) As moderator, I will not ask any follow-up questions, so as not to appear biased for Barack Obama in light of my new book, "The Breakthrough: Politics Of Race."

INSKEEP: Whatever was said about her, Gwen Ifill was on camera, where people could see her fairness and decency for themselves.

ALLISON DAVIS: She touched my life because she was a damn good reporter. She is what everybody should aspire to be.

KING: That's Allison Davis, one of the founders of NABJ, the National Association of Black Journalists.

DAVIS: There are so many women, particularly women of color, who not only looked up to her but wanted to be just like her because she was an honorable woman, an honorable journalist who shared with everybody she met.

KING: And now Gwen Ifill is one of the few to be honored with a stamp.

DAVIS: I'm not so happy sometimes that we do this during Black History Month. She's historical, and she should be honored all the months of the year because that's the incredible legacy she leaves.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "WASHINGTON WEEK")

IFILL: And we'll see you again next week on "Washington Week." Good night.

KING: The Gwen Ifill commemorative stamp goes on sale today. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.