Renowned broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts died Tuesday at the age of 75.
According to the statement, Roberts died of complications from breast cancer.
“We would like to thank the staff at the National Institutes of Health for their dedication, expertise, work and incredible care for Cokie during her illness,” her family said.
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She went on to co-anchor ABC’s Sunday morning show,This Week, with Sam Donaldson, and was also a regular fill-in anchor for Ted Koppel onNightline. She also served as political commentator and chief congressional analyst during her three decades at the network.
“Cokie Roberts will be dearly missed,” ABC News president James Goldston said in a statement. “Cokie’s kindness, generosity, sharp intellect and thoughtful take on the big issues of the day made ABC a better place and all of us better journalists.”
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Roberts was “a true pioneer for women in journalism,” Goldston said, “well-regarded for her insightful analysis of politics and policy in Washington, D.C., countless newsmaking interviews, and, notably, her unwavering support for generations of young women — and men — who would follow in her footsteps.”
Roberts, who for years urged women to get regular mammograms, announced her breast cancer diagnosis in 2002.
“Fortunately, in the course of my efforts to inform others about the disease, I learned about the benefits of early detection,” she said in a statement toTheWashington Postat the time. “Now I am the beneficiary of that information.”
She added that her diagnosis didn’t give her a newfound perspective on life, because she “had a healthy perspective on life already.”
“I have always cared more about family than my career,” she said. “I lost my father at age 58 in a terrible accident and I lost my sister at age 51. So I didn’t need any extra perspective on life.”
source: people.com
