Judy Woodruff
Encyclopedia
Judy Woodruff is an American television news anchor and journalist
.
Woodruff is a Board Member at the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation).
, once a CBS
affiliate and now an affiliate of the Fox Network. Woodruff joined NBC News
in 1975 and was originally based in Atlanta, where she covered the presidential campaign of then-Governor Jimmy Carter. She served as the chief White House
correspondent
for NBC News from 1977 to 1982, and covered Washington
for The Today Show from 1982 to 83. In 1983 she moved from NBC to PBS
, where for 10 years she was Chief Washington Correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
. From 1984 to 1990, she was also the host of the PBS documentary series Frontline with Judy Woodruff.
In 1993, Woodruff joined CNN
, where for 12 years she was the host of Inside Politics, the nation's first program devoted exclusively to politics.
Woodruff stayed with CNN until 2005 when she decided not to renew her contract, looking toward teaching, writing, and working on documentaries. In August 2005, Woodruff was named a visiting fellow for the fall semester at Harvard University
's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. She previously taught the course "Media and Politics" at Duke University
's Sanford Institute for Public Policy. CNN
founder Ted Turner
stated in a May 7, 2009, interview on the Diane Rehm Show that he was upset that CNN had let Woodruff go.
In 2006, Woodruff returned to PBS to work on "Generation Next," a documentary about American young people and their characteristics, values and thoughts on family, faith, politics and world events, produced in conjunction with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. "Generation Next" partnered with USA Today, Yahoo! News and NPR. Additionally, in 2006 Woodruff contributed as a guest correspondent to the National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition
week-long series "Muslim
s In America," as part of NPR's fifth-year observance of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks.
On February 5, 2007, Judy Woodruff returned to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS full time as senior correspondent, editor of 2008 political coverage and substitute anchor. As of early 2007, she was also working on Part 2 of the "Generation Next" documentary for PBS.
From 2006 until the present, Woodruff has also anchored a weekly program for Bloomberg Television, called "Conversations with Judy Woodruff." Streaming video podcasts of her monthly interviews are available at Bloomberg.com.
Woodruff was selected to present the 2007 Red Smith Lecture in Journalism at the University of Notre Dame
. The Red Smith lectureship annually selects renowned journalists to speak at the University to foster good writing and honor high journalistic standards.
, Woodruff had her first taste of the limelight when at age 17 she won a hometown beauty pageant and was crowned Miss Augusta
Junior Miss 1963. After high school, Woodruff attended Meredith College
and Duke University
, where she earned a degree in political science
and was involved in the Student Union, Publications Board, Alpha Delta Pi
sorority, and Associated Students of Duke University (precursor to Duke Student Government). One of her first jobs in TV news broadcasting was with WAGA-TV
in Atlanta, Georgia
, as a news anchor, where she served from 1970 to 1975.
Woodruff, a founding Co-Chair of the International Women's Media Foundation
, serves on the Boards of Trustees of the Freedom Forum
and of the Freedom Forum's Newseum; and is a member of the steering committee of the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Woodruff is the parent of three children, including a son born with spina bifida
. Her husband is Al Hunt
, formerly of CNN and The Wall Street Journal
, now Executive Editor of the Bloomberg News Washington, D.C, bureau. She is not related to journalist Bob Woodruff.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Woodruff is a Board Member at the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation).
Broadcast journalism career
Judy Woodruff began her journalism career at local Atlanta station WAGA-TVWAGA-TV
WAGA-TV, virtual channel 5.1 is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Television Network and based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
, once a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate and now an affiliate of the Fox Network. Woodruff joined NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
in 1975 and was originally based in Atlanta, where she covered the presidential campaign of then-Governor Jimmy Carter. She served as the chief White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for NBC News from 1977 to 1982, and covered Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
for The Today Show from 1982 to 83. In 1983 she moved from NBC to PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, where for 10 years she was Chief Washington Correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
. From 1984 to 1990, she was also the host of the PBS documentary series Frontline with Judy Woodruff.
In 1993, Woodruff joined CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, where for 12 years she was the host of Inside Politics, the nation's first program devoted exclusively to politics.
Woodruff stayed with CNN until 2005 when she decided not to renew her contract, looking toward teaching, writing, and working on documentaries. In August 2005, Woodruff was named a visiting fellow for the fall semester at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. She previously taught the course "Media and Politics" at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
's Sanford Institute for Public Policy. CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
founder Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
stated in a May 7, 2009, interview on the Diane Rehm Show that he was upset that CNN had let Woodruff go.
In 2006, Woodruff returned to PBS to work on "Generation Next," a documentary about American young people and their characteristics, values and thoughts on family, faith, politics and world events, produced in conjunction with MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. "Generation Next" partnered with USA Today, Yahoo! News and NPR. Additionally, in 2006 Woodruff contributed as a guest correspondent to the National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
week-long series "Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s In America," as part of NPR's fifth-year observance of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks.
On February 5, 2007, Judy Woodruff returned to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS full time as senior correspondent, editor of 2008 political coverage and substitute anchor. As of early 2007, she was also working on Part 2 of the "Generation Next" documentary for PBS.
From 2006 until the present, Woodruff has also anchored a weekly program for Bloomberg Television, called "Conversations with Judy Woodruff." Streaming video podcasts of her monthly interviews are available at Bloomberg.com.
Woodruff was selected to present the 2007 Red Smith Lecture in Journalism at the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. The Red Smith lectureship annually selects renowned journalists to speak at the University to foster good writing and honor high journalistic standards.
Personal life
Born in Tulsa, OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Woodruff had her first taste of the limelight when at age 17 she won a hometown beauty pageant and was crowned Miss Augusta
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
Junior Miss 1963. After high school, Woodruff attended Meredith College
Meredith College
Meredith College is a liberal arts women's college located in Raleigh, North Carolina. For the 2010-2011 academic year, there were approximately 2,300 students enrolled, including about 350 graduate students, making Meredith the largest women's college in the southeastern United States...
and Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where she earned a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and was involved in the Student Union, Publications Board, Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
sorority, and Associated Students of Duke University (precursor to Duke Student Government). One of her first jobs in TV news broadcasting was with WAGA-TV
WAGA (TV)
WAGA-TV, virtual channel 5.1 is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Television Network and based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, as a news anchor, where she served from 1970 to 1975.
Woodruff, a founding Co-Chair of the International Women's Media Foundation
International Women's Media Foundation
The International Women’s Media Foundation , located in Washington, DC, is a network of thousands of left-wing women journalists working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created groundbreaking programs to help women in the media develop practical solutions...
, serves on the Boards of Trustees of the Freedom Forum
Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum was created in 1991 under the direction of Al Neuharth, former publisher of USA Today newspaper. Funding was provided by a foundation started by publisher Frank E. Gannett in 1935, called the Gannett Foundation...
and of the Freedom Forum's Newseum; and is a member of the steering committee of the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Woodruff is the parent of three children, including a son born with spina bifida
Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...
. Her husband is Al Hunt
Al Hunt
Albert R. Hunt Jr. is the executive Washington editor for Bloomberg News, a subsidiary of Bloomberg L.P. Hunt hosts the Sunday morning talk show Political Capital on Bloomberg Television, which airs on Friday night.-Personal life:...
, formerly of CNN and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, now Executive Editor of the Bloomberg News Washington, D.C, bureau. She is not related to journalist Bob Woodruff.