Gwen Ifill died on Monday at age 61. (Getty)
PBS NewsHour and Washington Week anchor Gwen Ifill died on Monday at age 61 after a battle with cancer. Ifill was a beloved figure inside Washington D.C. and it showed through on Twitter, where her colleagues rushed to pay tribute to her.
Ifill missed time on PBS in May to deal with health issues and was missing from PBS election coverage. It wasn’t until today that PBS confirmed that Ifill, a former New York Times journalist who joined the network in 1999, had cancer.
Here is how members of the press and others remembered Ifill for her long career.
Piers Morgan tweeted this video of NBC News correspondent Pete Williams tearing up as he announced the news on MSNBC.
When @PeteWilliamsNBC is this moved by another journalist’s death, you know she was special. RIP Gwen Ifill. t.co/rls4AuEeKP
Representative Barbara Lee of California:
Maria Shriver said her heart is broken after hearing the news:
Shocked by the sad news of Gwen Ifill’s passing. A first class journalist & human being. My heart breaks. She was too young to have left us.
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer shared a photo with her, calling Ifill is “good friend.”
Gwen Ifill was my good friend. I will miss her. May she Rest In Peace.
Nicholas Kristof, who writes for the New York Times, called her a “first-rate journalist.”
Gwen Ifill, first-rate journalist and super person, @PBS news anchor, model of professionalism, is dead at 61. RIP t.co/GY2U6fUTyj
CNN writer Brian Stelter:
I am heartbroken to report that Gwen Ifill has died. Ifill had been battling cancer. She was 61.
Here are other tributes:
Gwen Ifill, RIP. In a league of her own. A wonderful woman and mentor. An incisive and compelling reporter.
R.I.P Gwen Ifill – Here is one of her last interviews with President Obama t.co/qm7P2hPURT
NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt wrote:
Very sad to learn we have lost Gwen Ifill. Gwen represented the best of broadcast journalism. Our hearts are broken.
PBS NewsHour co-anchor Judy Woodruff said:
She was not only my dear friend, she was the best partner one can imagine, because she was committed to fairness and to the finest in journalism. You always knew when working with Gwen that she had your back. I’m crushed that she won’t be sitting by my side on the NewsHour any more, but her mark on this program and on American journalism will endure.
Politicians have also paid tribute. Sarah Palin, who was in the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate Ifill moderated, wrote:
It is sad to hear that Gwen Ifill has passed away. Gwen was a veteran journalist and had moderated the 2008 Vice… t.co/QbSpPfMR1m
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wrote:
Saddened by the death of Gwen Ifill, a NY’er, trailblazer, award winning reporter & model of integrity. Thoughts are w/ her loved ones today
Texas Senator Ted Cruz added:
Our prayers are with the family of PBS’ Gwen Ifill. Her contributions to our nation’s political discourse will be greatly missed.
President Bill Clinton:
Gwen Ifill was a trailblazer and a bright light in journalism. She informed and challenged us, and did so with grace. I will miss her.
In a statement to PBS, President Barack Obama called Ifill “extraordinary journalist” who “always kept faith with the fundamental responsibility of her profession.”