Pioneering PBS anchor Robert MacNeil died on Friday in New York at age 93. “Robert’s passing marks the end of an era,” Paula Kerger, president of PBS, remarked in a statement provided to TVNewser—one of many tributes that accompanied the announcement of MacNeil’s death. “While we mourn his death, we honor his life and work by building on his legacy.” (TVNewser)
MacNeil first gained prominence for his coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings for the public broadcasting service and began his half-hour “Robert MacNeil Report” on PBS in 1975 with his friend Jim Lehrer as Washington correspondent. The broadcast became the “MacNeil-Lehrer Report” and then, in 1983, was expanded to an hour and renamed the “MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour.” (AP)
The broadcast won more than 30 journalism awards in its two-decade-long run, including two Emmys and a 1994 Radio and Television Correspondents Association Award for congressional reporting, according to PBS and WETA. (CNN)
He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and gained many honors over the years, including induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1999, along with Lehrer. (PBS)