NYS Broadcasters to Honor Walters with 2007 Broadcaster of the Year Award

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Barbara Walters

ALBANY, NY (06/11/2007)(readMedia)-- Legendary TV journalist, reporter and interviewer Barbara Walters was today named 2007 Broadcaster of the Year by the New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA).

Walters will be honored Monday, June 25 at NYSBA's 2007 Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting gala banquet. The dinner is the highlight of NYSBA's two-day Executive Conference held at the picturesque Sagamore Resort Hotel in Bolton Landing, New York.

"I can't think of anyone more deserving than Barbara Walters to receive the NYSBA's highest accolade," said NYSBA President Joseph A. Reilly. "She is a living legend and icon in the broadcast industry. We are absolutely thrilled that she will be accepting our award this June at our summer conference."

Born in Boston, MA, Walters initially planned to become a teacher after graduating from the all-female Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY in 1953. She soon changed her career path to broadcasting after landing her first job as the assistant to the publicity director of WRCA-TV (a local NBC affiliate), where she had an opportunity to sharpen her writing and producing skills.

Her climb up the broadcasting ladder quickly gained momentum when, in 1961, she became a researcher and writer for NBC's popular "Today" show - a program for which she ended up being a co-host 13 years later, winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Hostess.

Over the past four decades, Walters' career has been defined by a number of historic "firsts": she was the first female co-anchor of the "Today" show; the first female to anchor a news broadcast when she co-anchored the "ABC Evening News" with Harry Reasoner; the first reporter to arrange a joint interview with Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin in November 1977; and, the only journalist to secure an hour-long primetime conversation with Cuban President Fidel Castro - an interview which has been printed in half a dozen languages and shown all over the world.

At the other extreme, in 1999 Walters conducted the initial interview with Monica Lewinsky, which became the highest-rated news program ever broadcast by a single network.

Known for her straightforward questioning style, Walters has obtained candid answers from more statesmen and stars than any other journalist in history during her storied career. Her numerous and timely interviews - which appear regularly on the weekly news magazine "20/20" and in "The Barbara Walters Specials" - have recently included the first interview with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton regarding her highly-anticipated autobiography; traveling to Cuba to interview President Fidel Castro 25 years after their first headline-making interview; and speaking to former Vice President Al Gore in his first formal interview since the controversial 2000 Presidential election.

She has also spoken with such legends as Sir Laurence Olivier, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn, as well as more recent interviews with superstars like Julianne Moore, Nicholas Cage, Renee Zellweger, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Walters, who is currently the co-host and executive producer ABC's daytime talk show, "The View," has received national recognition for her work and has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards. She has been inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame; honored by the Overseas Press Club with their highest award, the President's Award; saluted by the Museum of Broadcasting with a retrospective of her distinguished career; and, tapped for a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, among others.

For more information on NYSBA's 46th Annual Executive Conference, call (518) 456-8888, or go to www.nysbroadcasters.org.

-0- Founded in 1955, the NYS Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) represents the interests of more than 600 television and radio stations in the NYS Senate and Assembly, the US Congress, and various other legislative bodies. NYSBA also offers a variety of services to help the broadcasters of New York State better serve their communities. For more information, call (518) 456-8888 or go to www.nysbroadcasters.org.

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