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The news of Barbara Walters’ death Friday, at the age of 93, resonates for me for several different reasons.
Obviously, her passing marks the final chapter of one of the most distinguished — and, at times, controversial — careers in television journalism.
While my connection to her was professional, and not personal, like it was with her colleague Regis Philbin, who passed away in 2020 — Walters, from our first encounters, treated me with respect and, yes, unexpected humor and decorum from someone who didn’t need to do that. But that’s the type of person she was.
It was a tricky balancing act with Barbara, since we covered her and, subsequently, “20/20” and “The View” — which she co-created and co-hosted, starting in 1997 — with an oft-critical eye to what she said on the air, from politics to entertainment to everyday stuff.
She was a public lightning rod, engendering in most (in my opinion) a respect, if even grudging, that she earned by trailblazing a path for women journalists in a predominantly male field, starting with NBC’s “Today” show in 1962, and snaring headline-making interviews with just about every newsmaker — “getting the ‘get,’” to use industry terms.
Others, though, cast a critical (and sometimes mocking) eye toward her, not only Gilda Radner’s classic “Baba Wawa” character in those early days of “Saturday Night Live,” but toward her interview style, sometimes hard-hitting and sometimes just plain head-scratching, particularly with celebrities.
