Susan Stamberg 1st woman to host national news programme is dead

Susan Stamberg, a trailblazer in American broadcasting and the first woman to host a national news programme, is dead.

She was 87.

Her death was announced by National Public Radio (NPR), where she was regarded as one of the network’s “founding mothers.” NPR confirmed Stamberg died on Thursday, October 16, though the cause of death was not disclosed.

Stamberg joined NPR in the early 1970s, just as the network was beginning operations, and went on to shape its identity over a career that spanned several decades. She became the host of NPR’s flagship programme, All Things Considered, in 1972. She held the role for 14 years.

In an earlier interview with Oregon’s KLCC, Stamberg reflected on her early days in broadcasting, saying she had few female role models and initially tried to sound like the men who dominated radio at the time.

“The only ones on were men, and the only thing I knew to do was imitate them,” she recalled. “After a few days, my boss told me to just be myself — that became part of NPR’s new sound.”

Her conversational tone and authentic delivery helped redefine public radio, setting a standard for the intimate, human storytelling NPR became famous for.

Stamberg later coined the term “founding mothers” to describe herself and three other pioneering women who built NPR from the ground up, Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg, and Linda Wertheimer.

“I got tired of hearing about Founding Fathers,” she once said. “We were obviously Founding Mothers and I was going to put that on the map.”

Beyond All Things Considered, Stamberg went on to host Weekend Edition Sunday, where she introduced the now-iconic Sunday puzzle segment with Will Shortz, who later became the New York Times crossword editor. She also served as a cultural correspondent for Morning Edition and Weekend Edition Saturday before her retirement in September.

One of her most memorable moments came in 1979 when she hosted a two-hour live radio call-in show with then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter from the Oval Office with unscreened questions from the public.

Known for her warmth, intelligence, and curiosity, Stamberg interviewed an array of notable figures including Nancy Reagan, Rosa Parks, James Baldwin, and Annie Leibovitz.

In recognition of her groundbreaking work, Stamberg was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020.

Born Susan Levitt in Newark, New Jersey, in 1938, she grew up in Manhattan and is survived by her son, actor Josh Stamberg, and two granddaughters, Vivian and Lena.