Barbara Walters, news pioneer and "The View" creator, dies
New York (AP): Barbara Walters, the intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host who blazed the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died.
She was 93.
ABC broke into its broadcast to announce Walters' death on air Friday night.
"She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women," her publicist Cindi Berger also said in a statement, adding Walters died peacefully at her New York home.
"Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself," Iger said.
During nearly four decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters' exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs, while placing her at the forefront of the trend that made stars of TV reporters.
Late in her career, she gave infotainment a new twist with "The View," a live ABC weekday kaffee klatsch with an all-female panel for whom any topic was on the table and who welcomed guests ranging from world leaders to teen idols. With that side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered "The View" the "dessert" of her career.
A statement from the show said Walters created "The View" in 1997 "to champion women's voices."
"We're proud to be part of her legacy," the statement said.
Walters made headlines in 1976 as the first female network news anchor, with an unprecedented
1 million salary that drew gasps. Her drive was legendary as she competed not just with rival networks, but with colleagues at her own network for each big "get" in a world jammed with more and more interviewers, including female journalists following in her trail.
"I never expected this!" Walters said in 2004, taking stock of her success.
But she was a natural on camera, especially when plying notables with searing questions.
In a voice that never lost its trace of her native Boston accent or its substitution of Ws-for-Rs, Walters lobbed blunt and sometimes giddy questions, often sugarcoated with a hushed, reverential delivery.
In May 2014, she taped her final episode of "The View" amid much ceremony to end a five-decade career in television.
However, her career had begun with no inklings of majesty.
Walters graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1943 and eventually landed a "temporary," behind-the-scenes assignment at "Today" in 1961. Shortly afterwards, what was seen as the token woman's slot among the staff's eight writers opened. Walters got the job and began to make occasional on-air appearances with offbeat stories.
As she appeared more frequently, she was spared the title of "Today' Girl" that had been attached to her predecessors. But she had to pay her dues, sometimes sprinting between interviews to do dog food commercials.
She had the first interview with Rose Kennedy after the assassination of her son, Robert, as well as with Princess Grace of Monaco and President Richard Nixon. She travelled to India with Jacqueline Kennedy, to China with Nixon and to Iran to cover the shah's gala party. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee, who insisted she wait for him to ask three questions before she could open her mouth during interviews with "powerful persons."
Sensing greater freedom and opportunities awaiting her outside the NBC studio, she hit the road to produce more exclusive interviews, including with Nixon chief of staff HR Haldeman.
By 1976, she had been granted the title of "Today" co-host and was earning
700,000 a year. But when ABC signed her to a
5 million, five-year contract, she was branded the "the million-dollar baby."
Reports failed to note her job duties would be split between the network's entertainment division and ABC News, then mired in third place. Meanwhile, Harry Reasoner, her seasoned "ABC Evening News" co-anchor, was said to resent her salary and celebrity orientation.
Later, ABC News president Roone Arledge moved her out of the co-anchor slot and into special projects. Meanwhile, she found success with her quarterly primetime interview specials. She became a frequent contributor to newsmagazine "20/20," and later co-host.
By 2004, when she stepped down from "20/20," she had logged more than 700 interviews, ranging from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Muammar Gaddafi, to Michael Jackson, Erik and Lyle Menendez and Elton John. Her two-hour talk with Monica Lewinsky in 1999, timed to the former White House intern's memoir about her affair with President Bill Clinton, drew more than 70 million viewers.
Her work also received high praise. She won a Peabody Award for her interview with Christopher Reeve shortly after the 1995 horseback-riding accident that left him paralysed.
Walters is survived by her daughter, Jacqueline Danforth.
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Minister Patil chairs industry meetings to chart growth for key sectors in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Tuesday chaired meetings with industry representatives from the aerospace and defence, machine tools, auto/EV, and green energy sectors to discuss sector growth and government support measures.
The meetings were attended by leading industrialists and their representatives, with some participating virtually.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister for Large and Medium Industries said Karnataka is at the forefront of the country’s aerospace and defence sectors.
He noted that Suzuki and Toyota plan to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, with Bengaluru-based Sasmos supplying electrical equipment for the project.
Industrialists suggested introducing similar “fly-taxi” services in Karnataka through an appropriate policy, which Patil said would be examined seriously.
The minister highlighted the need to establish testing centres and Common Facility Centres for the aerospace and defence industries and assured that these facilities would be provided.
Suggestions were also made to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for sector growth.
Karnataka has urged the Central Government to approve Defence Corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions.
Industrialists also suggested a corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Patil said.
He said Karnataka aims to become a hub for defence electronics manufacturing, with plans to establish a 200-acre Defence Electronics Park and a 100-acre Avionics and Sensor Park.
These projects will be implemented once the Special Investment Region is operational, and land availability will not be an issue.
On the machine tools sector, Patil said the industry has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 36,500 crore and is witnessing steady growth.
Large-scale exhibitions have increased demand, and the state must strengthen its capabilities to develop control systems for heavy machinery. One testing unit is already operational in Bengaluru, with another planned for Tumakuru. Expansion of vocational training institutes in industrial areas is also underway.
In the Auto and EV sector, Vision Group members highlighted the need for a network of dry ports and more EV charging stations across the state.
Patil noted that the Tata Group is manufacturing EV buses in Dharawada for nationwide supply. Plans for mini excavator production and export facilitation were also discussed, along with the establishment of a testing facility for two-wheeler EVs.
For the Green Energy sector, the group emphasised the need for a suitable policy on battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres.
Patil assured that the government will seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively.
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