One of the most respected and trusted television news figures, Judith “Judy” Woodruff has worked in network, cable, and public television news for nearly 50 years. She has covered every presidential election and convention since 1976 and has interviewed several heads of state and moderated U.S. presidential debates.
Woodruff worked for PBS as the Chief Washington Correspondent for the “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” from 1983 to 1993 and returned in 2007. Since 2013, she has been the anchor and managing editor of “PBS NewsHour.” She initially worked alongside Gwen Ifill as the first female co-anchors of a national news broadcast until Ifill’s death in 2016, then became the sole anchor.
Woodruff announced in May 2022 that she will step down as the program’s anchor at year's end and then transition to reporting longer pieces and doing projects and specials for WETA-TV.
“I love working at the PBS NewsHour and can’t imagine it not being a part of my life [...] Bottom line, I’m thrilled to be part of this vibrant, most extraordinary news organization, and to help the NewsHour remain that way well into the future,” she said in a memo.
Woodruff was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grew up as an army brat, moving multiple times throughout her childhood. She attended Meredith College in North Carolina, initially pursuing mathematics. She credits her political science professor for her interest in politics; she later transferred to Duke University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1968.
Woodruff started her journalism career in 1970 as a reporter at the then-CBS affiliate WAGA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia. Five years later, she was hired by NBC News, and from 1977 to 1982 she served as the Chief White House Correspondent. From 1984 to 1990, she also anchored PBS’ award-winning documentary series, “Frontline with Judy Woodruff.” Before returning to PBS in 2007, she served as anchor and senior correspondent for 12 years at CNN, anchoring the weekday program “Inside Politics,” among other duties.
Woodruff has been the recipient of multiple awards, including the Radcliffe Medal, the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Television, and more than 25 honorary degrees.