Pioneering CNN anchor Bobbie Battista dies at 67 after a four-year battle with cervical cancer
Bobbie Battista, who was among the original anchors for CNN Headline News and hosted CNN’s ‘TalkBack Live’, has died. She was 67.
Battista died Tuesday after a four-year battle with cervical cancer, family spokeswoman Wendy Guarisco told CNN.
“Bobbie was the consummate trooper in her struggle with cancer, she was courageous and fearless in her battle and thoughtful for all the others in her life even as she fought through the pain,” Battista's husband John Brimelow said in a statement on Tuesday. “My dear partner of 25 years of marriage has cut her earthly bonds and is now in peace.”
During her 1981-2001 career with the cable news company, Battista anchored coverage of major events including the Challenger space shuttle explosion, the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan and the Gulf War.
According to CNN, in 2001, Battista recounted some of the difficult moments in history that she covered as an anchor in her 20 years at CNN. “Whether the Challenger explosion, the assassination attack on Reagan, the Gulf War, certainly this terrorist attack. Those were memorable from the anchor desk,” Battista said. “As far as ‘TalkBack’, we've had some serious shows, and some fun shows. If I had to pick, I'd say I liked 'Free for All Fridays' the best.”
When she moved from CNN Headline News to CNN in 1988, she anchored shows that included ‘CNN NewsHour’.
During Battista's early career, she worked as a local news anchor and producer for WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1981, she was the writer and assistant producer for the Peabody Award-winning documentary ‘Fed up with Fear’. She was also nominated for an On Cable magazine award, an award voted on by cable viewers, as Outstanding News Personality of 1984. Battista was voted best newscaster in Cable Guide magazine's annual reader's poll in 1986, and, in 1995, she was nominated for a CableACE award for Best Newscaster.
Per CNN, Battista was a member of Women in Communications and Sigma Delta Chi. She has been a guest lecturer at universities, organizations, and conventions worldwide.
With inputs from AP