Reports: Gwen Ifill of PBS NewsHour dies at 61

Ifill, 61, broke gender and racial barriers and became a role model for journalists across the country. She had been battling endometrial cancer while covering this year's presidential election.

PBS said in a statement that she died Monday "surrounded by family and friends."

"Gwen was one of America's leading lights in journalism and a fundamental reason public media is considered a trusted window on the world by audiences across the nation," Paula Kerger, the PBS president and CEO, said.

"She often said that her job was to bring light rather than heat to issues of importance to our society," Kerger said.

Ifill, who worked at The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC News, became moderator of PBS's "Washington Week in Review" in 1999 and co-host of NewsHour in 2013. She and co-host Judy Woodruff were the first women to co-host a nightly news broadcast.

Ifill also moderated the 2004 vice-presidential debate and the 2008 vice-presidential debate, as well as a 2016 Democratic primary debate.

In a telephone interview, Ifill's close friend Michele Norris remembered her as a dedicated journalist, someone who stayed true to the values of her craft amid wrenching changes across the news industry.

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