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Peter Bart: Barbara Walters Built A Career On Trust In A Bygone Era Far Removed From Today

Even Barbara Walters, the subject of a new documentary, would be challenged in today's climate of media distrust, Peter Bart writes.

The new media underground would come as a culture shock to the generation of Cronkites and Edward R. Murrows and their female counterparts – Walters, Connie Chung, Diane Sawyer, Oprah Winfrey. Walters died at 93 in 2022, having scored a remarkable range of “gets” from Anwar Sadat to Fidel Castro to Monica Lewinsky (that alone pulled in 70 million viewers). Perversely, network chiefs consistently tried to pair Walters with anchors who were openly sexist in their opinions, such as Harry Reasoner or Peter Jennings.

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