Bob Woodruff
Encyclopedia : B : BO : BOB : Bob Woodruff
Robert William "Bob" Woodruff (born 1961) is an American television journalist. Although his journalism career dates back to 1989, he is most widely known for briefly replacing Peter Jennings as co-anchor of ABC News' weekday news broadcast, World News Tonight in January 2006, and, later that month, becoming the first American news anchor to be injured in a war zone when he was nearly killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Career
Before joining ABC, Woodruff was an attorney. In 1989, while teaching law in Beijing, he was hired by CBS News to work as a translator for Dan Rather during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989; a short time later he changed careers.He went on to work at television stations in Redding, California, Richmond, Virginia, and Phoenix, Arizona before ABC hired him in Chicago, Illinois in 1996.http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=53&show=article&a_id=7266
As ABC's Justice Department correspondent in Washington in the late 1990s, Woodruff covered the office of Attorney General Janet Reno, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. In 1999, he reported from Belgrade and Kosovo during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Since then, he has reported extensively on Europe and the Middle East.
His international reporting on the fallout from 9/11/01 was part of ABC's coverage which was recognized with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and the George Foster Peabody Award, two of the highest honors in broadcast journalism.
Woodruff served as the anchor of World News Tonight Saturday and as one of ABC's top correspondents contributing reports to Nightline and other ABC News broadcasts.
He has also reported extensively on the continuing unrest in Iraq. During the initial invasion Woodruff reported from the front lines as an embedded journalist with the First Marine Division, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
Before moving to New York in 2002, Woodruff worked at the ABC News London Bureau.
Bob Woodruff is not related to Judy Woodruff, a newsperson who has worked for PBS and CNN.
Notable coverage
As a journalist Woodruff has covered a number of recent events, including- Senator John Edwards' campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination
- Death of Pope John Paul II
- Operation Iraqi Freedom
- North Korea and Iran, for which he was awarded the David Bloom Award for Excellence
- Hurricane Katrina
- 2006 Palestinian elections
Injury in Iraq
On January 29, 2006, Woodruff and Canadian cameraman Doug Vogt were seriously injured in an explosion from an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq, about 12 miles north of Baghdad. Woodruff had traveled with an ABC News team to Israel to report on the aftermath of the 2006 Palestinian elections, and then via Amman to Baghdad, so he could meet with troops before President George W. Bush's State of the Union address for 2006.At the time of the attack, they were embedded with the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, travelling in an Iraqi MT-LB. Woodruff and Vogt were standing with their heads above a hatch, apparently filming a stand-up. Both men were wearing body armor and protective helmets at the time. Woodruff sustained shrapnel wounds; Vogt was struck by shrapnel in the head and suffered a broken shoulder. Both men underwent surgery for head injuries at a U.S. military hospital in Balad and are recovering in stable condition. Tom Brokaw reported on the Today show that Woodruff had also undergone surgery to reduce brain swelling.
Woodruff and Vogt were evacuated to the United States Army Medical Command hospital at Landstuhl, Germany overnight on Sunday, January 29. On ABC World News Tonight that evening, anchor Elizabeth Vargas talked about the dangers of reporting in a combat zone and wished Woodruff and Vogt well in recovery.
As of March 7, Woodruff's brother reported that the ABC anchor was beginning to walk, recognize friends and family, and speak in several languages. Woodruff was transferred on March 16 to a medical facility closer to his Westchester County, New York home, a sign of "continued progress in all respects," ABC News President David Westin said in an e-mail to ABC staffers.[ABC's Woodruff Transferred from Naval Hospital, Making Progress], a March 2006 article from Editor & Publisher Westin's email noted he was able to get around, talk to and joke with his family, but that "months of further recuperation" were still required."
On April 6, ABC News released photos of Woodruff recovering at home and a letter thanking everyone for their support and kindness as he recovers. He especially thanked the soldiers, doctors, and nurses who saved his life. [link]
Consequences of his absence
His extended absence after his injury, and a pregnancy announcement by Vargas, led to consternation and infighting within ABC, according to insiders. Longtime ABC icon Diane Sawyer, given temporary anchoring duties along with veteran Charlie Gibson, was said to covet a permanent anchor assignment, especially since CBS News hired NBC's Katie Couric as a replacement for interim CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer. http://tmz.aol.com/article2?id=20060306121309990001ABC's World News Tonight remains second in the Nielsen Media Research rankings, though it has lost some ground to NBC's first-place Nightly News, anchored by Brian Williams. Schieffer has also been closing its gap with ABC since Woodruff's injury.
On May 23 2006, Vargas announced her resignation from WNT, citing her doctors' recommendation to cut back her schedule considerably due to her upcoming maternity leave, and her wish to spend more time with her new baby. Gibson was then named sole anchor of the show, effective May 29, 2006. It is not known when or whether Woodruff will return to ABC News.
Personal life
Woodruff grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he graduated from the private Cranbrook Kingswood school in 1979. He earned a B.A. from Colgate University in 1983 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.Bob and his wife Lee have four children.
He is not related to fellow television journalist Judy Woodruff.
He is an alumnus of Theta Chi Fraternity.
References
External links
- [Vargas, Woodruff Named Co-Anchors of ABC's 'World News Tonight'] ABC.com. December 5, 2005.
- [Vargas, Woodruff to share anchor desk at ABC] MSNBC. December 5, 2005.
- [Official ABC biography]
| Preceded by: Peter Jennings | ABC World News Tonight Anchor (with Elizabeth Vargas) January 3, 2006- May 26, 2006 (last anchored January 27, 2006)''' | Followed by: Charles Gibson |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.