Ruth Ashton Taylor (1922–2024), groundbreaking broadcast reporter
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2 min readRuth Ashton Taylor was a television journalist and newscaster who worked with Edward R. Murrow in New York City, then moved to Los Angeles, where she became the first female television newscaster on the West Coast.
- Died: January 11, 2024 (Who else died on January 11?)
- Details of death: Died in San Rafael, California at the age of 101.
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Ruth Ashton Taylor’s legacy
Born in Long Beach, California, Ashton Taylor earned her master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University, then quickly found a place as a writer at CBS Radio in New York City. Working under Edward R. Murrow, she was initially a writer and producer, but by the late 1940s was on air conducting interviews with such important figures as Albert Einstein, despite resistance from management. However, when CBS transferred her out of the news and into religious broadcasting, she instead left for California.
In Los Angeles, Ashton Taylor got on the air with KNXT (now KCBS), becoming the first woman news broadcaster on the West Coast and eventually one of the most recognizable figures in news. She continued in that capacity until her retirement in 1989, interviewing such notable figures as Jimmy Carter and Jimmy Durante, and helping mentor the next generation of female reporters in the region.
Ashton Taylor was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences granted her a Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1984, Women in Communication presented her with a Diamond Achievement Award.
Tributes to Ruth Ashton Taylor
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
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