NPR ‘founding mother’ Susan Stamberg has died at the age of 87. Colleagues saw her as a yenta, a mentor and a storyteller who was always tough and true to herself. NPR’s David Folkenflik pays tribute:
Susan Stamberg joined NPR at its start, originally to cut tape — literal tape, with a single-sided blade — at a time when commercial networks almost never hired women.
Stamberg said NPR’s first program director, Bill Siemering, was brave to put her behind the microphone. She hosted All Things Considered and Weekend Edition, and then became a special correspondent.
She found joy in the creativity of culture, the spark of science and even the humanity in politics.
To this day, Susan Stamberg’s recorded voice announces each floor on the elevators at NPR’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
