“Z” to Receive RTDNA’s 2021 Paul White Award for Achievements in and Contributions to Electronic Journalism
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) will honor Susan Zirinsky with the 2021 Paul White Award for her achievements in and contributions to the field of electronic journalism.
“Zirinsky is a highly respected driver of impactful journalism,” said RTDNA Executive Dan Shelley. “Her legacy is already cemented and her accomplishments speak for themselves. She doesn’t just produce the news, she’s repositioning the entire American news industry.”
Named for the first news director of CBS, the Paul White Award recognizes an individual’s lifetime contributions to electronic journalism. Since 1956, honorees have included Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters and Ted Koppel.
Zirinsky, or “Z” as she’s called at CBS, is an award-winning broadcast journalist who first joined the television division of the American media conglomerate in the 1970s at the age of 20. In 2019, after a nearly 50-year tenure, she was appointed the first female president and senior executive producer of CBS News, which she held until April 2021.
She graduated cum laude from the School of Communications at American University in Washington, D.C., before making her career in journalism.
Zirinsky was the inspiration for Holly Hunter’s character in the “Broadcast News,” an award-winning film that was released in 1987.
