Anchorman Roger Mudd dies at 93

Roger Mudd, a longtime political correspondent and anchor for CBS and NBC, died Tuesday of complications from kidney failure at his home in Virginia. He was 93.

As a broadcast journalist, Mudd covered Congress, elections, and political conventions. After working at CBS and NBC, he appeared on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and in 2008, released a memoir about his time reporting on politics called The Place To Be.

During one of his most famous moments on air, in 1979 Mudd asked Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) why he wanted to be president, with Kennedy giving a rambling response that was criticized by many in the media. "On the stump, Kennedy can be dominating, imposing, and masterful," Mudd said. "But off the stump, in personal interviews, he can become stilted, elliptical, and at times appear as if he really doesn't want America to get to know him."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

After decades of working in television journalism, in 1992 Mudd began teaching journalism at Princeton University. He received several awards over his career, including a Peabody for the 1970 CBS documentary The Selling of the Pentagon. Mudd is survived by his four children and 11 grandchildren.