Carole Simpson 1940–

Broadcast journalist

Work in Chicago Led to National News Post at NBC

Moved to ABC

Focused on Racial Issues in the United States

Sources

Carole Simpson’s role as moderator of the second U.S. presidential debate between George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot in October of 1992 made her the envy of news journalists across America. Unlike previous debates, in which journalists fired questions at presidential hopefuls, this debate allowed 209 uncommitted voters to ask the questions, while one journalist, Simpson, moderated. In her role, Simpson was able to focus in on the issues that were important to the voters by challenging inconsistencies or evasive answers from the participants. Being part of a new, unexplored territory in journalism, however, was nothing new for Simpson.

Simpson’s career has been filled with many groundbreaking moments. She was the first black woman television reporter in the city of Chicago, and, as the first woman of color to have anchor duties on a major network, Simpson was instrumental in forcing her network to make policy changes in employee relations, hiring, and pay equity. Her dedication to fighting racism and sexism have garnered her many awards and the respect of her colleagues.

After graduating from the University of Michigan and doing graduate work at the University of Iowa, Simpson got her start in the broadcasting industry as a news reporter at WCFL Radio in Chicago in 1965. A few years later she joined WBBM Radio in the same capacity and then in 1969 served as a commentator for a public affairs program at WTTW-TV.

In 1970 Simpson was hired as the first female African American reporter on Chicago’s WMAQ-TV. As a general assignment reporter, she covered a wide range of stories and topics. “I want to cover black stories” she told Ebony magazine in 1971, “because I feel I bring to them sensitivity and a perspective that white reporters don’t have. I wouldn’t want to cover just black news though because you often lose your credibility.”

Work in Chicago Led to National News Post at NBC

Station management was so impressed with her talents as both a hard news and feature reporter that they promoted her to a weekend anchor position. Though Simpson was rising quickly through the ranks in the industry, she was realistic about it. “I can’t deny that my color and my sex helped me get jobs,” she told Karen Peterson of the

At a Glance…

Born December 7, 1940, in Miami, FL; daughter of Lytle Ray and Doretha Viola Wilbon Simpson; married James Edward Marshall (a director of finance and administration), September 3, 1966; children: Mallika Joy, Adam. Education: Attended University of Illinois, 1958-60; University of Michigan, B.A., 1962; graduate study at University of Iowa, 1964-65.

Broadcast journalist. News reporter, WCFL Radio, 1965-68, and WBBM Radio, 1968-70, both in Chicago, IL; public affairs commentator for WTTW-TV, Chicago, 1969; news reporter and anchor, WMAQ-TV, Chicago, 1970-74; NBC News, correspondent and anchor, 1974-82; ABC News, correspondent, 1982—, and weekend anchor of World News Saturday, 1988—. Moderator of U.S. presidential debate held in Richmond, VA, October 15, 1992. Taught journalism at Tuskegee Institute and Northwestern University; one of the original founders of the ABC Women’s Advisory Board, 1983.

Member: Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Radio-TV Correspondents Association (president, 1982-83), Theta Sigma Phi.

Awards: Media Journalism Award, AMA; Woman of the Year in Communication, YMCA of Metro Chicago, 1974; Award of Courage, Los Angeles chapter of NOW Education Fund, 1987; Milestone Award in Broadcast Journalism, National Commission on Working Women, 1988; Silver Bell Award, Ad Council, 1989; Journalist of the Year, National Association of Black Journalists, 1992.

Addresses: Office— ABC News, 1717 DeSales St. N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

Chicago Tribune, “although I like to think it was more because I could do the work.”

The YMCA of Metro Chicago believed in her work so strongly that they named her “Woman of the Year in Communication” in 1974. This tribute, like the many she received from medical groups for her documentaries on sickle cell anemia and sudden infant death syndrome, were a tribute to her many talents. A greater tribute to her abilities as a journalist would come later that same year when she was offered a job as a network correspondent.

Along with her husband, James Marshall, and daughter, Mallika, Simpson moved to Washington, D.C., in 1974 to began her career as a reporter for NBC News. The move proved to be a little difficult for her at first. Besides the difficulty of establishing herself as a credible journalist in a new city, Simpson was beginning to feel the pressures of success. “You feel torn in three directions,” she confessed to Peterson, “among the responsibilities to your career, your husband, and your child. My daughter [was] at an age when she wonder[ed] why I [wasn’t] home like other mothers. And that’s hard to take.”

The next seven years were spent at NBC covering a variety of issues for the network, including Capitol Hill, health care, the environment, and the 1980 presidential campaign of George Bush. She later told Steve Daley of the Chicago Tribune that her work in Chicago made the transition easier. “I think the experience of chasing news around Chicago in the ‘60s and ‘70s prepares you for anything.” Her stint as a weekend anchor in Chicago also proved helpful when she was given the opportunity to anchor the “Newsbreaks” that were airing on the network on weekends.

Moved to ABC

Simpson left NBC in 1982 and took a job at ABC News as a general assignment correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Soon after her arrival, ABC News president Roone Arledge became concerned with the issue of women in its organization and suggested that a panel be convened to study the situation. With Simpson serving as spokesperson, the Women’s Advisory Board was founded in 1983. After a few years, however, she became disgruntled with the network brass and its lack of commitment to the issues the board was trying to address, primarily those dealing with women and minorities.

“In 1985,” Simpson told Daley, “ABC had no women covering a major beat, no women heading up bureaus, no women at the level of the network vice president.” So, along with 15 ABC newswomen, she confronted Arledge and demanded some changes. “At that point,” she continued, “the other networks were doing a better job with these issues. ABC had never been confronted, never felt the need to address the issue.” Almost immediately, things began to change. Her efforts were acknowledged when she received an Award of Courage in 1987 from the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) Education Fund.

One of the first things to come about was Simpson’s promotion in 1988 to anchor of World News Saturday. In addition, the network began to focus more on major domestic issues with a series of daily World News Tonight segments entitled “American Agenda.” Simpson, along with fellow ABC newswoman Rebecca Chase, was given the task of covering the subject of family, while other staffers were assigned to cover the environment, health, education, money, and drugs.

Shortly thereafter, Simpson reached a milestone in her career and broke new ground in American broadcast journalism. According to the New York Post, “When Simpson subbed for the vacationing Peter Jennings on Wednesday [August 9, 1989] and again Thursday night, she became the first black woman to anchor a Big Three network newscast during the week.” In addition, Simpson continued her hard-hitting coverage of breaking news stories throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s. Among them was the February 11, 1990 release of South African political prisoner and activist Nelson Mandela following more than 27 years of incarceration. Simpson ended up in the center of a media blitz during her trip there when she was assaulted by a South African law enforcement official during a disturbance in Johannesburg. Back on U.S. soil, the reporter’s frightening experience put a human face on the distant reality of apartheid in South Africa.

Focused on Racial Issues in the United States

ABC’s commitment to cover issues more relevant to minorities culminated in its decision to develop Black in White America, a documentary produced, directed, and reported almost entirely by black ABC News staff members. As one of three principle leaders of the project, Simpson was encouraged that Roone Arledge was willing to give them complete editorial control. She told Marc Gunther of the Detroit Free Press that it was “unbelievable…the most exciting project that I’ve been involved in, in my years in broadcasting.”

Unfortunately, some critics were not as enthusiastic about the final product. The documentary series was cancelled, but Simpson was happy to know that at least one person learned that racism still existed, even in the lives of successful black men and women. “He (Arledge] was astounded to find that we still confront that kind of thing,” Simpson told Gunther, “that the badge of color is always there, no matter how high you go, no matter how much you accomplish. There is always someone who will remind you that you’re not quite the same as everybody else.”

Believing that sexism and racism were being ignored at networks and television stations around the country, she took her message to the leaders and fellow members of the industry. At the 1991 Radio Television News Directors Association’s annual convention, she spoke out against the establishment. “There’s a growing concern among many black Americans that there is racial bias and racial insensitivity in our news coverage,” Television Digest reported. “It’s everywhere and it seems to be getting more pervasive.”

Known as an outspoken critic of problems facing women and minorities in America, Simpson is also respected by her peers for her superior journalistic abilities. In 1992 the National Association of Black Journalists named her journalist of the year. Yet, Simpson is not sure that broadcast journalism is the best place to effect change. “I’d like to go back to Chicago and run for Congress,” Simpson confessed to Daley. “It’s always been an ambition of mine. After all these years of covering Washington, reporting on problems and issues, it would be satisfying to get involved in the process on the other side.”

Sources

Boston Globe, October 18, 1992, p. 77.

Chicago Tribune, October 21, 1973; September 27, 1976; August 18, 1988, sec. 5, p. 1.

Detroit Free Press, October 24, 1988; August 14, 1989; August 27, 1989; June 22, 1990; December 14, 1990; October 16, 1992.

Ebony, June 1971, pp. 168, 170; January 1979, p. Ill; November 1992, p. 82. Jet, April 30, 1990, p. 12.

Los Angeles Sentinel, October 1, 1987; April 19, 1990.

New York Times, October 19, 1992, p. C16.

Television Digest, October 7, 1991.

Time, October 26, 1992.

USA Today, December 14, 1988, p. A7; August 24, 1992; October 15, 1992.

Wall Street Journal, August 21, 1989.

—Joe Kuskowski

SIMPSON, Carole 1940–

(Carole Simpson Marshall, Carole Estelle Simpson)

PERSONAL

Full name, Carole Estelle Simpson; born December 7, 1940, in Chicago, IL; daughter of Lytle Ray and Doretha Viola (maiden name, Wilbon) Simpson; married James Edward Marshall (an engineer), September 3, 1966; children: Mallika Joy Marshall, Adam Marshall. Education: University of Michigan, B.A., 1962; University of Iowa, M.A., 1965; attended the University of Illinois, 1958–60.

Addresses: Office— ABC News, 1717 DeSales St. Northwest, Washington, DC 20036.

Career: Broadcast journalist, news anchor, and writer. Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, AL, journalism instructor and director of the information bureau, 1962–64; WCFL Radio, Chicago, IL, news reporter, anchor, movie reviewer, and book reviewer, 1965–68; WBBM Radio, Chicago, IL, reporter, 1968–70; WMAQ–TV, Chicago, IL, news reporter, 1970–74; Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, journalism instructor, 1972–74; NBC News, correspondent, c. 1974–82; ABC News, senior correspondent, beginning 1982, chair of ABC News women's advisory board, beginning 1986, weekend anchor, beginning c. 1988. Worked at the University of Iowa at the WSUI campus radio station and as an intern. Lecturer at various venues. Trustee of the Freedom Forum's Newseum. Administers broadcast journalism and other scholarships at the University of Michigan in her name; created Carole Simpson Leadership Institute at the African Women's Media Center, Dakar, Senegal. Also known as Carole Simpson Marshall and Carole Estelle Simpson.

Member: Radio and Television Correspondents Association (president, 1982–83), Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (member of the board of trustees), National Press Foundation (member of the board of directors), Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press, Society of Professional Journalists (member of the board of directors of the Washington chapter), Fund for Investigative Journalism (member of the board of directors), American University distinguished journalists advisory committee, International Women's Media Foundation (vice chair), National Commission on Working Women (member of the board of directors), Future of Children and Family (National Academy of Sciences forum), University of Michigan alumni board, Theta Sigma Phi.

Awards, Honors: Outstanding Woman in Communications, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, 1974; Emmy Award, c. 1990, for coverage of Nelson Mandela's release; Journalist of the Year, National Association of Black Journalists, 1992; inductee, Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame, 1999; honored by Chicago Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the National Association of Black Journalists, 1999; Du Pont–Columbia Award, for journalism about children at risk; Milestone in Broadcasting Journalism Award, National Commission on Working Women; Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award, Radio–Television News Directors Foundation; National Media Award, National Organization of Women Legislators; AMA Media Journalism Award; Hall of Fame inductee, University of Iowa Communications Hall of Fame; Distinguished Journalist Award, University of Missouri; Star Award, American Women in Radio and Television; Carole Simpson scholarship from the Radio–Television News Directors Foundation given in her name; Trumpet Award, Turner Broadcasting, for scholastic achievement; recipient of several honorary degrees.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Commentator, Our People (public affairs series), WTTW–TV (Chicago, IL), c. 1968–1970.

Anchor, ABC World News Tonight Saturday (also known as World News Tonight Saturday ), ABC, 1988–1993.

Anchor, ABC World News Tonight Sunday (also known as World News Tonight Sunday ), ABC, 1993—.

Host of Her–Rah (public affairs series), WRC–TV (NBC affiliate in Washington, DC).

Television Appearances; Specials:

Anchor, Public Schools in Conflict: A Question of Values, ABC, 1985.

Anchor, Sex, Violence and Values: Changing Images, ABC, 1986.

Reporter, The '88 Vote: Election Night, ABC, 1988.

Reporter, Black in White America, ABC, 1989.

Moderator, The Second Presidential Debate, ABC, 1992.

Growing Up in the Age of AIDS: An ABC News Town Meeting for the Family—with Peter Jennings, ABC, 1992.

Correspondent, Children First: Real Kids, Real Solutions, ABC, 1995.

Correspondent in Chicago, ABC 2000, ABC, 1999.

Herself, Born in My Heart: A Love Story, ABC, 2001.

She Says: Women in News, PBS, 2001.

Also appeared in The Changing American Family, ABC; for ABC affiliates, coanchored news coverage of the Senate impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Narrator, "O. J. Simpson," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1995.

Contributor of "American Agenda" segments to ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings (also known as World News Tonight with Peter Jennings ), ABC. Also appeared in ABC News Nightline (also known as Nightline ), Business World, and 20/20, all ABC.

Radio Appearances:

News anchor, reporter, movie reviewer, and book reviewer for WCFL Radio, Chicago, IL, 1965–68; reporter for WBBM Radio, Chicago, IL, 1968–70.

WRITINGS

Teleplays; Specials:

Children First: Real Kids, Real Solutions, ABC, 1995.

Wrote column "On My Mind" for ABCNEWS.com.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 30, Gale, 2001.

Notable Black American Women, Book 1, Gale, 1992.

Periodicals:

Quill, June, 1994, pp. 24–28.