Marlene Sanders
Marlene Sanders (January 10, 1931 – July 14, 2015) was an American television news correspondent, anchor, producer, and executive who advanced women's participation in broadcast journalism during its early professionalization.[1][2] Sanders joined ABC News as a correspondent in the mid-1960s, where she became the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast in 1964 while substituting for Ron Cochran and the first female network correspondent to report from Vietnam in 1966, delivering on-the-ground coverage amid a male-dominated field.[2][3] She later moderated the 1976 vice presidential debate between Bob Dole and Walter Mondale, marking another milestone as the first woman in that role, and ascended to vice president of ABC News in 1976, the first woman appointed to such a network executive position.[4] In 1978, she transitioned to CBS News as a documentary producer and correspondent for CBS Reports, earning three Emmy Awards for her investigative work before departing in 1987.[5] Sanders' career, spanning from field reporting to production and leadership, exemplified persistence in overcoming gender barriers without notable public controversies, though her era's institutional resistance to female advancement was evident in limited opportunities for women in television news.[1][6]