Barbara Walters, who died Friday at 93, was remembered for her tenacious journalism that blazed a trail for women in the industry.
As word of her death spread, memories of, and tributes to, Ms. Walters flooded social media.
Robert A. Iger, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC News, said on Twitter that Ms. Walters “was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself.”
Journalists across the country recalled on Friday night the effect that Ms. Walters had on their careers, directly and indirectly. Many said her interviews were models for good journalistic practices. Others marveled at the bravery she displayed when sitting across from some of the world’s most powerful people. And numerous others described Ms. Walters as a “trailblazer” who helped carve a path for women in the news industry.
Oprah Winfrey recalled how Ms. Walters had been an early inspiration.
In a local Miss Fire Prevention Contest that eventually helped Ms. Winfrey land her first broadcasting job at 17, a judge asked what she hoped to do with her life.
“It popped into my head to say my goal was to be a TV journalist,” she once said in an interview in her magazine, Oprah. Asked what kind of journalist, she recalled saying: “I want to be like Barbara Walters.”
“Without Barbara Walters there wouldn’t have been me — nor any other woman you see on evening, morning, and daily news,” Ms. Winfrey wrote in her tribute on Friday. “She was indeed a Trailblazer.”
David Muir, an anchor for ABC News, wrote on Twitter that “so often we toss around the words icon, legend, trailblazer — but Barbara Walters was all of these.” He added that “above all else, Barbara Walters was brave.” Robin Roberts, an anchor on “Good Morning America,” said that she was “forever grateful for her stellar example and for her friendship.”
Deborah Roberts, an ABC News correspondent, said on Twitter that she would never forget when Ms. Walters called to offer her a job on the newsmagazine show “20/20,” calling it an honor to share the set.
Dan Rather, the former network news anchor, said that Ms. Walters “outworked, outthought, and out-hustled her competitors.”
“The world of journalism has lost a pillar of professionalism, courage, and integrity,” Mr. Rather said.
Maria Shriver, a former NBC News anchor, described Ms. Walters as a mentor and a friend.
“So many women broke into the news business because she did her job well,” Ms. Shriver wrote on Twitter.
Meghan McCain, a former host of “The View,” said on Twitter that Ms. Walters’s “hard hitting questions & welcoming demeanor made her a household name and leader in American journalism.”
Star Jones, one of the original co-hosts of “The View,” wrote: “I owe Barbara Walters more than I could ever repay.”
Ms. Walters’s impact reached beyond journalism, as actors, athletes and others remembered her ability to be fearless during interviews — and her sense of humor.
Monica Lewinsky said that she had first met Ms. Walters in 1998, amid the impeachment scandal following President Bill Clinton’s sexual involvement with Ms. Lewinsky during the time she was a White House intern. “She was the very first person with whom I ever sat for a television interview,” Ms. Lewinsky wrote on Twitter.
When speaking to Ms. Walters then, she remarked that it was the first time she had ever been in “serious trouble.”
“I’d basically been a good kid,” she said, “got good grades, didn’t do drugs, never shoplifted.” She recalled Ms. Walters saying without missing a beat: “Monica, next time shoplift.”
The actor Hugh Jackman said that Ms. Walters was “wickedly funny, endlessly curious, generous, open hearted and a good friend.”
“She also gave some of the most memorable dinner parties we’ve ever been to,” he wrote on Facebook.
Don Lemon, the CNN anchor, said that “sitting next to her at a dinner party was the best seat in the house.”
“She was obviously amazing on television,” he wrote on Facebook. “But I selfishly loved spending time with her in person.”
The N.B.A. Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said that she never flinched when questioning the world’s most powerful people. “She held them accountable,” he wrote on Twitter. “She cared about the truth and she made us care too. Fortunately, she inspired many other journalists to be just as unrelenting.”
Rosie O’Donnell, another former host of “The View,” said she was sad to hear of Ms. Walters’s death and recalled the many Broadway shows they had attended together.
“Whenever we’d go backstage, I’d, like, try to help her, you know, over the steps backstage,” Ms. O’Donnell said on Instagram. “And she would always smack my hand and tell me to leave her alone.”
“She knew what she was doing,” she added, saying that she wished Ms. Walters would be remembered for the “barriers she broke down for women.”
Juston Jones contributed reporting.
