Linda Wertheimer

March 19, 1943

Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States

Wertheimer traveled to London after her graduation to work as an intern for the British Broadcasting Corporation. During her time as a production secretary, she was able to learn her craft of writing and producing for radio. After two years she returned home to the US and pursued a reporting job at NBC. As was the climate of the times, during the interview the male executive basically told her there was no place for her on the air, and it would be best if she became a researcher. After reading him the riot act, she left his office in a fury. After calming down, she took a researcher post at WCBS Radio in New York, deciding it would be a good stepping stone toward her dream of reporting. Over time, she was promoted to the posts of newswriter and producer. Wertheimer took two years off after marrying, then in 1971, she learned of a newly-formed radio network, National Public Radio. She was hired and worked with a number of other women there, including respected journalist Nina Totenberg, the network’s legal correspondent. In May of 1971, NPR launched the program All Things Considered, which broadcast in-depth news stories, as well as more colorful features. Wertheimer directed several of the initial programs, but quit after a few weeks, deciding it was time to pursue her reporting career. Her first reports were on issues that concerned consumers, then she began serving as the station's Congressional correspondent. Wertheimer's forte was taking what was often complicated (and sometimes convoluted) Congressional legislation and breaking it down in layman's terms, then passing it on to the public. She could be tough on politicians with her questions, knowing that they were often the questions the listeners wanted to ask. In 1976 Wertheimer moved on to the larger political arena, reporting on other political stories for NPR, including four presidential races. In 1989 Wertheimer left her reporting post to sit behind the microphone as one of three hosts of All Things Considered, a role in which she would continue for thirteen years. In 2002, she became NPR's first senior national correspondent. When National Public Radio reached its twenty-fifth anniversary, Wertheimer edited hundreds of interview and essay transcripts, put them in chronological order, each with an introduction written by her, then had them published as Listening to America: Twenty-Five Years in the Life of a Nation as Heard on National Public Radio (1995).

Linda Wertheimer Edit Profile

also known as Linda Cozby

broadcaster journalist author

Background

Linda Wertheimer was born Linda Cozby on March 19, 1943, in Carlsbad, New Mexico, to June and Miller Cozby, a grocery store operator and owner.

Education

Linda graduated from Wellesley College in 1965.

Career

Wertheimer traveled to London after her graduation to work as an intern for the British Broadcasting Corporation. During her time as a production secretary, she was able to learn her craft of writing and producing for radio. After two years she returned home to the US and pursued a reporting job at NBC. As was the climate of the times, during the interview the male executive basically told her there was no place for her on the air, and it would be best if she became a researcher.

After reading him the riot act, she left his office in a fury. After calming down, she took a researcher post at WCBS Radio in New York, deciding it would be a good stepping stone toward her dream of reporting. Over time, she was promoted to the posts of newswriter and producer. Wertheimer took two years off after marrying, then in 1971, she learned of a newly-formed radio network, National Public Radio. She was hired and worked with a number of other women there, including respected journalist Nina Totenberg, the network’s legal correspondent.

In May of 1971, NPR launched the program All Things Considered, which broadcast in-depth news stories, as well as more colorful features. Wertheimer directed several of the initial programs, but quit after a few weeks, deciding it was time to pursue her reporting career. Her first reports were on issues that concerned consumers, then she began serving as the station's Congressional correspondent. Wertheimer's forte was taking what was often complicated (and sometimes convoluted) Congressional legislation and breaking it down in layman's terms, then passing it on to the public.

She could be tough on politicians with her questions, knowing that they were often the questions the listeners wanted to ask. In 1976 Wertheimer moved on to the larger political arena, reporting on other political stories for NPR, including four presidential races. In 1989 Wertheimer left her reporting post to sit behind the microphone as one of three hosts of All Things Considered, a role in which she would continue for thirteen years. In 2002, she became NPR's first senior national correspondent.

When National Public Radio reached its twenty-fifth anniversary, Wertheimer edited hundreds of interview and essay transcripts, put them in chronological order, each with an introduction written by her, then had them published as Listening to America: Twenty-Five Years in the Life of a Nation as Heard on National Public Radio (1995).

Achievements

Linda Wertheimer is particularly known as the host of All Things Considered, the audience of which, due to Linda's talent, grew to record levels, from six million listeners in 1989 to nearly 10 million listeners by 2001, making it one of the top five shows in U.S. radio.

Linda Wertheimer has received a number of awards for her work, including a special Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University citation for hosting the first live broadcast ever held from the Senate chamber, when in 1978, debates were held concerning the Panama Canal Treaty. In 1988 the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gave her an award for her anchoring of The Iran-Contra Affair: A Special Report, congressional hearings which the station broadcast in a series of forty-one half-hour programs. Also, in 1992 the American Women in Radio and TV honored her for her story, “Illegal Abortion.”

Works

Listening to America: Twenty-Five Years in the Life of a Nation, As Heard on National Public Radio Listening to America: Twenty-Five Years in the Life of a Nation, As Heard on National Public Radio

book
- Listening to America: Twenty-Five Years in the Life of a Nation, As Heard on National Public Radio
  (Gathers interviews and commentary from each year, chronic...)
  1995

Views

Quotations: “I think what happens now is that the young women get the first job, the next job, and achieve some level of success. But at some point, they hit a wall and they find out that until and unless a substantial number of mostly white men die, they may not be able to move up.”

Personality

Linda told to New York Times that her pursuit of a career in journalism was inspired by NBC-TV correspondent Pauline Frederick doing a report from Russia, a rare occurrence for women in broadcasting at that time.

Connections

Linda is married to Fred Wertheimer.

Father:: Miller Cozby
Mother:: June Cozby
husband:: Fred Wertheimer

References

Contemporary Authors New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, TV, & Other Fields, Vol. 193 In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series brings researchers the most recent data on the worlds most-popular authors.
2010

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