Paul Welden Duke (October 16, 1926 — July 18, 2005) was an American newspaper, radio and television

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, best known for his 20-year stint as moderator of ''

Washington Week in Review ''Washington Week'', originally titled as ''Washington Week in Review'' and billed as ''Washington Week with the Atlantic'' since 2023, is an American public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educa ...

'' on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. Duke was born in Pennsylvania to Frank W. Duke (1888–1945) and Flossie C. Duke (1889–1952; née Mills). Both his parents hailed from

Hanover County, Virginia Hanover County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover, Virginia, Hanover. Hanove ...

and the family moved back to Virginia soon after Paul was born. He grew up in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, where he worked at radio station WMBG during high school. After graduating high school, Duke attended the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

where he majored in English. After he graduated in 1947, he became a

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

for

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP) in Richmond. Within a few years, he was reporting on major national stories, particularly the struggle for

Civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. His

byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably '' Reader's ...

became known nationally and, after ten years with the organization, AP rewarded him with a permanent assignment to its

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

bureau. He covered the 1960 Presidential campaign for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' (which he had joined the previous year) and in 1963 joined

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

as a

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

reporter. After 11 years with the network, he moved to

to become their esteemed low-key moderator of ''Washington Week In Review''. The previous host, Duke's former NBC colleague,

Robert MacNeil Robert Breckenridge Ware MacNeil (January 19, 1931 – April 12, 2024), often known as Robin MacNeil, was a Canadian-American journalist, writer and television news anchor. He partnered with Jim Lehrer to create the landmark public televisio ...

, had given up his post to start PBS' nightly news and analysis program '' The Robert MacNeil Report''. Duke continued his hosting duties for a record twenty years, as ''Washington Week in Review'' became the longest-running series on PBS, won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and gained an audience of 4.6 million. From 1980 to 1984, Duke also hosted ''The Lawmakers'', a show on PBS about Congress. Duke retired as a full-time journalist in 1994, but continued to contribute reports to his old program from his new base in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he lived in 1995–1996. He also served as a news analyst for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and provided an

Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke, Order of the British Empire, KBE (né Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the Unite ...

-like weekly radio "Letter from London" to

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

(NPR)'s Washington station WETA. In 1999, upon the dismissal of his successor, Ken Bode, he briefly returned as moderator of ''Washington Week in Review'' until the eventual permanent host,

Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...

, was able to assume her new duties. In 2003, Paul Duke was elected to the

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...

National Governing Board. He was elected to the

National Governing Board in 1998. Paul Duke was 78 when he died of acute

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at his home in Washington, D.C. He had a son, Paul Jr. from his first marriage to Janet Johnston. Since 1985 he had been married to Janet Wachter.

References

External links

* *
Washington Post obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Paul 1926 births 2005 deaths Deaths from acute leukemia The Wall Street Journal people American television journalists Writers from Richmond, Virginia University of Richmond alumni NBC News people Deaths from leukemia in Washington, D.C. American male journalists Journalists from Virginia 20th-century American journalists