# Lee Thornton > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lee_Thornton > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lee_Thornton.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Thornton > Source revision: 1356651040 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Lee Thornton**, (November 14, 1941 – September 25, 2013) was an American journalist and correspondent for [CBS](/source/CBS), [CNN](/source/CNN), [NPR](/source/NPR), and professor at [Howard University](/source/Howard_University) and the [University of Maryland](/source/University_of_Maryland). She was also the first [African American](/source/African_American) woman to cover the [White House](/source/White_House). She was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2013.[1] ## Personal Lee Thornton was born on November 14, 1941, in [Leesburg, Virginia](/source/Leesburg,_Virginia).[2] She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1959 and from the former District of Columbia Teachers College. In 1968, she graduated with a master's degree in rhetoric and public address from Michigan State University and earned a doctorate at Northwestern University in 1973.[1] She died on September 25, 2013, due to [pancreatic cancer](/source/Pancreatic_cancer).[3] ## Career Lee Thornton started working for CBS in 1974.[4] In 1977, CBS promoted her to report on President Jimmy Carter's Administration and she became the first African American woman to cover the White House. Afterward, she was at a CBS affiliate in Detroit before joining National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" news program as a weekend host in 1982.[5] After hosting NPR news program, she went to Howard University to be a professor of broadcast journalism.[6] After a brief time at Howard, she went to the University of Maryland, College Park to teach at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism in 1997.[7] She was the interim dean of the College of Journalism in 2008 and 2009 and retired in 2011.[8] In 2008, Lee Thornton was the first Eaton Broadcast Chair and served as an interim dean, which made her the second African American Woman to be a dean.[9] She was a dean until 2009 and in 2010 she left teaching to serve as the University's Interim Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity.[10] ## Notable works of journalism Lee Thornton was posthumously inducted into the NABJ Hall of fame on January 16, 2014.[11] She was recognized as the first African-American woman to cover the White House for a main TV network called CBS News in 1974. In 1982, For NPR's "All Things Considered", she was the first black host for the radio program.[9] In 1997, Lee Thornton joined Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. She produced several programs but one in particular was the "Front and Center" program.[4] ## Context Lee Thornton was also known for how she taught students journalism at Howard University and the University of Maryland.[1] At the University of Maryland, College Park, she was able to produce multiple shows on the University's channel UMTV.[9] One show in particular that she helped start was called "Front and Center".[11] "Front and Center" was an award-winning series that showed interviews of fellow journalists. This particular show was on the University's channel and was also on national television.[11] The show was also covered internationally on [WorldNet](/source/WorldNet).[9] ## Impact She was known as the first African American Woman to cover the White House for CBS News and one of the women, along with [Helen Thomas](/source/Helen_Thomas) who "broke barriers" for all women in the White House.[3][12] An example of careers influenced by Thornton are Robin Roberts, the first black woman to be an anchor on [ESPN](/source/ESPN), Athena Jones of [CNN](/source/CNN), who as an African American woman covered the [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump) administration, and [Soledad O'Brien](/source/Soledad_O'Brien), a Latina reporter who covered the White House and national.[13][14] ## Awards - NABJ Hall of Fame (2013) Lee Thornton was awarded for both her teaching and contributions to journalism. She was posthumously[15] inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame in 2013.[16] In 2011, she was named the University of Maryland's "Outstanding Woman of the Year."[10][17] In addition, a scholarship in her name was established in 2017 by [Radio Television Digital News Association](/source/Radio_Television_Digital_News_Association).[18] ## See also - [National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame](/source/National_Association_of_Black_Journalists_Hall_of_Fame) ## References 1. McArdle, Terence & Bernstein, Adam (October 1, 2013). ["Obituaries: Lee Thornton"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/2013/10/01/9aa99e86-291a-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html). *Washington Post* 1. ["Lee Thornton, Ex-White House Reporter, Dies at 71"](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/business/media/lee-thornton-ex-white-house-reporter-dies-at-71.html). *The New York Times*. 3 October 2013. 1. ["Lee Thornton, pioneering television journalist who covered White House for CBS, dies - The Boston Globe"](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2013/10/03/lee-thornton-pioneering-television-journalist-who-covered-white-house-for-cbs-dies/1Y3ogLnbCIBoRDCdjMl2sL/story.html). *[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)* 1. ["Lee Thornton, Famed Journalist and Former NPR Host, Dies - Black Voice News"](http://www.blackvoicenews.com/2013/09/30/lee-thornton-famed-journalist-and-former-npr-host-dies/). 30 September 2013. 1. ["Lee Thornton, pioneering television journalist who covered White House for CBS, dies"](https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2013/10/03/lee-thornton-pioneering-television-journalist-who-covered-white-house-for-cbs-dies/). 3 October 2013. 1. ["Colleagues, Students, Graduates Remember Journalism Professor"](http://www.wbal.com/article/103007/53/Colleagues-Students-Graduates-Remember-Journalism-Professor) 1. ["Lee Thornton, Journalist and University of Maryland Educator, Dies"](http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/09/29/lee-thornton-journalist-and-university-of-maryland-educator-dies/) 1. ["Merrill College Honors the Memory of Dr. Lee Thornton"](https://merrill.umd.edu/2013/09/thornton/). 27 September 2013. 1. ["NABJ Pays Tribute to the Late Dr. Lee Thornton - National Association of Black Journalists"](http://www.nabj.org/news/143751/News-Release-NABJ-Pays-Tribute-to-the-Late-Dr.-Lee-Thornton.htm). *www.nabj.org* 1. ["Merrill Professor Named Maryland "Woman of the Year""](https://merrill.umd.edu/2011/03/merrill-prof-named-maryland-woman-of-the-year/). 30 March 2011. 1. ["Dr. Lee Thornton Posthumously Inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame"](https://merrill.umd.edu/2014/01/thornton_nabj/). 23 January 2014. 1. Memmott, Mark (30 September 2013). ["Remembering Lee Thornton, Who Broke Barriers In Journalism"](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/09/30/227748578/remembering-lee-thornton-who-broke-barriers-in-journalism). *NPR* 1. ["CNN Profiles - Athena Jones - White House Correspondent - CNN"](http://www.cnn.com/profiles/athena-jones-profile). *CNN* 1. Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (25 November 2013). ["The Era of the Black Woman"](http://www.theroot.com/the-era-of-the-black-woman-1790899074) 1. ["Preeminent Journalists to Be Recognized at Annual Ceremony - National Association of Black Journalists"](http://www.nabj.org/news/144906/Preeminent-Journalists-to-Be-Recognized-at-Annual-Ceremony.htm). *www.nabj.org*. Retrieved 2018-02-24. 1. ["Groundbreaking White House Reporter Dies"](http://www.diversityinc.com/news/groundbreaking-white-house-reporter-dies/). 4 October 2013. 1. ["Lee Thornton, First African American Woman to Cover the White House for TV, Has Died"](http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/lee-thornton-first-african-american-woman-to-cover-the-white-house-for-tv-has-died/199386). *www.adweek.com*. 27 September 2013. 1. ["RTDNF announces Lee Thornton Scholarship endowment"](https://www.rtdna.org/article/rtdnf_announces_lee_thornton_scholarship_endowment). *www.rtdna.org* ## External links - [National Association of Black Journalists](http://www.nabj.org/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lee Thornton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Thornton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Thornton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.