Robert Siegel
Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.
In 2010, Siegel was recognized by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism with the John Chancellor Award. Siegel has been honored with three Silver Batons from Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University, first in 1984 for All Things Considered's coverage of peace movements in East and West Germany. He shared in NPR's 1996 Silver Baton Award for "The Changing of the Guard: The Republican Revolution," for coverage of the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. He was part of the NPR team that won a Silver Baton for the network's coverage of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.
Other awards Siegel has earned include a 1997 American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award for the two-part documentary, "Murder, Punishment, and Parole in Alabama" and the National Mental Health Association's 1991 Mental Health Award for his interviews conducted on the streets of New York in an All Things Considered story, "The Mentally Ill Homeless."
Siegel joined NPR in December 1976 as a newscaster and became an editor the following year. In 1979, Siegel became NPR's first staffer based overseas when he was chosen to open NPR's London bureau, where he worked as senior editor until 1983. After London, Siegel served for four years as director of the News and Information Department, overseeing production of NPR's newsmagazines All Things Considered and Morning Edition, as well as special events and other news programming. During his tenure, NPR launched its popular Saturday and Sunday newsmagazine Weekend Edition. He became host of All Things Considered in 1987.
Before coming to NPR, Siegel worked for WRVR Radio in New York City as a reporter, host and news director. He was part of the WRVR team honored with an Armstrong Award for the series, "Rockefeller's Drug Law." Prior to WRVR, he was morning news reporter and telephone talk show host for WGLI Radio in Babylon, New York.
A graduate of New York's Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University, Siegel began his career in radio at Columbia's radio station, WKCR-FM. As a student he anchored coverage of the 1968 Columbia demonstrations and contributed to the work that earned the station an award from the Writers Guild of America East.
Siegel was the editor of The NPR Interviews 1994, The NPR Interviews 1995 and The NPR Interviews 1996, compilations of NPR's most popular radio conversations from each year.
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The Army says at least 12 were killed and 31 people wounded in a pair of shootings at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. An Army spokesman said three shooters were apparently involved.
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The federal government releases its report on the how the economic stimulus has affected employment. The White House says jobs 650,000 have been saved or created under its plan.
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A helicopter crash and a separate collision involving two other choppers killed 14 Americans today. It was one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in the war in Afghanistan.
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The 6-year-old boy feared lost after a hot-air balloon he was believed to be traveling in came down has been found safe in his home. The balloon was owned by the boy's parents; it was tethered behind their house.
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The Social Security Administration says there will be no cost-of-living increase next year for more than 50 million recipients of Social Security. The announcement comes a day after President Obama called for $250 payments for seniors, veterans, retired railroad workers and people with disabilities.
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Now that the Senate Finance Committee has passed its health care overhaul bill, Senate Democratic leaders face the formidable task of pairing it with a more liberal bill passed earlier this year by another Senate committee. Then, they have to take it to the floor for debate.
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G-20 leaders will likely leave Pittsburgh with an agreement to have banks build up their capital reserves while cutting back on bonuses and other forms of compensation. The new capital rules will be phased in and banks would have until the end of 2012 to meet the new requirements.
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President Obama said Tuesday the U.S. was determined to act on climate change, but did not offer any specific proposals on how the country would do so. His comments came at the opening of the U.N. climate summit.
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An official assessment by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, concludes that after eight years, the U.S. and its allies have failed to focus on and win over the Afghan people. He also calls for more troops to ensure victory over the Taliban and al-Qaida.
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President Obama continues Thursday to try to heave his health care plan over the finish line, meeting with moderate Democrats, most of whom are seen as skeptical of his overhaul effort. Seventeen senators will talk to Obama about the blueprint he laid out Wednesday.