Bob Woodruff
Bob Woodruff | |
|---|---|
 Bob Woodruff, 2007-08-12 | |
| Born | Robert Warren Woodruff August 18, 1961 |
| Occupation | Television Journalist |
| Notable credit(s) | ABC World News co-anchor (2006) ABC News reporter (1996–present) |
| Spouse | Lee Woodruff |
| Website | http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=127761 |
Robert Warren "Bob" Woodruff (born August 18, 1961 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) is an American television journalist. Although his journalism career dates back to 1989, he is most widely known for briefly replacing Peter Jennings as co-anchor of ABC News' weekday news broadcast, World News Tonight in January 2006 — and, later that month, becoming the first American news anchor to be wounded in a war zone when he was nearly killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
As a journalist Woodruff has covered a number of recent events and topics, including:
- Senator John Edwards' campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination
- Death of Pope John Paul II
- Operation Iraqi Freedom
- North Korea and Iran
- Hurricane Katrina
- 2006 Palestinian elections
Personal life
Woodruff's parents are Robert and Fran Woodruff. Bob and his wife Lee have four children. He is not related to journalist Judy Woodruff.
He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he graduated from the private Cranbrook Kingswood school in 1979. He earned a B.A. from Colgate University in 1983 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1987. He is an alumnus of Theta Chi Fraternity.
After graduating from law school, he worked as a bankruptcy associate at Shearman & Sterling.[1] In 1989, while teaching law in Beijing, CBS News hired Woodruff as an on-screen interpreter during the Tiananmen Square incident. Shortly after this experience, he left the practice of law and became a full-time correspondent, initially working for several local stations, then moving to ABC News in 1996.[2]
Wounded in Iraq
On January 29, 2006, Woodruff and Canadian cameraman Doug Vogt were seriously injured in an explosion from an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Baghdad.[1] Woodruff had traveled with an ABC News team to Israel to report on the aftermath of the 2006 Palestinian elections, and then via Amman to Baghdad, so he could meet with troops before President George W. Bush's State of the Union address for 2006.[2]
At the time of the attack, they were embedded with the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, travelling in an Iraqi MT-LB. Woodruff and Vogt were standing with their heads above a hatch, apparently filming a stand-up. Both men were wearing body armor and protective helmets at the time. Woodruff sustained shrapnel wounds; Vogt was struck by shrapnel in the head and suffered a broken shoulder. Both men underwent surgery for head injuries, with a joint Army & Air Force neurosurgical team, at the U.S. Air Force hospital south of Balad, located in Camp Anaconda, and were reported to be in stable condition.[3] Tom Brokaw reported on the Today show that Woodruff had also undergone surgery, with a portion of his skull being removed to reduce the damage from brain swelling.[4]
Woodruff and Vogt were evacuated to the United States Army Medical Command hospital at Landstuhl, Germany overnight on Sunday, January 29.[5] On ABC World News Tonight that evening, anchor Elizabeth Vargas talked about the dangers of reporting in a combat zone and wished Woodruff and Vogt well in recovery.
After leaving Germany, Woodruff was treated for weeks at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Despite the removal of part of his skull, his friend and colleague Martha Raddatz reported that he was not believed to have suffered major disfigurement.[6]
Recovery from injuries
Woodruff was kept in a medically-induced coma for several weeks to assist his recovery, and ABC News temporarily assigned Good Morning America anchors Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer to alternate duties on the evening newscast as co-anchor with Vargas. Vogt meanwhile was reported to be awake, mobile, and recovering.[7]
As of March 7, 2006, Woodruff's brother reported that the ABC anchor was beginning to walk, recognize friends and family, and speak in several languages.[8] Woodruff was transferred on March 16, 2006 to a medical facility closer to his Westchester County, New York home, a sign of "continued progress in all respects," ABC News President David Westin said in an e-mail to ABC staffers.[9] Westin's email noted that Woodruff was able to get around, talk to and joke with his family, but that "months of further recuperation" were still required.
On April 6, 2006, ABC News released photos of Woodruff recovering at home, along with a letter thanking everyone for their support and kindness during his ongoing recovery. He especially thanked the soldiers, doctors, and nurses who had saved his life. [3]
On December 29, 2006, Woodruff's wife, Lee, an editor at Family Fun Magazine appeared on Good Morning America to discuss family activities to celebrate the New Year. During the report, anchor Kate Snow asked Lee about her husband's condition. Lee said that Bob was doing well and was currently filming a television documentary about his experiences. She also revealed that he had been back to Iraq since the incident to visit the soldiers with whom he was traveling at the time of his injury.
Consequences of his absence
His extended absence after his injury, and Vargas's announcement of her pregnancy, led to consternation and infighting within ABC, according to insiders. Longtime ABC icon Diane Sawyer, given temporary anchoring duties along with veteran Charles Gibson, was said to covet a permanent anchor assignment, especially since CBS News hired NBC's Katie Couric as a replacement for interim CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer.[10]
ABC's World News Tonight remained second in the Nielsen Media Research rankings, though it has lost some ground to NBC's first-place Nightly News, anchored by Brian Williams. Schieffer also closed the gap with ABC after Woodruff's injury.[9]
On May 23 2006, Vargas announced her resignation from WNT, citing her doctors' recommendation to cut back her schedule considerably due to her upcoming maternity leave, and her wish to spend more time with her new baby. Gibson was then named sole anchor of the show, effective May 29, 2006.[11]
Return to air
On February 27, 2007, Woodruff appeared on Good Morning America, ABC World News with Charles Gibson, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, in advance of a documentary that aired on ABC later that evening. Despite having made great progress in his recovery, during the GMA interview with Diane Sawyer, Woodruff had some difficulty remembering words and details, such as the name of the Vietnam War and the word "injury". The hour-long documentary, called "To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports", explored the consequences of traumatic brain injury, and highlighted the difficulties brain injured veterans face finding treatment — a subject which had first appeared in Discover magazine several weeks earlier,[12] and was elaborated on by Washington Post reporters in the exposé, "Painting Over the Problems at Walter Reed's Building 18."
Woodruff resumed his contributions to ABC World News with Charles Gibson on February 28 with the first in a series of followup reports focusing on the problems that wounded American soldiers are encountering in their treatment and recovery, particularly at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Starting March 7, he will be reporting for Nightline "at regular intervals".[13]
Book
In February of 2007, Woodruff and his wife published an account of their lives after Bob's injury. In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing details the beginnings of Woodruff's journalism career and the building of Bob and Lee's family. The book delves into the explosion in Iraq that affected his family and focuses on Bob's lengthy, ongoing recovery. A percentage of the proceeds are donated to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.
2008 Commencement
On March 3, 2008, it was announced that Woodruff would be delivering the 2008 commencement address to graduates of Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). Woodruff gave the address May 11, 2008 at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome.
He also received an honorary degree and delivered a commencement at the University of Michigan Spring Graduation on April 26, 2008.
Awards
Woodruff has received numerous journalism awards, including:
- Radio and Television Association's David Bloom Award for Excellence in Enterprise (2006)
- Peabody Award for Bob Woodruff Reporting: Wounds of War - The Long Road Home for Our Nation's Veterans (2007)
- Los Angeles Press Club's Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism (2008)
References
- ^ "ABC's Bob Woodruff seriously injured in Iraq". MSNBC. January 29, 2006.
- ^ "Reflections from the Woodruff Team in Baghdad". ABC News. January 29, 2006.
- ^ "ABC's Woodruff, Cameraman Injured in Iraq". ABC News. 29 January 2006.
- ^ "ABC's Woodruff Injured in Iraq". E! Online. 30 January 2006.
- ^ "ABC anchor, cameraman in Iraq in stable condition". CNN. 29 January 2006.
- ^ "Wounded ABC team on way to hospital". CNN. 31 January 2006.
- ^ "Changes at ABC, Where the War Is More Than News". New York Times. 4 February 2006.
- ^ "ABC's Woodruff able to speak, starting to walk". CNN. 7 March 2006.
- ^ a b ABC's Woodruff Transferred from Naval Hospital, Making Progress, a March 2006 article from Editor & Publisher
- ^ http://tmz.aol.com/article2?id=20060306121309990001
- ^ "Charles Gibson Named Sole Anchor of 'World News Tonight'". Retrieved 2006-05-23.
- ^ Dead Men Walking | Mental Health | DISCOVER Magazine
- ^ Nightline daily email, March 7, 2007 Since returning to air the majority of his news stories have been about war victims and injury. Unfortunately it seems he has been pigeon holed in to the role of the sympathetic reporter who knows what you have been through because I have lived it himself.
External links
- Bob Woodruff at the Internet Movie Database
- Vargas, Woodruff Named Co-Anchors of ABC's 'World News Tonight' ABC.com. December 5, 2005.
- Vargas, Woodruff to share anchor desk at ABC MSNBC. December 5, 2005.
- Official ABC biography
- Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury
- Brain Injury Association of America
- In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing - Book Review