Bobbie Battista, Early CNN Anchor, Dies at 67
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Bobbie Battista, whose face became synonymous with the cable network known as CNN Headline News, died Tuesday after battling cervical cancer, according to statements from former colleagues and CNN.
“Bobbie was the consummate trooper in her struggle with cancer, she was courageous and fearless in her battle and thoughtful for all the others in her life even as she fought through the pain,” Battista’s husband John Brimelow said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. “My dear partner of 25 years of marriage has cut her earthly bonds and is now in peace.”
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Battista joined CNN in 1981, and was assigned to CNN Headline News, a flanker cable network that delivered a round-up of major headlines over the course of half-hour increments. The network still plays to homes today, albeit under a different name, HLN, and with a focus on true-crime documentaries. A morning program, “Morning Express with Robin Meade,” retains some of the qualities of the format Battista helped lead.
Battista also anchored news programs on the flagship CNN outlet, including “TalkBack Live,” which broadcast in front of a live studio audience in Atlanta. She left CNN in 2001, after the merger of parent Time Warner with AOL.
Before joining CNN Headline News, Battista was an anchor and producer at WRAL in, Raleigh, North Carolina. , where she began her career in 1976. She would work her way up from various anchoring and producer duties to lead the station’s evening news in 1977. In 1981, Battista was the writer and assistant producer for “Fed up with Fear,” a documentary that won a George Foster Peabody Award.
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