NPR 'founding mother' Susan Stamberg has died

Enlarge this image toggle caption MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, died Thursday at the age of 87.

Few figures have informed the sensibility of NPR more than Stamberg. Colleagues considered her a mentor, a yenta, a founding mother — always tough, and always true to herself.

Stamberg is survived by her son, the actor Josh Stamberg, and her granddaughters Vivian and Lena.

NPR host Scott Simon contended she was the first real human being to host a regular evening newscast. Stamberg even knit while sitting in front of the microphone at All Things Considered.

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Stamberg's stories and segments over the decades spanned the human experience, from examining matters of state to illuminating pointillist details of artistic achievement. She would be recognized by her peers with honors from the National Radio Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and more. She retired in September.

Such a reception was not guaranteed when NPR hired Stamberg before its broadcast debut more than five decades ago. She originally was assigned to cut audio tape — it was literally tape back then — with a single-sided razor blade.

Women didn't yet have a clear place in broadcast journalism, finding themselves sidelined and dismissed at major television networks and even in radio.

At the outset, Stamberg and another of NPR's "founding mothers," Linda Werthei