Action 2 News anchors remember Barbara Walters

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - People across the globe remember Barbara Walters, the newsmakers and celebrities she sat down with, plus the truths she uncovered. That includes the Action 2 News team.

“She’s synonymous with journalism. Barbara Walters is a journalist,” anchor Cami Rapson reflected.

Anchor Kathryn Bracho said, “It’s hard to believe she won’t be here. She’s been such a part of the journalism world for my entire life.”

Walters made history as the first woman to host an evening news show when she joined ABC in 1976.

“A lot of the women who entered at that time... probably have a story or two where we didn’t really feel entirely welcome in certain spaces,” Rapson said. “That has changed, thankfully. And I think Barbara Walters had a lot to do with that.”

Walters pushed forward despite criticism, even from her own co-anchor.

“Harry Reasoner was not kind to her and she kept going. Even though it must’ve been so difficult every night to go home and think, ‘wow, people may not want me here...’ She kept going back anyway,” Bracho said.

She solidified herself as a steady presence in the homes of many, from her time on 20/20, to creating The View.

“People said yes to her,” Rapson explained. “She interviewed presidents, heads of state, celebrities. She did all of that.”

And she did it in her own style.

“She wasn’t going to fill a silence to make someone else feel comfortable. She would wait for an answer,” Bracho said. “Sometimes when I would get a little nervous about an interview I would think about... okay... channel your inner Barbara Walters!”

Walters leaves behind tips, tricks and ethics for generations of journalists to come.

“We do owe it to those who have gone before us to keep reporting facts, to keep being unbiased, to keep getting all sides of the story,” Rapson said.

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