Robert Siegel

Robert Charles Siegel (born June 26, 1947) is an American retired radio journalist. He was one of the co-hosts of the National Public Radio afternoon news broadcast All Things Considered from 1987 until his retirement in January 2018.

Early life, family and education

Siegel was born June 26, 1947, in New York City, to parents Joseph and Edith Siegel (née Joffe).<ref name="Who's Who">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> His father was a commercial education teacher, and his mother a secretary at Stuyvesant High School.<ref name="cola" /> He grew up at Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> His maternal grandfather claimed to descend from rabbinical scholar Mordechai Yoffe,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Siegel has identified on-air as Jewish. After graduating in 1964 from Stuyvesant,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Siegel studied at Columbia University, graduating from Columbia College in 1968.<ref name="cola" /> During this time, he was an anchor for the reporting of the 1968 Columbia demonstrations at the college radio station, WKCR-FM.<ref name="cola" /> He attended Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for a year.<ref name="cola" />

Career

Siegel's first professional broadcasting job was at WGLI in Babylon, New York, where he "did morning newscasts and a show that was part phone-ins, part Top Forty, all under the pseudonym Bob Charles."<ref name="cola">Template:Cite journal</ref> After graduate school, he worked for WRVR in New York from 1971 to 1976.

Siegel was hired as a newscaster for NPR in Washington, D.C., in 1976,<ref name="cola" /> and he has held various news and production jobs at NPR since then. In broadcasts prior to the Panama Canal Treaty debates, he was referred to as "Bob," rather than his preferred "Robert."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> From 1979 to 1983 he was based in London, making him the first NPR staffer to be based overseas.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite web</ref> Upon his return to America, he became the director of the News and Information Department, and was responsible for overseeing production of both All Things Considered and Morning Edition, as well as the creation of Weekend Edition.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> Starting in 1987, he was a host of All Things Considered. He took a short break in 1992 to host Talk of the Nation, NPR's call-in talk show. In 2010, Siegel was presented with the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Siegel won three Silver Batons from Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University and the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

In April 2017, Siegel announced he would end his time with All Things Considered. His last day on the program was January 5, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Siegel has made cameo appearances in several television shows, including The Simpsons,<ref name="Washingtonian-2017-04-25">Template:Cite news</ref> Northern Exposure, BoJack Horseman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the film Yesterday Was a Lie.

For the weeks of June 5, 2018, and February 17, 2020, Siegel guest-hosted NPR's On Point.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Personal life

In 1973, Siegel married Jane Claudia Schwartz,<ref name="Who's Who" /> who worked for the United States Department of Commerce. They have two daughters, Erica Anne Siegel<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and musician Leah Siegel.<ref name="cola" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Robert Siegel at NPR
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• Silver Screen articles at Blu-ray.com