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Robin Toner

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Robin Toner
BornMay 22, 1954
DiedDecember 12, 2008(2008-12-12) (aged 54)
Resting placeOak Hill Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma materSyracuse University
Occupationjournalist
EmployerNew York Times
SpousePeter Gosselin
Children2
Parent(s)Charles and Mary Louise Toner

Roberta "Robin" Denise Toner (May 22, 1954 – December 12, 2008) was an American journalist from Pennsylvania. She was the first woman to be national political correspondent for The New York Times.[1]

Biography

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Robin Toner was born on May 22, 1954, in Chester, Pennsylvania and grew up in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania.[2] Her father, Charles, was an oil refinery supervisor and World War II pilot; her mother, Mary Louise, was a homemaker.[3] She graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University in 1976 with a dual major from the College of Arts and Sciences and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.[4]

Toner reported for The Charleston Daily Mail in West Virginia and The Atlanta Journal and Constitution before joining the Times in 1985.[3] In 1996, Toner married economics correspondent Peter G. Gosselin.[5]

In 1992, Toner was the lead reporter on Bill Clinton's presidential election. She later became chief of correspondents on the paper's national desk in New York, coaching reporters in other bureaus, and also had held the title of senior writer, covering topics including abortion rights and judicial nominations.[3]

Death and legacy

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Robin Toner Program logo

Toner died of complications resulting from colon cancer on December 12, 2008, and was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[6]

The Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, awarded annually by Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is named after her,[7] as is the Toner Lecture/Symposium on American politics and political journalism; together they make up the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting, established at Syracuse University in 2009.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Purdum, Todd (December 12, 2008). "Robin Toner, Times Reporter, Is Dead at 54". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Bernstein, Adam (December 13, 2008). "Robin Toner, 54; Veteran New York Times Reporter and Editor". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Associated Press (12/12/2008). "New York Times Reporter Robin Toner Dies at 54".[dead link] The Associated Press.
  4. ^ "Roberta D. Toner | Obituary". Legacy.com.
  5. ^ "WEDDINGS;Robin Toner, Peter G. Gosselin". The New York Times. June 16, 1996. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  6. ^ "Oak Hill Cemetery, Georgetown, D.C. (Terraced Niches and Pathway Crypts) - Dogwood Cremation Niches (3257-3274)" (PDF). oakhillcemeterydc.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "Toner Prize". Tonerprogram.syr.edu. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Ifill, Gwen (March 26, 2015). "Getting On With It". PBS. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
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