Susan Stamberg, a pioneering journalist and the first female broadcaster to host a national news program, died on Oct. 16 at 87 years old. Her influence remains extremely impactful.

Stamberg started at NPR in the 1970s and started hosting the news program “All Things Considered” in 1972. Having no one to reference except for men, she started out by imitating them. One way she did that was by lowering her voice. After being told to “be herself,” her strong New York accent came through. Stamberg coined the phrase “Founding Mothers,” referring to herself and the three other women that helped create NPR, Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg and Linda Wertheimer.

Stamberg not only broke new ground for women in journalism, but was also able to create more Jewish representation in national news broadcastings. Although being a woman was a concern for producers, who were trying to gain a Midwest audience, her New York accent, mentioned previously, was also brought up as a concern because she sounded “too Jewish.” Despite these concerns, Stamberg went on air anyway, and quickly became a well-loved NPR icon. Her voice guides visitors from floor to floor in the elevator of NPR’s headquarters in Washington D.C.

After “All Things Considered,” Stamberg went on to host “Weekend Edition Sunday” and then continued on to become a cultural correspondent for “Morning Edition” and “Weekend Edition Saturday.” In 1979, she also hosted a radio call-in program with then-president Jimmy Carter from the Oval Office, giving callers a chance to speak to the president directly. She was also inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and given a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Along with this, she interviewed many impactful figures such as Rosa Parks, Annie Lebowitz and Nancy Reagan.

Stamberg created a space for women in journalism and communications, a field where women now hold many positions and continue to grow the industry even more, including this very publication.