The NPF judges said of her work: “Diane Rehm represents civility and civil discourse and fairness – it’s a hallmark of her show.”

Diane Rehm is a native Washingtonian who began her radio career in 1973 as a volunteer for WAMU 88.5, the NPR member station in Washington, D.C. In 1979, she began hosting WAMU’s local morning talk show, Kaleidoscope, which was renamed The Diane Rehm Show in 1984. The show reaches a weekly on-air audience of more than 2.4 million. Rehm’s innate curiosity is reflected in the topics her program covers, which range from Iraq and the U.S. economy to the art of landscape design and James Joyce’s Ulysses. In 2014, President Barack Obama presented Rehm with the National Humanities Medal. “In probing interviews with everyone from pundits to poets to Presidents, Ms. Rehm’s keen insights and boundless curiosity have deepened our understanding of our culture and ourselves,” the White House said. Rehm’s fourth book, “On My Own,” was just published. In September 2014, Rehm celebrated 35 years as host of The Diane Rehm Show.

2015 W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award
Diane Rehm / NPR