Paul Welden Duke (October 16, 1926 — July 18, 2005) was an American newspaper, radio and television journalist, best known for his 20-year stint as moderator of Washington Week in Review on PBS.
Early life and education
Duke was born in Pennsylvania to Frank W. Duke (1888–1945) and Flossie C. Duke (1889–1952; née Mills). Both his parents hailed from Hanover County, Virginia and the family moved back to Virginia soon after Paul was born. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where he worked at radio station WMBG during high school. After graduating high school, Duke attended the University of Richmond where he majored in English.
Career
After he graduated in 1947, he became a sportswriter for Associated Press (AP) in Richmond. Within a few years, he was reporting on major national stories, particularly the struggle for civil rights. His byline became known nationally and, after ten years with the organization, AP rewarded him with a permanent assignment to its Washington bureau.
He covered the 1960 Presidential campaign for The Wall Street Journal (which he had joined the previous year) and in 1963 joined NBC News as a Capitol Hill reporter. After 11 years with the network, he moved to PBS to become their esteemed low-key moderator of Washington Week In Review. He was at first overall anchor of National Public Affairs Center for Television, and co-anchored with Jim Lehrer, their coverage of the impeachment hearings of Richard Nixon. The previous host, Duke's former NBC colleague, Robert MacNeil, had given up his post to start PBS' nightly news and analysis program The Robert MacNeil Report. Duke continued his hosting duties for a record twenty years, as Washington Week in Review became the longest-running series on PBS, won an Emmy Award and gained an audience of 4.6 million. From 1980 to 1984, Duke also hosted The Lawmakers, a show on PBS about Congress.