Trailblazing Broadcaster Ann Arnold Passes Away

Texas Association of Broadcasters President Ann Arnold passed away over the weekend following a fight with leukemia. Colleagues refer to Arnold as a groundbreaking journalist and tenacious leader.

The 67-year-old journalist served as TAB president for 25 years. Arnold also served as the first female press secretary to a Texas Governor – Gov. Mark White in the 1980s. And that’s in addition to stints  heading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's capitol bureau, and serving as a capitol correspondent for United Press International.

"She was an extraordinary woman brimming with passion for the broadcast industry and American democracy. Her advocacy in Austin and Washington made a profound difference for broadcasters and we are all better for it," TAB Vice President Oscar Rodriguez says in a statement about Arnold’s death.

"She had so many talents, good judgment, a truth-teller, great political sense, humor — and her spirit was never broken by the cancer and other personal tragedies that she endured," former Gov. White tells the Austin American-Statesman.

Arnold leaves behind two sons and a sister. Plans for a memorial are still being made.