Elizabeth Farnsworth (born December 23, 1943) is a journalist, author, and filmmaker. She is a former foreign correspondent and former chief correspondent and principal substitute anchor of PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She has written two books, including a novella,[1] Last Light, which was published by Flint Hills Publishing (March, 2024), and a memoir.[2] Her 2008 documentary, The Judge and the General, (co-directed with Patricio Lanfranco), aired on television around the world, winning many awards.[3] She has reported from Cambodia, Vietnam, Chile, Haiti, Iraq, and Iran, among other places.[4] Having previously lived in Peru, Chile, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. for extended periods, she now lives in Berkeley, California.
Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...
Elizabeth Farnsworth |
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 Elizabeth Farnsworth (2008) |
| Born | (1943-12-23) 23 December 1943 (age 80)
Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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| Nationality | American |
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| Occupation(s) | Author and Journalist |
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| Notable work | Last Light and A Train Through Time – A Life, Real and Imagined |
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Farnsworth was born Elizabeth Fink in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Jane (Mills) Fink (1911- 1953) and H. Bernerd Fink (1909–1999), while her father was stationed at Wold–Chamberlain Naval Air Station during WW II (now known as Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport). From this union, she had one older sister, Marcia (Fink) Anderson (1937–2022). Shortly after Elizabeth's birth, the family moved (1944) back to Topeka, Kansas, where both her parents had been born and raised.[5] Both of her parents are descended from easterners who came to Kansas as pioneers. Farnsworth's mother's great-grandparents were abolitionists.[6] In 1953, when she was 9 years old, her mother died of cancer. Her father remarried in 1955 to a widow, Ruth (Garvey) Cochener, who had three children from her previous marriage.[7]
Farnsworth graduated from Topeka High School in 1961 and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1998.[8] She attended Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1965.[9] She earned an M.A. in Latin American History from Stanford University in 1966. She received an honorary doctorate degree from Colby College (2002)[10] and Washburn University[11][12] (2021).
Farnsworth first appeared regularly on public television in 1975 as a panelist covering Latin America on the national television program "World Press", produced by KQED in San Francisco. In the 1970s and 80's she contributed articles to the San Francisco Chronicle, Foreign Policy, and Mother Jones (magazine), among other publications.[13] With Stephen Talbot she wrote a column, Dispatches, for The Nation.[14] With Eric Leenson and Richard Feinberg, she wrote about the economic blockade against Chile during the years Salvador Allende was president.[15] That research became a book, El Bloqueo Invisible,[16] in Buenos Aires in 1973.
In 1984 she became a contributing correspondent to The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour,[17] later known as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and then PBS News Hour. In 1995 she became chief correspondent and principal substitute anchor,[18] and in 1999 became senior correspondent and head of the San Francisco office.[19] From 1984 until 2005, she reported in print and on television from numerous countries, among them: Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Israel (the West Bank and Gaza), Botswana, Malawi and Turkey.[20]
Farnsworth was a Fellow at the Center for Art Environment of the Nevada Museum of Art from 2010 to 2013. In June 2013 an exhibit, Fracked: North Dakota's Oil boom, featuring photographs by Terry Evans (photographer) and written by Farnsworth,[21] opened at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.[22][23] After a year, the exhibit traveled to the North Dakota Museum of Art, and since then it has traveled to other cities in North Dakota.[24]
Farnsworth is a former member of the Board of Directors of the World Affairs Council (Northern California) and currently a member of that organization's Advisory Committee.[25] She also serves on the Advisory Committee of the UC Berkeley School of Law Human Rights Center.[26]
- 1991 – San Francisco Bay/ Northern CA Area Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement: Writing-program for Thanh’s War, written by KQED's, Elizabeth Farnsworth.[40]
- 2001 – Emmy Awards nomination: PBS NewsHour 4 part 2001 series, AIDS crisis in Bostwana and Malawi, produced by Joanne Elgart, reported by Elizabeth Farnsworth.[41] [42]
- 2008 – Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for The Judge and the General, (a feature-length documentary film about the personal transformation of Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán as he tries to bring Augusto Pinochet to justice for human rights crimes), co-produced by Farnsworth and co-producer/director Patricio Lanfranco. [43] [44]
- 2009 – Emmy Awards nomination for Best Historical Documentary for The Judge and the General, co-produced by Farnsworth and co-producer/director Patricio Lanfranco.[45] [46] [47]
- "A New Life in the United States after "Thanh's War"". Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosely (Interview). Interviewed by Terry Gross. Philadelphia: PBS, WHYY. April 15, 1991. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- "Judge and the General - Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco - Behind the Lens, POV-PBS". pbs.org - POV (Interview). Interviewed by member of POV staff. Berkeley, CA: PBS News. October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- "For a veteran NewsHour journalist, early loss defined her life's journeys". PBS News Hour, NewsHour Bookshelf (Interview). Interviewed by Jeffrey Brown. PBS News Hour. March 23, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- "Fractured: North Dakota's Oil Boom". WTTW, PBS, Science & Nature (Interview). Interviewed by Christine Hurley. WTTW, PBS Chicago: PBS. July 31, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- "KPR Presents: Elizabeth Farnsworth, Last Light". Kansas Public Radio (KPR) Presents (Interview). Interviewed by Laura Lorson. Lawrence, KS: Kansas Public Radio. May 30, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
- "Grey Matter with Michael Krasny, Elizabeth Farnsworth – A Woman of Distinction". Grey Matter with Michael Krasny (podcast) (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Krasny. Novato, CA: Apple Inc. September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- Shimon Peres (Israeli Prime Minister), "Elizabeth Farnsworth interviews Minister Peres of Israel". PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (Interview). Interviewed by Elizabeth Farnsworth. Blair House, Washington DC: American Archive of Public Broadcasting. April 29, 1996. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of the Tibetan people), "Elizabeth Farnsworth interviews Dalai Lama - (view at 47:50 point)". PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (Interview). Interviewed by Elizabeth Farnsworth. Washington DC: American Archive of Public Broadcasting. April 22, 1997. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- Renée Fleming (opera star), "Diva In Demand, Elizabeth Farnsworth talks to soprano Renee Fleming - (view at 41:02 point)". PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (Interview). Interviewed by Elizabeth Farnsworth. WETA-TV, Washington, D.C.: American Archive of Public Broadcasting. October 13, 1999. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- Henry Kissinger (American diplomat), "Kissinger On Chile, Pinochet". Online NewsHour (Interview). Interviewed by Elizabeth Farnsworth. PBS.org, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. February 6, 2001. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- Amos Oz (Israeli writer), "Coping with Conflict: Israeli Author Amos Oz". PBS NewsHour (Interview). Interviewed by Elizabeth Farnsworth. PBS.org, NewsHour. January 23, 2002. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
Jorge Heine. "An Emmy and the general". cigionline.org. CIGI. Retrieved 11 October 2024. The documentary, recently nominated for an Emmy award (the Oscars of the television industry) in the category of "Outstanding Historical Programming,"...
Miranda Ericsson. "Elizabeth Farnsworth: A Train Through Time". tscpl.org. Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Retrieved 17 October 2024. My father, H. Bernerd Fink, was the first baby born in Elmhurst, a neighborhood laid out in a cow pasture of southwest Topeka in 1909, the year of his birth.
Kachel, Brendan (Spring 2008). "In Memoriam". The Shocker. Retrieved 10 September 2024. Farnsworth, Elizabeth (Summer 2002). "Commencement 2002" (PDF Flipbook). issuu.com/colbycollegelibrary. Colby Magazine vol. 91, no. 3: Colby College Libraries. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 10 June 2024. Honorary degrees were presented to …Elizabeth Farnsworth, an award-winning senior correspondent for the Lehrer News Hour;
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) Washburn University Alumni Association and Foundation, Ichabod Magazine (Spring-20-21), "Honorary Degrees - Washburn University conferred honorary degrees on four people during the spring 2021 commencement ceremonies" (page 26): "Elizabeth Farnsworth, Doctor of Humane Letters".
Farnsworth, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Farnsworth". Places Journal. Places Journal. Retrieved 6 August 2024. Her writings have appeared in various publications, including Foreign Policy, World Policy Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Nation and Mother Jones.
Farnsworth, Elizabeth (25 September 2007). "Lake and FeinBerg the Best and the Brightest?". North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). The North American Congress on Latin America. Retrieved 10 September 2024. ...Feinberg collaborated with Elizabeth Farnsworth and Eric Leenson to write the special NACLA Report, "Facing the Blockade," which exposed the full extent of U.S. economic and political aggression against Chile.
Elizabeth Farnsworth; Eric Leenson; Richard Feinberg (1 January 1973). "Chile : el bloqueo invisible". Amazon. Periferia. Retrieved 10 September 2024. "Elizabeth Farnsworth Biography". InfoPlease. Sandbox Networks Inc. Retrieved 22 May 2024. She joined the PBS nightly news program, The MacNeil Lehrer News Hour (now The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer) in 1984 as a contributing correspondent.
Farnsworth, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Farnsworth". Berkeley Human Rights Center. Berkeley Human Rights Center. Retrieved 10 September 2024. She (Farnsworth) is a filmmaker, foreign correspondent, and former chief correspondent and principal substitute anchor of PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
Farnsworth, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Farnsworth Biography". InfoPlease. InfoPlease. Retrieved 10 September 2024. Farnsworth was named chief correspondent and principal substitute anchor in 1995, and in 1999 she became senior correspondent, concentrating on foreign affairs and the arts. She also heads the NewsHour's San Francisco office.
Farnsworth, Elizabeth (June 2013). "Dakota Is Everywhere". Places Journal. Places Journal. Retrieved 10 September 2024. Farnsworth, Elizabeth (August 2014). "Fractured: North Dakota's Oil Boom". North Dakota Museum of Art. North Dakota Museum of Art. Retrieved 10 September 2024. This exhibition was developed by The Field Museum, Chicago, in collaboration with Terry Evans and Elizabeth Farnsworth, Fellows of the Center for Art+Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art...
Christine Hurley (31 July 2013). ""Fractured: North Dakota's Oil Boom"". WTTW (Window to the World). WTTW. Retrieved 10 September 2024. Farnsworth worked with photographer Terry Evans on this Field Museum exhibit.
Dakota Resource Council (1 March 2015). "Fractured: North Dakota's Oil Boom In Bismarck, ND March 3 – 30". Dakota Resource Council. Dakota Resource Council. Retrieved 10 September 2024. The North Dakota Museum of Art is touring Fractured: North Dakota's Oil Boom throughout the State as part of its Rural Arts Initiative program. Fractured opened at NDMOA last August and three sites were selected to host the exhibition. This exhibition will be in Bismarck...
"The Gospel and Guatemala". Internet Movie Database. Internet Movie Database. 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024. "The Gospel and Guatemala" was produced and released by KQED, San Francisco, in 1983, and subsequently aired nationally on PBS in 1985. It was the winner of a 1984 Golden Gate Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival.
John Corry (March 28, 1985). "'Gospel And Guatemala' A Look At Proselytizing". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2024. The documentary is a production of KQED in San Francisco. The producers are Stephen Talbot and Elizabeth Farnsworth.
"Thanh's War". Turner Classic Movies. Turner Classic Movies. 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024. Elizabeth Farnsworth, Director
"The Judge and the General". itvs.org. Independent Television Service. Retrieved 21 September 2024. Her (Farnsworth) documentary Thanh's War (co-directed with John Knoop), which aired on PBS in 1991, garnered a CINE Golden Eagle, among other awards....
"Kansan of the Year award winners 1965-2018". cjonline.com. Just past half-way down the page article in a block of text content beneath a photo show Bill Graves: The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 26 September 2024. Elizabeth Farnsworth, professional
Farnsworth, Elizabeth (21 May 2001). "Aids In Africa-Global Help". PBS. PBS News. Retrieved 10 September 2024. The Africa/AIDS catastrophe has many faces: The sick and dying, the mourners at graveside…
"Program Descriptions of 2010 duPont-Columbia Award Winners". Columbia Journalism School. Columbia Journalism School. Retrieved 11 September 2024. In this superb documentary, Farnsworth and Lanfranco follow one man's transformation as he investigates human rights violations in Chile from the Pinochet era.
Farnsworth, Elizabeth; Lehrer, Jim. "Fighting Back Against HIV in Botswana". pbs.org. Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved 21 September 2024. Now Elizabeth Farnsworth's third report on the AIDS crisis in Africa. Last night, she told of *Botswana's prevention efforts; tonight she reports on the government's efforts to get anti-AIDS drugs to its people.
"The Judge and the General". store.cinemaguild.com. see bullet list of "Festivals & Awards" located about halfway down site pgae: Cinema Guild. Retrieved 11 October 2024. Emmy Nominated, Outstanding Historical Programming-Long Form, 2009
Jorge Heine. "An Emmy and the general". cigionline.org. CIGI. Retrieved 11 October 2024. The documentary, recently nominated for an Emmy award (the Oscars of the television industry) in the category of "Outstanding Historical Programming,"...
