Entertainment
CBS News pays tribute to 60 Minutes producer Katie Spikes after her death aged 53-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro
Her colleagues have paid tribute.
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60 Minutes and CBS news producer Katie Spikes has died aged 53 after suffering from cancer for five years.
Her death was announced during Thursday’s broadcast of CBS Evening News.
Correspondent James Brown said: ‘We here at CBS News have lost a member of our family.’
‘Katie was a talented producer, a beloved colleague, mentor and friend,’ he said.
He went on: ‘
‘All of us here at CBS News extend our deepest sympathies to the family.’
In a statement shared after the broadcast on Thursday, executive producer Bill Owens added: ‘Katie was such an important force on the ninth floor [home of 60 Minutes] that it is hard to put into words.
‘She was the relentless positive energy that everyone sought out. Smart, funny, hardworking, and a genius friend and mentor.
Katie Spikes has died aged 53 (Picture: Monica Schipper/Getty Images for SCAD)
‘I valued Katie’s opinion because she wasn’t afraid to take the other side of an argument and always had impeccable taste.’
‘Katie Spikes was a talented producer, a fearless newsroom diplomat and an irreplaceable and unwavering friend,’ correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi said.
She added: ‘Katie loved to amplify the stories of underdogs from all walks of life. In the sometimes dark and heavy newsroom, Katie Spikes was joy and light. She is irreplaceable.’
The 60 Minutes Instagram page also paid tribute, writing: ‘We at 60 Minutes are mourning the loss of our longtime producer, Katie Spikes, and extend our deepest sympathies to her family.
‘Katie exemplified the best of 60 Minutes, in her work at CBS News for three decades, and as our beloved colleague and friend.’
Spikes was 60 Minutes’ senior story editor, who had worked at CBS for three decades.
Her most recent role including booking the likes of Barack Obama and Joaquin Phoenix, while elsewhere in her career she helped helm coverage of the 2013 Boston bombings.
In 1997, Spikes received an Emmy Award for her work surrounding the death of Princess Diana.
Katie is survived by her husband Donald Furrer, her two sons 16-year-old James and 12-year-old Owen and a stepson, 27-year-old Brandon.
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