Common Cause mourns the passing of Paul Duke, a dedicated member of the Common Cause family who served on our national governing board for several terms. Duke was a journalists’ journalist and an icon in public broadcasting. He is perhaps best known for the 20 years he served as moderator of the PBS program, “Washington Week in Review.”

Mr. Duke was known for his calm demeanor and thoughtful interviewing style. He strongly valued quality journalism and was concerned about the current trends in broadcast media to position news as entertainment, and focus more on polarized commentary rather than fact based reporting.

Common Cause President Chellie Pingree noted, “I remember when I first met him, he was moderating a telephone press conference for us on media reform issues and rock star Mike Mills of REM and other musicians were on the call. . It was a pretty eclectic group, and Paul in his masterful way made it seem as if this was something we all did together everyday.” The Common Cause community benefited greatly from his talent and dedication, we wish his family the best during this difficult time, and we will miss him.