The International Women’s Media Foundation Mourns the Passing of Leda Hartman

The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) mourns the passing of Leda Hartman, a long-time editor with IWMF’s Round Earth Media (REM) program. Hartman was an award-winning journalist who contributed to many nationally broadcast public radio programs and podcasts. At the IWMF, Hartman edited REM’s radio reports and documentary specials for National Public Radio, one of which received a Peabody Award.

Hartman leaves behind a legacy of young reporters and editors that she mentored, many of whom are heard regularly on NPR, The Daily, Marketplace and other broadcast programs.

Hartman worked as a senior editor at NPR’s Latino USA and two national broadcast global affairs programs, Latitudes and the World Vision Report. Her reporting and editing won more than a dozen awards including some of the most important in broadcast journalism: The Edward R. Murrow Award, The Alfred I. duPont Colombia University Broadcast News Award, two Gracie Awards, and the Ochberg Society for Trauma Reporting which, according to Hartman, was for being an understanding and sympathetic editor.

“Leda was a skillful storyteller and a fearless journalist who delighted in telling stories off the beaten track, especially from the developing world and with in-country reporters who she greatly respected. She was an absolute delight and I miss her deeply,” said Mary Stucky, the IWMF’s REM Director.

Hartman had been in declining health and passed away on November 28, 2023, in Pittsboro, North Carolina. She is survived by her husband, brother, sister-in-law, godchildren, and many friends from the radio world, the music world and the country dance world, all of whom deeply mourn her passing.