(FILES) Phil Donahue, former host of "The Phil Donahue Show" speaks during an event at the National Press Club August 14, 2014 in Washington, DC. New York Times reporter James Risen was joined by journalism industry advocates to speak about challenges to a free press by the US government and the Obama administration. Phil Donahue, a pioneering US talk show host, has died at the age of 88.
Donahue's death in Manhattan on Sunday following a long illness was announced on NBC's Today Show, where he made frequent appearances from 1979 to 1988. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)