Ina Jaffe, NPR Correspondent, Dies at 75 After Battle with Metastatic Breast Cancer

For four decades, NPR listeners knew Ina Jaffe for her distinctive alto voice and insightful reporting on a range of topics, from politics to veterans' affairs and aging in America. Her death on August 1st, at the age of 75, marks the end of an era in public radio. Jaffe's remarkable career spanned from her early days as an actor in Chicago to her rise as a respected journalist at NPR, where she covered high-profile stories and investigated corruption.

Key Takeaways:

• Ina Jaffe was a renowned NPR correspondent who reported on politics, veterans' affairs, and aging in America for over four decades.
• She began her career as an actress in Chicago and later freelanced for the Chicago Reader before joining NPR in 1985 as the first editor of "Weekend Edition."
• Jaffe's investigative reporting uncovered a bribery and fraud scheme related to a Veterans Affairs property in West Los Angeles, leading to federal prison sentences for two men involved.
• She was moved to cover the struggles of American seniors, including Alzheimer's disease and long-term care costs, after watching her mother age.
• Jaffe shared her own breast cancer diagnosis with NPR audiences in 2021, reflecting on her desire to become a "really cool old lady" and citing the inspirational elders she had met while covering aging.
• Ina Gail Jaffe was born in Chicago on September 17, 1948, to a luggage manufacturer father and an elementary school teacher mother.
• She pursued a master's degree in philosophy at DePaul University in Chicago in 1977, while also acting and freelancing.

Statistics:

• Jaffe reported on the struggles faced by American seniors, including long-term care costs and health struggles like Alzheimer's disease.
• Her reporting on a Veterans Affairs property in West Los Angeles uncovered a bribery and fraud scheme, leading to federal prison sentences.
• Jaffe began her career as an actress in Chicago in the 1970s and later freelanced for the Chicago Reader.
• She was 75 years old at the time of her death.

Sources:

• NPR
• Chicago Reader
• DePaul University
• University of Wisconsin at Madison
• Ina Jaffe's personal stories and reflections