Maria Mercader of CBC News Dies From Coronavirus at Age 54

CBS mourns the death of a 54-year-old journalist and cancer survivor, Maria Mercader, after she lost the fight to coronavirus.

Mercader, who was fifty-four as at the time of her passing, had worked at CBS for three decades and had just recently pioneered and directed talent strategy.

The deceased network veteran had been on leave due to medical reasons a short while before her passing, in February. Journalism icon and CBS News anchor Dan Rather took to Twitter to express his grief. He

:

"A hard hit to the heart, longtime news colleague and friend Maria Mercader died from coronavirus."

Rather described Maria as a paragon of grit and grace, adding that she embodied the best of the CBS News mission and that millions of Americans had learned a great deal about the world through her efforts.

Concluding his heartfelt message, Dan Rather noted that the world, to him, was less with the loss of the journalist.

NBC show, "Law and Order: SVU," also lost a crew member, Josh Wallock, to COVID-19.

The journalist had fought cancer and other related conditions for over two decades. Every time she returned to work after battling a significant setback, Maria was an inspiration to colleagues, friends, and family.

Rather was joined in celebrating Maria's life by many others, including CBS News president and executive producer Susan Zirinsky.

Zirinsky revealed that more than just her talents as a journalist will be missed, all Maria's colleagues would miss her indomitable spirit.

She described her friend and colleague as a gift that they all cherished — Maria, even when in a hospital bed, would call with counsel and words of encouragement whenever she heard things were going awry in the slightest.

As a producer on CBS News' for foreign and national desks, Mercader played a vital role in producing coverage of some of the largest breaking news in the world, including Princess Diana's tragic death and the 9/11 attacks.

In 2004, Mercader was awarded an Emmy for business and financial reporting for her role as producer of a "CBS Sunday Morning" report on computer spam.

Maria also spearheaded CBS's efforts to diversify its workforce and was active in organizing the company's participation in the Asian American Journalists Association.

Also, she helped with the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, as well as the National Association of Black Journalists.

NBC show, "Law and Order: SVU," also lost a crew member, Josh Wallock, on March 26, 2020, to COVID-19. Wallock passed at the tender age of forty-five.

Warren Leight, who has been showrunner of "Law and Order: SVU" for a long time, took to Twitter to express his grief. He wrote:

"Very sad news today. One of our costumers…Josh Wallock, passed away from complications of Covid-19."

The media industry has been shaken generally by losses and cases of colleagues and friends catching the fast-spreading COVID-19. Many workers and employees have suffered heartbreak from the death of the likes of Maria and Josh.

Both victims were well-loved and appreciated in their respective places of work, and just like so many others who have been lost to the disease, they will be missed dearly by family, friends, fans, and colleagues.