Shortly after joining ABC News as a correspondent in 1964, Sanders became the first woman to anchor an evening news broadcast for a major network when she substituted for the regular anchor, Ron Cochran, who had become ill. She was one of the first television newswomen to report on the Vietnam War from the field.

In 1976, ABC promoted her to vice president and director of documentaries, making her one of the first women to reach upper management in the field.

Her family was relatively secular, though they did attend a Reform synagogue occasionally and were well aware of ongoing issues affecting the Jewish community such as discrimination.

[3] This was an unprecedented achievement, as women were typically relegated to performing solely administrative functions in the newsroom.

[9][10] Sanders’s book (Co-written with Marcia Rock, 2-time Emmy award winning producer of NY documentaries), “Waiting for Prime Time: the women of television news” was published in 1988.