Elana Schor, a national politics reporter for the Associated Press, became the latest “Jeopardy” champion on Wednesday evening, dethroning travel agent Nicole Cocklin.
“AP congratulates reporter Elana Schor for winning ‘Jeopardy’ last night, and we are rooting for her as she continues to compete,” the company said in a statement to TheWrap
The final winner remained an open question going into final jeopardy, with longtime host Alex Trebek revealing the category “Sci-Fi TV.”
“One of the twin planets this alien race called home was Remus,” Trebek said, reading out the clue. The answer — of course — is “Star Trek’s” “Romulans.” A correct response from Schor along with a hefty $8,001 wager put her over the top.
Schor’s standout performance is the latest in a long, and often checkered, history of journalists appearing on the longtime ABC quiz show. Media Matters researcher Talia Lavin made headlines in 2015 after a losing the show, but forcing Trebek to read her Final Jeopardy answer “The Ballad of Turd Ferguson” — a call back to “SNL’s” celebrity jeopardy.
Wolf Blitzer’s catastrophic appearance on the show in September 2009 episode has now entered into internet lore. At one point, the CNN anchor was down $4,600 and he was only allowed to participate in Final Jeopardy after receiving a cash infusion from the show to take him out of the red. He went on to be stomped by comedian Andy Richter, who left the show with $68,000 in winnings.
“Wolf, things have not worked out as well as you had hoped for, I’m sure,” Trebek offered dryly when it was over. “Andy’s so much faster on that signaling device today.”