Who the Hell is Connie Chung?
How does one go from being called “America’s sweetheart” to being labeled a
“shameless tabloid whore” (Revah 10)? Connie Chung knows. Co-anchoring the CBS
Evening News with Dan Rather and hosting her own Eye to Eye, she was once on top of
the broadcast journalism world, yet all good things must come to an end. Connie Chung
had a glorious rise and a dramatic fall.
Connie Chung began her career as an assignment editor and on-the-air-reporter at a
local Washington, D.C. television station WTTG. But her big break came in 1971, when
the Federal Communications Commission began pressuring television networks to hire
more minorities and women. Chung applied at CBS’s Washington bureau. She once told
Daniel Paisner, “They had only one woman at CBS News at the time, and I think they
wanted to hire more. So, they hired me, they hired Leslie Stahl, they hired Michelle
Clark, and they hired Sylvia Chase.... In other words, a Chinese woman a black woman, a
nice Jewish girl, and a blond shiska. And so they took care of years of discrimination.”
(Moritz 107)
Chung covered George McGovern’s presidential campaign in 1971 and accompanied
Richard Nixon on trips to the Middle East and the Soviet Union in 1972. In 1976, she
became a news anchor for KNXT, the local CBS television station in Los Angeles.
There, her salary went from about $27,000 a year to an estimated $600,000, making
Connie Chung one of the country’s highest-paid local news anchors in 1983. She
received many honors, including an award for best television reporting from the Los
Angeles Press Club in 1977 and Local Emmys in 1978 and 1980. (Moritz 108)
In 1984, Chung, eager to return to reporting national politics, was asked to anchor
NBC News at Sunrise. Of course, she did not let this opportunity pass her by. Chung’s
“new job....also included serving as a political correspondent for the NBC Nightly News
program, anchoring the network’s Saturday evening news, and doing three prime-time,
ninety-second news casts a week” (Moritz 108). Chung’s “status as a rising network star
was reaffirmed when, in November 1983, she made the first of many appearances on the
Today show as a substitute for anchorwoman Jane Pauley” (Moroitz 108).
Connie Chung announced in March 1989 that she would rejoin CBS after her NBC
contract expired in May. She was to anchor a revamped West 57th Street and the CBS
Sunday Night News, and to be one of the main substitute anchors for Dan Rather on the
CBS Evening News. This agreement was worth nearly $1.
It wasn’t just when the news was delivered but also how it was delivered. It had an influence because of the great personalities of Dick Smyth, Lee Marshall, Grant Hudson and others who dramatically and entertainingly delivered the news. They reported the news “dramatically” and with the “same energy as disk jockeys had snappy writing with alliterations, and a lot of short sound bites.” They were deejays without music. This dynamic combination of news reporting made for an amusing news report; that not only captured the audience, but also kept them tuning in.
In “Wires and Lights in a Box,” the author, Edward R. Murrow, is delivering a speech on October 15, 1958, to attendees of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. In his speech, Murrow addresses how it is his desire and duty to tell his audience what is happening to radio and television. Murrow talks about how television insulates people from the realities in the world, how the television industry is focused on profits rather than delivering the news to the public, and how television and radio can teach, illuminate, and inspire.
At the age of 23, Ellen began performing stand-up comedy at a local coffeehouse. She got her big entrance in 1986, performed on “The Tonight Show” and earned the distinction of being the only female comedian to be invited to the show. Her wit won over audiences, and Ellen finally found success as an actress with her own prime-time sitcom, the self-titled television series, The Ellen Show.
Wolf, Naomi. "JFK's Woman Problem." Africa News Service 9 Dec. 2013: n. pag. Tarrant County College. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Diane Sawyer is an American television journalist who started her career after attending college. Her career started small, at a local news station in Kentucky then took off as she picked up jobs at the White House and more. Sawyer’s has been named one of the most influential women for journalism for her many accomplishments.
The Oprah Winfrey show is still playing in syndication (reruns on different networks) and Oprah continues to be one of the most powerful, wealthiest women in not only America but the world. Even though Oprah is enjoying a “retirement” period in her life, she continues to contribute her time to underprivileged children and especially those in Africa. Knowing that if she can change the world of just one child has always been a passion for Oprah Winfrey because nobody was there for her when she was a young child. Oprah continues to be superior leader to all that is loved by everyone.
Oprah’s father made sure she was well educated by having her write book reports, learning vocabulary, and had strict rules for her as she grew up. She entered into the Elks Club speaking contest and won a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. The following year Oprah Winfrey was invited to the White House Conference on Youth. Oprah was becoming known for her speaking skills. She was offered a broadcasting job that she turned down twice. However, she eventually accepted it and became the first African American female co anchor of the evening news as a sophomore in college at just nineteen years
At the age of nineteen Oprah landed her first job as a reporter for a radio station in Nashville. Later she entered Tennessee State University to study radio and television broadcasting. In 1976 Oprah Winfrey moved to Baltimore where she hosted a TV show called People Are Talking. The show was a hit and Winfrey stayed for eight years. In 1986 Oprah started the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah has been honored with the most prestigious awards in broadcasting including the George Foster Peabody individual Achievement award in 1996 and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences lifetime Achievement award in 1998. In June 1998,
Oprah began her broadcasting career at WVOL radio in Nashville while still in high school. At the age of 19, she became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. She then relocated to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the Six O'Clock News and later went on to become co-host of its local talk show, People Are Talking.
Daily News, Breaking News and Video Broadcasts - ABC News. 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 5
She eventually got transferred to the day time talk show arena and after boosting a third-rated talk show to first place, she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.
The contract that started it all was with Def Jam records, which accompanied her rising for a considerable period of time.
Seal also showed us a video called "Journey's with George" where Alexandra Pelosi was apart of George W. Bush's campaign and went from state to state with him and a bunch of other people involved in the media to get the scoop. I was quickly drawn to the position she held and she even mentioned that if your candidate wins you have a strong chance of becoming apart of the White House Press. I knew quickly that I wanted to be apart of that. Mr. Seal spent a week discussing media and its involvement in the world. He said it was the eyes for the people, and I remember feeling inspired by that. People need media to stay informed he continued on, he even told us how as teenagers we are more connected with what is going on in the world than ever before. I find it is important to stay up to date with current events, but especially a political
In 1976 she moved to Baltimore and later hosts the T.V chat show people are talking. In 1984, Oprah relocates to chicago to host her own morning show “ AM Chicago”, which was renamed the “The Oprah Show”. In 1985 she makes film debut in Steven Spielberg's “The Color Purple” for which she was nominated for an academy award for best supporting actress. In 1986, OPrah launches the “The Oprah Winfrey Show” as a nationally syndicated program placed on 120 programs. In 1988, she had established harpo productions. In 1989, Winfrey stars in the ABC TV miniseries “The Women Of Brewster Place”. In 1994, president Clinton signs the “Oprah Bill”, creating a nationwide database of convicted child abusers. In 1998, Oprah received her seventh emmy as outstanding talk show host and the ninth emmy for the “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. In 2000, a company launches O, the oprah magazine which is created as being the most successful magazine launch in recent history. In 2003 Oprah's Book Club becomes the largest book club in the world and she receives the association of American publishes, AAP honors award. In 2005, she ranked number one on Forbes power celebrity list. In 2009, Oprah interviews Whitney Houston. In 2010, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” begins its 25th and final
"Journalists and Social Media | The Changing Newsroom." The Changing Newsroom | New Media. Enduring Values. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .