Morning Show Milestones: Reflections on 12 Years at CBS News with Gayle King

In the bustling realm of journalism, where each day unfolds like a new chapter, Gayle King stands as a beacon of experience and insight. Recently commemorating her remarkable 12-year milestone as cohost of CBS This Morning, Gayle's journey carries a unique narrative that stretches beyond conventional journalism norms.

Discover the unexpected twists of her journey in this Q&A series, reposted from the USA Today 'How I Became' feature. From a psychology graduate to an iconic journalist, Gayle's story unfolds authentically, offering invaluable advice and relatable anecdotes for every aspiring journalist.

Q: What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?

King: When it comes to work, a live shot at the White House for the Super Bowl – that was very cool. They [the Obamas] had never done an interview together, and normally the tradition is that whatever network has the Super Bowl gets an interview with the president during halftime. "CBS this Morning" producers approached the Obamas to see if they would do it together, live, something they had never done. That was super cool and super nerve-wracking, because you’re live and you have to stick to your time cues, and I’m told I don’t always do that (sticking to time cues) well. 

Q: Who’s been your biggest mentor?

King: In this business, J.C. Hayward from back in the day. When I was just a young pup as a production assistant at a CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C., she was very kind and very generous with her time to help me with my writing and help me with presentation.

There was also Pam Coulter, who doesn’t remember it but was a CBS radio reporter who I also thought was very good, and I was her intern. She was very helpful. You don’t forget the people who were helpful to you when you were first starting out.

It was funny – Pam Coulter worked at CBS TV and CBS Radio, and after I (started working for CBS), I called her just to say “oh my God, Pam, I’ve never forgotten you.”

I get her on the phone and I say “hi, this is Gayle King.”

She says, “oh my God, Gayle, this is so great that you’re at CBS. I love watching you, I think you’re so good, I’m so glad you’re working at CBS.”

And so I said, “well I was just calling to thank you because I’ve never forgotten your generosity or all the things you showed me” and she said, “have we met?”

I know, so I’m like “uh… I was your intern at University of Maryland…” and she’s like, “you were?”

I said, “Well, I’m glad I made an impression! But, you made an impression on me.” I thought that was funny – clearly, I was not a standout intern. I learned a lot from her.

Q: What does your career path look like, from college to now?

King: I majored in psychology, so I never really intended to be in television. I’ve always liked (and still do) listening to other people’s problems and giving them unsolicited advice, and so I thought I would be good in psychology – that I’d have a practice where I would listen to problems all day long. I was going to do that or law school, because I thought I’d be great in front of a jury trying to argue my case or convince jurors to see things my way and putting away criminals – I was not going to represent guilty people.

So in the back of my mind that’s what I was thinking, but I got an entry-level position at a TV station when I was in college, and then I became hooked. You’ll talk to 10 different people and get 10 different stories of how we started in this business, but for me it was really by accident. It wasn’t something that I intended to do. I got an entry-level position and there you go to something else and then something else and something else and here I am.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you?

King: There’s no such thing as a typical day. Every day is different. I get up super early: The hours are crappy, but I love this job. One day I could be in Texas talking to immigrant moms. Another time I could be in Detroit. Another time I could be at the White House.

There is no such thing as a typical day – that is what I like about this job. It starts early in the morning, and we go into hair and makeup and we’re on the air from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., and after that we do a post-mortem about the show and then talk about what’s coming up the next day.

Then I leave there, and I have another full-time job at O, The Oprah Magazine. I’m there until about 6:30 to 7 p.m. It’s a very long day. It’s very busy, but I like it. My kids are grown – they’re 31 and 32. I like to say "potty-trained and employed." It’s not like I have to rush home and cook dinner or tuck anybody in or read anybody a story or give anybody a bath. I’m divorced, so the only person I really have to take care of is me, myself and I, and that is a full-time job.

Q: What is the most memorable piece you’ve worked on?

King: The one that touched me the most was the Newtown (elementary school) shooting. I anchored the news in Connecticut for 18 years, so I really felt intimately connected with that story.

I did a story with a family in Austin, Texas – the Henderson family – whose son, Bakari Henderson, was 22 years old on vacation in Greece. A young black man graduating from college, going on a trip with friends in Greece, and they get in an altercation with people in a bar and they end up literally beating him to death. Their family said their son was “a big, strapping, really nice, nice kid from a nice family.” And, you know, they said, “his life was over in less than 30 seconds.” How do you reconcile that? That story affected me deeply, because as a person of color – and I do think this was racially motivated – because Bakari was the only black kid with a group of white friends. A waitress had asked to take a selfie in the restaurant, and some guy came up to her later and said, “why are you taking pictures with that black guy?” And they literally attacked him. The anniversary of his death was July 7, and I called his mom and his dad and said “I know this a difficult day for you guys, and I just want to know how you’re doing.” They still have had no resolution in the murder of their son, and that bothers me.

They’re planning on going to Greece – they have a lawyer in Greece – but I worry that they may never get the justice they deserve and that story bothers me, because it was so damn senseless. His parents were about to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, he comes from a solid background – you know, an upper-middle-class family – and that should just not happen.

I used to think, when I was a little kid, (that) if you do the right thing and you treat people well, that Golden Rule, that if you followed that logic your life would be pretty good. As you get older and wiser in the world, you realize that bad stuff, really horrible stuff, happens to good people for no good reason.  In today’s world, it’s even crazier. We can all be victims at any moment. You would certainly think that you were safe in school, at church, in a movie theater, at work, and now, you know, life has shown us that none of those things are true.

Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?

King: I think it’s OK to take a risk. Don’t take a foolish risk, but I think it’s good in life to take a risk. I also believe that I don’t care who you are, how big you are, everybody always has something to learn. Everybody can always get better. So, I’m never under any illusion that, despite the success that I’ve had, that there’s never another rung I can climb on the ladder. I don’t know what that is, but I think that there’s always a way to get better and do better.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

King: Get your foot in the door and work your butt off. If that means taking an entry-level position, get your foot in the door and find somebody who you can tell is willing to help. In any organization, there’s always going to be somebody that doesn’t mind helping. You’ve got other people that are jerks and forget how they got to that place, but there’s always going to be somebody who’s going to be willing to help you. But, you’ve got to get your foot in the door, and you have to work very hard, and you have to make sure that the people in power notice you.