You should get as close to the power when you're pitching something. I got my two biggest breaks with the man who owned CBS and the guy that owned Paramount, because I was dealing with the guy who would say yes or no.
I left my job as an editorial assistant with Katie Couric at CBS to start our company. I think Katie has said being at CBS was the worst time in her career. They were cutting back their news and interactive budget. I just had this very distinct feeling that I wasn't in the spring of something: I was in the late fall.
The first thing I did for TV was a pilot for CBS.
When I graduated, I was really lucky because I got hired immediately by CBS as a production assistant.
I recognized... very, very early on that ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News were dependent on The Associated Press and Reuters. So my daily intake of information is from watching the newswires.
I always wanted to be an anchorman, but after college I wound up working behind the scenes at CBS News for 10 years.
When I was a 21-year-old intern at CBS, I was told I had crossed eyes and shouldn't try to be on air. That's when I decided I was going to be behind the scenes.
I always knew I wanted to be in front of the camera. But even after 10 years behind the scenes at CBS News producing live segments, celebrity profiles, and breaking news, I still hadn't been given the chance to be on TV.
When I was on 'Doubt' on CBS, there was a 60-second scene, but in that 60 seconds, people were so affected because it was trans women in a very normalized situation.
If one were to go back to the '50s, the most popular TV genre on the air in the United States were Westerns. You could go turn on ABC or CBS on any night and you'd almost have three full hours of everything from 'Bonanza' to 'Rawhide' to 'Wanted Dead or Alive.'
