Sep
Connie Chung Reflects on Sexism in Journalism: ‘I’m Not a Lollipop’
Broadcast journalism pioneer Connie Chung, who made history as the first woman and person of Asian descent to anchor a major nightly American news program, revisits the sexism she encountered in her early career.
In an upcoming interview on CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley, airing this weekend, Chung, now 78, recalls an encounter with John Mitchell, who was then Attorney General under President Richard Nixon. During a 1974 interview on Capitol Hill, Mitchell commented on Chung’s appearance, saying she looked “prettier than ever.”
After Pauley plays an archival clip of the interaction, Chung reflects on the incident with a sense of frustration. “Oof,” Chung says. “I remember that, Jane. He looks at me and says, ‘You look so pretty.’ And I’m thinking to myself, ‘What? I’m not a lollipop. I’m not an ice cream cone. Can you please treat me like the other male reporters?’”
In the Sunday broadcast, Chung discusses the challenges she faced as a young reporter in a male-dominated industry and shares her experiences with racism. She also previews her forthcoming memoir, Connie, set to be released on September 17, which will detail her four-decade career in journalism.
An excerpt from her memoir, published by CBS News, further explores her interactions with politicians and government officials. Chung writes about how some men would “size me up from head to toe and greet me as if I were a ‘little China doll.'”
“Did he expect me to smile and thank him?” Chung writes of Mitchell. “I was there to do my job and proceeded with my questions. The same with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who would flirt as I approached him with my microphone. There was little I could do to avoid those creepy old men.”
In an interview with Harvard Business Review published this month, Chung reflects on her determination to succeed in a field largely dominated by white men. “I couldn’t act quite as entitled as they did, but I…
Connie Chung Reflects on Sexism in Journalism: ‘I’m Not a Lollipop’
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