Former TV news anchor Connie Chung makes bombshell statements in her memoir, including the allegations that she was fired by colleague Dan Rather in the 1990s.
Chung was only the second woman, after Barbara Walters, and the first Asian to become a network anchor, when she began co-anchoring with Rather in 1993 to improve the show's struggling ratings. He was an American.
“This wasn't just a personal milestone, it was a milestone for women and minorities because I would be the first person from both groups to anchor CBS News' flagship broadcast,” Chung said. He writes in “Connie.'' “I felt incredibly lucky to be on the Crest.”
Although Chong said her tenure broke a glass ceiling and even called it her “dream job,” her position does not protect her from sexist comments from colleagues. insisted.
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“Connie” is a new memoir by veteran journalist Connie Chan. (Fox News Digital/Courtney O'Brien)
“Mr. Rather publicly welcomed Ms. Chong, but privately put her in her place and told her, “From now on, you must start reading the newspaper.'' boston globe We reported on Mr. Chung's new book “Connie.''
“I swallowed hard,” she wrote of the moment. “Was this his idea of how to start a partnership? I'm 47 years old and have spent half my life in the news industry. He thought I was reading comics, right? We just walked out the gate exactly as I wanted.'' My answer was, “Silence.''
Ms. Chong also wrote that Mr. Rather told her, “I'll cover the story on the ground, so you can read the teleprompter.'' She added that her co-anchor was “uptight and had no sense of humor” and had an “inherent bias against women.”
She further alleged that rather than trying to undermine her among her colleagues and question her competency as a journalist.
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Journalist Dan Rather attends the Independent Filmmaker Project's 25th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York. (Photo credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Rather, he resigned from his position as evening newscaster at CBS in 2005 and ultimately left the network the following year after reporting on then-President George W. Bush's discredited service in the Vietnam-era National Guard. It will be. Rather, at age 92 he still maintains a sharply left-wing presence on social media, and earlier this year he spoke to CBS about his network days and career in journalism.
Chung further exposed the behavior of male anchors in television news, including Bryant Gumbel.
“In her book, Chung writes about how so many men on television news, especially anchormen, suffer from a disease she calls 'big manitis,'” the Globe reported. “For example, Bryant Gumbel has a contract with NBC that allows Today Show co-anchor Jane Pauley to say “Good morning'' at the beginning and “Have a nice day'' at the end of the show. It was decided that it could not be done.”
Chung said her firing from CBS in 2005 was “devastating,” but she never wanted sympathy.
“I didn't have that attitude when I was working,” she says. “I never ran to the girls' room and cried because I believed there was no crying in baseball.”
In fact, he denies having anything to do with her leaving the facility, and reportedly, told the Washington Post At the time, he said, “No one heard any critical comments from me about Connie,” and her firing “came as a surprise to us.”
New York, NY – 1998: (LR) Charles Gibson, Sam Donaldson, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs, Connie Chung, promotional photo for the ABC TV series “20/20”. (Photo Credit: Michael O'Neill /Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Chung, Rerher and Gumbel for further comment.
Mr. Chong would later join Mr. Walters and Diane Sawyer at ABC News as co-anchor and correspondent for the popular show “20/20.''
Now, she says, she's grateful that some women have broken the glass ceiling, with some Asian American parents naming their daughters Connie after her.
Ms. Chung gave several major interviews during her career, including with NBA star Magic Johnson after he was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1991.
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Fox News Digital's Brian Flood and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
