LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Over her long career, journalist Gayle King has interviewed many national and global leaders and celebrities, and taken on tough and complicated assignments, such as reporting about mass shootings and covering Supreme Court decisions — all with a lauded ability to be personable and respectful yet direct in her questioning.
On Saturday night, it was King being interviewed about her life and career experiences at the opening plenary of AACC 2024, the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Walter Bumphus, president and CEO of AACC, asked the “CBS Mornings” co-host about the beginnings of her career, living abroad as a child and CNN’s “King Charles,” her popular news commentary program with former basketball star and sports commentator Charles Barkley.
The back-and-forth banter between King and Bumphus was light and humorous, with King joking about her affinity for stylish glasses, love of basketball and liking of “grey foxes” — men in their 50s with grey beards who are in good health and accomplished. King also talked about the privileges of working in journalism. She told the audience that as a child she and her father together watched CBS broadcast legend Walter Cronkite every evening; and now she delivers the news in the same studio.
King reflected on how covering national news gives her “a front-row seat to history.” Being a basketball fan, she noted the uptick in interest surrounding this year’s NCAA women’s national basketball championship tournament. The semi-final game between Iowa and UConn drew 14.3 million viewers, and she texted her show co-host Barkley to ask him if the controversial foul call again UConn was a bad call.
She said the opinionated Barkley responded: “Hell, yes, Gayle!”
Not forgetting her roots
Despite being now on a national stage, King noted it was her experiences working at local TV stations in places like Kansas City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Connecticut, that provided her training. It’s local coverage where reporters know the community — the streets, the people, the police and fire chiefs, and their names. And they are the one who often give those personal details.
For example, if a tornado were to hit Louisville, “On a national scale, it’s ‘Three people died.’ Here in Louisville, you will know the names of those people, you will know exactly where the tornado hit,” she said.
Troubling trend
When asked about news coverage today and its influence, King said she is troubled by the growth of news commentary replacing objective news programs and the influence the former seems to have on viewers, which she feels is fueling a divide in the country. She encouraged Americans to seek out facts before drawing their own conclusions.
“You’re entitled to your own opinion; You’re not entitled to your own set of fact,” she said.
At 69, Gayle — who is the long-time best friend of Oprah Winfrey — has a full plate with her various programs and projects, and she doesn’t expect to slow down.
“I’m not even kind of thinking of retiring,” she said. “I still feel open to many possibilities.”
AACC Leadership Awards
During the opening of AACC 2024, the association honored three community college leaders through the annual AACC Leadership Award: Sylvia Jenkins, president emeritus of Moraine Valley Community College (Illinois); Richard Rhodes, chancellor emeritus of the Austin Community College District (Texas); and Stephen Head, chancellor emeritus of Lone Star College (Texas).
Jenkins and Rhodes spoke briefly about their experiences in higher education and thanked their family, friends, mentors, faculty and staff, students and others. (Head was unable to attend Saturday’s event.) Jenkins gave an emotional recollection of growing up in rural Louisiana to eventually become president and to receive the Leadership Award. Rhodes, who is now president of Texas A&M University-Central Texas, recalled a community college history professor who served as his initial inspiration to continue with his education and eventually become chancellor of ACC.
AACC has presented its Leadership Award since 1982. Recipients join the ranks of the AACC Community College Leadership Hall of Fame.
