THE SUNDAY CONVERSATION
Host does as she likes
Meredith Vieira is the rare TV personality who can do whatever she wants. Her 40-year career has included network news (“60 Minutes” and “West 57th” on CBS, ABC’s “Turning Point” and NBC’s “Today”), daytime talk (“The View,” “The Meredith Vieira Show”) and a dozen years as a quizmaster (“Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”). Along the way, Vieira, 65, became an icon for working mothers, balancing career decisions with her commitment to family life.
Having a few laughs is also a priority, which is why she returns to TV on Sept. 16 as the host of “25 Words Or Less,” a new daytime show based on the popular board game with teams of celebrity and civilian contestants competing for cash. The show from Lisa Kudrow’s Is Or Isn’t Entertainment will air on Fox-owned TV stations across the country including KTTV in Los Angeles.
I have. When I was offered “Millionaire” by [producer] Michael Davies, I had friends who said, “Why are you doing that?” And I said, “Because I like it. I’m not ashamed of it. I think it’s cool. I’m giving people money, and it’s not mine.” What’s better than that?
I thought what made me an effective host was the fact that I was a journalist — I knew how to draw contestants out. I knew how to relax them. I knew how to ask them questions. I knew how to listen. And all those things are important even in a show like that. People walk in so nervous to a game. There’s a lot on the line for them. And you just have to remind them “It’s a safe place, it’s good — tell me about you.” And then they relax and then they play the best game they can.
I have no idea about that. I’m a hugger; that’s just who I am. So it hasn’t come up in front of me. I think you know where the line is. But if George Clooney won on our show, all bets would be off.
No. Now he’ll never come on.
Cut to the New York Times article, yeah.
I don’t know. For somebody who’s getting back into television I don’t watch a lot of TV. I’ll see the clips, like a lot of people do. I’m thrilled that “The View” continues to be relevant and reinvent itself. And quite frankly those political candidates would not come on that show unless they felt there was a real need to be on that show. So they’ve touched a chord with people in this country, for sure, and it’s become sort of a must-do for those candidates.
Well, I’m not a yeller. I think discourse in general on television has become that way — a lot of fire, a lot of heat. When I was hosting, it was all about no crosstalk. Let somebody have their say and then the next person. But now that’s kind of part of the
No. I never say “never,” but I’m not looking for it. Right now, I don’t want to be part of that. I find the times right now very difficult and depressing.
They find it very frustrating, because this lack of trust in the media that’s been brewing and fermented by certain folks. It has made it very hard to do your job, because your integrity is constantly being questioned. And there are so many journalists who are people of integrity. And to have them painted with this broad brush is extremely difficult for folks.
It was very difficult, because — and I think I speak for so many people — I never would’ve expected it. And it was heartbreaking. I was in L.A. [when Lauer was fired in November 2017], and my phone started going crazy at 4 in the morning. And I’m thinking, what the hell’s going on? I found out in the middle of my night.
Yes, I was. This was a guy that I thought I knew. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on in television. There are people who have affairs. This was a different level; this wasn’t that.
I haven’t.
I would bet not. I don’t think television drove him; I really don’t. I don’t think he felt, “If I’m not on TV, then, my life is useless.” He had a restaurant that he invested in, and he had the horses. And I think he probably loved a lot of the stories that he told, but I never felt it just totally defined him.
Yes, I did. Do I bring this stuff on?
I just had a young woman say, “Thank you for the message you sent to working mothers.” I would not have expected it — this was a young woman who knows the story. And I don’t sit around talking about it, but, yeah, I hope that it somehow had gotten into the DNA.
I don’t think you could get away with it today. And also that was Don Hewitt. I mean, he was the king. “60 Minutes” was the crown jewel in the network. And so he could probably do no wrong. He was a very, very powerful man. And I made my peace with Don after … I’ve said this before — but it was two parents fighting against each other — me with my kid then, and pregnant with Gabe, and Don with his baby, “60 Minutes.” And that really was what it was, that we both felt so strongly about our “kid.”
We didn’t. And I still think there is a certain element of, you know, women of a certain age — I can’t stand that expression — being shelved. I remember when I was 30-something, or 40-something, a friend of mine said — “Oh, there was a news director the other day saying, ‘We want Meredith Vieira, only younger.’ ” She thought it was funny. It’s a very visual medium obviously. If you’re experienced and you’re good at what you do, why not? The men have been doing it forever.