The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Meredith Vieira

Episode Date: June 7, 2022

Meredith Vieira joins Andy Richter to talk about deciding to take a class in broadcast journalism, getting the Today Show, jumping from the news to game shows, and more!

Hello everybody, it's Andy Richter and I am thrilled to be here today with a relatively recent friend of mine, but a wonderful friend of mine and somebody who has been kicking around television and broadcasting for a long time and has had a wonderful career. And I got to know her from the goofy world of game shows. I've become a fairly frequent guest on 25 Words or Less. And she is the host of it among the many things she's hosted. And I'm really, really thrilled that she could make it here today. It's Meredith Vieira. Hi. Hey, Andy. How are you?

You actually knew me from Conan. That has been, you know, Conan or Brian. Well, you know what? I actually knew you from living in Chicago and seeing you on CBS News. Oh, wow. Yeah, you were. I mean, I didn't, you know, I mean, I wasn't a stalker or anything. But when you started coming to national prominence, I was like, oh, she was a reporter on Channel 2. And I actually wasn't a reporter on Channel 2, but I worked in the Midwest Bureau. So is that what it was?

Yeah. Every day. Yeah. No, because I just remembered your name. reporter on channel two but i worked in the midwest bureau so i went to the pbm every day yeah no because i just remembered your name you know i mean you know it's like lester holt when he became a national broadcaster i was like oh he was out here in chicago it's just an you know bill curtis when bill curtis started becoming you know the master of murders. Our local anchorman for years and years is now, you know. He was the anchorman when I was out there for CBS News. You know how I ended up in Chicago? I started at CBS News in January and in the Northeast Bureau. So I was going to be in the New York Bureau. And right before I started that network job, I went and got a permanent

for my hair because my hair is really straight, I went and got a permanent for my hair because my hair is really straight and I wanted to have a little more body and it didn't really work. So I did it again. And my hair started, it got so brittle, it started breaking off. And here I'm about to start this major job at the network. And I knew part of the reason I got the job is appearance. You know, that's part of the game. So I showed up, there was winter, so I wore a hat and I wouldn't take it off. And finally, one of the executives about five days in said, you're in a building. Can you take off your hat? Who is this person? I took it off and I could see it in his eyes. I could see the whole thing like, oh, my God.

And that that probably happened on a Wednesday or Thursday. And the following Friday, the head of CBS News called me on the phone. He said, you know, we think you'd be good in Chicago. Oh, boy. I was sent to Chicago crying because it's winter and I'm in Chicago. But and I could wear a hat every day. Yeah. Outside reporting on rough economic times when I started that job. And by the spring, my hair looked great.

And I was very well established as a correspondent. So sometimes having a bad perm pays off. That's well, it's also it's kind of like it's like if you, you know, if, you know, you were a pitcher and you had a skateboarding accident and they send you down to the minors because you hurt your arm. It is. It's so weird. And it is, it is that weird overlap of appearance in broadcast journalism. You know, like if you had been a print reporter, you could have shaved your head and they probably wouldn't. Exactly. Exactly. I mean, I understood it. I did and I didn't. But as it turned out, I probably never would have lived in Chicago. And I loved I spent three years there and I love Chicago. It's a great, great town. So I was blessed. And also to be in the Midwest. I'm a New England girl, grew up in New England. So I'm very East Coast oriented. And to experience the Midwest was, for me, fantastic. Yeah. Now, you grew up in Providence, right?

In Rhode Island. And you are full-on 100% Portuguese. Both sides, Azorian, yeah. Wow. My parents' parents. My parents are first generation. They came from San Miguel and Fial. My father's father, actually, was a priest.

Oh, wow. So very educated. One of the few groups of people that were provided with an education in the Azores. He was shipped to New Bedford to head up a parish and he liked the ladies. So he ended up having a relationship with a young woman at the parish. They got kicked out. I mean, they ran away on the train. I didn't even know this. Somebody my my bag. My father omitted this information. And I found out that he he had been kind of a philanderer. So he he was kicked out of the church and he ended up starting the first newspaper in New Bedford.

He was a very smart guy. Wow. Yeah. I love that he was a bit of a renegade and they stayed married. I mean, this was the rest of his life. He was with her. Yeah. That's fantastic. I have a similar one where my grandmother, my uncle is a little, you know, like kind of a number of years older than the cluster of the kids that my mom came from. that my mom came from and found out my grandmother had had an affair with the dashing young head of the teacher's college in Nebraska she was going to. And yeah, and her father tracked him down and made her marry her. And then he took off again. So, yeah. And so, yeah, she was a single mother in whatever, 1930 something, you know, and it was a different world. Totally different world.

She must have been a very strong woman to manage that. She was. She was. She was. I mean, you know, I mean, it was a she had a complicated relationship with her own agency. agency, you know, like she was, she was a good friend of Phyllis Schlafly's, but also one of the most like powerful dynamic women I'd ever known, you know, just in terms of getting stuff done and making sure that her husband wasn't just the nice small town guy that he was, that he became a political force. Like it was, it was interesting was interesting stuff. Yeah, that's funny, because my mother was sort of the force behind my dad. My dad was a

GP, you know, family doc, who went out at two in the morning when a patient called. But my mom was the tough guy on the phone. He would route the calls through our house so that it looked like he had a secretary. So my mother would be his secretary. But she she was the tough old bird as she likes to refer to herself or liked to refer to herself. So she made sure that everything ran on time and was efficient and all of that. Now, do you think that's kind of where you got the nerve to decide that you could, you know, get into this very male dominated world of broadcast journalism? I do think so. I very much admired my dad,

and I put him on a pedestal, and I learned what hard work means from him. He was a really hardworking man and so kind. Most of his patients were Azorean, and they came to this country, and they had heard of Dr. Vieira. In the Azores, they said, when you get to East Providence, look up Dr. Vieira. He'll be your doctor. And so, so many of them had no money, no jobs when they arrived. So, they would do chores for my dad. He'd say, don't worry about paying me. Can you mow my lawn? So, there was always some stranger on our property or lots and lots of homemade wine in the basement.

They would make it for my dad and my mom. My mom would go, you do need to get paid. And he said, it'll all work out. And it did, of course. He had hospital privileges. Then he said, it'll all work out. And it did, of course. He had hospital privileges and he worked there. So whatever. But my mom, my mom was this interesting combination of a housemaker, homemaker, and somebody who had always been an independent person. And she instilled that in me.

I remember as a little kid saying I want to be a nurse, which is a noble profession. And she went, no, you're going to be a doctor. Because she at that point, little girls didn't think in terms of being a doctor. The only thing available was being a nurse. So she in my put it in my head early on that I had three older brothers that I was as good, probably better than them and could do whatever they wanted. So, yeah, I think the chutzpah part came from my mom. Yeah, well, it's nice that, you know, she expanded your horizons beyond because it does seem like that's, you know, I know there are relatives in my life, women in my life that will say, I wish I was a had been an engineer, but that just isn't what women did. But they also, too, they didn't have anybody to tell them, say, why can't you? Exactly. You're good at math. Do do math. You know, not like girls aren't supposed to do math. So right. So so as a as a child. Now, did you say you were the oldest?

I'm the youngest or the youngest, the three older brothers. Yeah. My brother Edwin was is 10 years old and my brother Steve was five years older. brothers yeah my brother edwin was is 10 years old and my brother steve was five years older he passed away from alzheimer's actually early onset and my younger brother of the three jeff is uh 14 months older than me and did that i mean did you end up kind of uh on the tougher side having just you know being the smallest or were you protected? Not really. I wasn't protected by my parents, but I don't think by my brothers particularly. But I was very much a tomboy. Yeah. You know, you'd usually find me up a tree, not sitting beneath it, you know, with a doll

or whatever. Right, right. And my mother tells this story. She told it to the so many times that I can actually see it happening when clearly I didn't remember it. When I was two or two and a half, she went to pick up my brother, Jeff, at nursery school. And there was this kid bullying him. And I chased the kid all the way up the jungle gyms, that structure and punched him in the face. And my mother thought that was great. She never once felt that's inappropriate. Use your words.

It was like, yeah, bash that kid in the head. Yeah. Use your fists. Use your fists, honey. Use your fists. That's it. Ball it up and bang. Well, were you a good student? Did you like school? Yes. I, yeah, I, I loved school. I started school at the age of two at a place called Lincoln school. It's a Quaker school, all girls. And I'll never forget. You know how there are things that stay with you the rest of your life? There was a little red house there at the school in the courtyard or the recess area. And every day they'd send us out with buckets of water.

And they say, paint the house. And we'd say, well, it's water. And she said, you can turn that to red because it was faded and you put the water on and it would suddenly look very red and maybe i wasn't that bright but i thought wow i can do anything i can turn the shabby structure into this unbelievable and then it never hit me that every day it still looked the same like yeah yeah but also that they're training you in manual labor basically you know that's like well my kids it doesn't work out your studies don't work out you can how it'd be a house painter my son went to Montessori school and you know it's all like

these little task driven things yeah I really I was well, at the time that Maria Montessori was coming up with this stuff, I mean, in addition to it being a new kind of brain simulation for kids, it's also, it is teaching them light manufacturing. Like, so it's probably in those days, I was like, oh yeah, you're just going to have to put stuff together, you know, so might as well learn now. Exactly. Yeah. I loved an all girls education. to put stuff together, you know, so might as well learn now. Exactly. Yeah. And so I loved an all girls education. I really, I'm a big proponent of it. Yeah.

Especially when I was in school, I graduated in 1971. And back then, you know, we were talking about women and what the opportunities available to them. And when you went to an all girls school, at least this one, they really drilled into you the importance of education, your ability as a woman. It was a weird combination because on the one hand, very, very liberal, very feminist in their approach to their students. On the other hand, they were, in their own ways, pretty repressed, our teachers. So, a lot of them actually were lesbians and were not able to come out of the closet, you know, so there was a whole thing going on there. But,

but I, I got a great, great education and my closest friends to date are the ones that I knew since I'm time. I was very little. We're still. So it was a K through 12 kind of school nursery through. Yeah. Oh, wow. I was there from the age of two to the age of 17, six. Yeah. 17. And I imagine that, well, you know, cause my daughter has a K through 12, she's going to have a K through 12. She's in a sophomore now, but I think that that kind of stability and that kind of continuity is really, is really special. and it really does make you feel i don't know just like more secure about the world you know like the world like things stay in one place whereas if you move all over the place it might you know it gives you skills i think that kind of thing you know it gives you

sort of skills that are sort of where you might be a little more spontaneous or learn how to adapt to different situations. But I think also just feeling like, no, no, this is, I'm steady on a steady path, I think is really good. And if you make strong friendships there, which I did, those are the kinds of friendships that last forever and the sort of people that you can rely on, which is why I said they have remained my closest friends, the girls that I met at Lincoln School. I thought it was great. I mean, I like a uniform. I didn't really want to have to worry about what I was going to put on. And you never knew who had money at that school, who didn't, because everybody looked alike. And I thought that was great. And they seriously emphasized academics there.

You know, we went to smart girls and you're smarter than your brother's school, which was Moses Brown. That was the all boys Quaker school. So, yeah. Well, do you think do you think if you just gone to regular old public school that you do you think there's a chance you would have still ended up in the same line of work that you were in there? would have still ended up in the same line of work that you were in? You know, I don't think that going to private school, all girls, is why I ended up in the line of work that I am in. Because like my son, I did not have any interest in being a journalist. I was at Tufts University.

I wanted to go to Harvard. I didn't get in. My father. I'm so sorry. No, but you know what's really embarrassing? You might have had a good life if you'd gotten into Harvard. I know in retrospect, I know how stupid. But I remember at the time. Well, actually, I wanted to go to Colgate because it was all boys. It had just been established as a whole school. And I that was the downside of an all girls school. And my parents, they didn't know I applied. And they went and I got in and they went, no, you're not going to the school just because it's all boys. And then I

thought, well, I really want Harvard. I didn't get in. And my father who went to Harvard and my older brother went to Harvard, he writes a letter like, why hasn't she been accepted? And unfortunately they responded. They said, well, here's the grade point average of this person versus your daughter or whatever it was. And they weren't mean, but I guess they respected him as an alumni. They wanted to explain why I was not accepted and all the reasons I didn't want to know. But I ended up going to Tufts University in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. And I had no direction.

I went in as a theater major, but I quickly learned I would become a waitress if I stayed in theater because I just didn't, I could see the skill levels of other students. I didn't think I had it. And then I was French. I was astronomy. I was math. I was everything under the sun. And my senior year, the dean of the school, one of the deans called me in and said, do you even want to graduate? And I said, well, they said, well, you don't have enough credits in any area except potentially English, but you better load up on English classes. So, I did. And they offered this journalism class in broadcast journalism, radio. And I don't even know why I took it, Andy. It was their winter break period. We had these courses, no grade. It lasted six weeks. And I took an Andy. It was their their winter break period. We had these courses that not no grade. It lasted six weeks. And I took the thing I took that badminton in this winter break.

And it's like one of those one credit things. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And the final assignment was great. It was taught by a reporter, Les Woodruff from WEI, which was all news radio in Boston. And the last project he had for all the students was he divided us into groups. He said, you're each going to do a radio documentary. Ours was on redlining, this effort to keep people, minorities out of particular areas of the city in terms of real estate housing. And so I worked with the team. I think there were four or five of us and we all recorded it. We all produced it. We wrote it. And then they had to pick a narrator and they picked me. So they brought in the head of CBS News to listen to critique everybody's work, constructive criticism. And after he heard our documentary, our little

radio documentary, he said, who is that? And I raised my hand. He said, I need to talk to you. And I thought, oh, Jesus Christ, what is this now? I'm definitely not going to graduate. And I went outside at the end of the class and he said, Bill Shermer was his name. And I thought, oh, Jesus Christ, what is this now? You know, I'm definitely not going to graduate. And I went outside at the end of the class and he said, Bill Shermer was his name. And he said, what are you going to do when you graduate? And I said, I have no idea. And I really didn't. My mother had actually sent me to secretarial school the summer before because she said, basically, you're not going to come home. You're going to get a job. That's what you do. And how far away from graduation were you at this point? January. Wow. So we just had, it was just at the end of the class. So it was probably the

end of January. Yeah. And, and yeah, so only a few months. And I said, I don't know what I'm going to do. And he said, I do, you're going to have a big career. And he hired me as an intern on the spot. And that was, and I just, I was too ignorant to even think it through and go, well, wait a minute. And I don't even throw, I would like this stuff, but I just said, okay, I'll do it. And here I am now. Yeah. Well, that's great. That's really, I mean, you know, well, and also too, I think that, that not being able to decide and going all, you know, in all different kinds of directions is probably one of the best educations you could have got for what you do. Totally.

It's a very Catholic, not the religion, but the other definition of Catholic. It's a very Catholic kind of job. You got to know all kinds of stuff about all kinds of stuff because every day is going to be different it actually fit my personality because that's the way i was in college yeah i was all over the i liked everything yeah you know i thought i i thought this would be it and then i thought man not that maybe this and that's very much what being a general assignment reporter is every day it's something new yeah yeah i i see i'm the same way and i i also i went to film school because i knew i wanted to work somewhere within that industry but when i got out i started working

freelance i mean i was a furniture mover too but i started working freelance in film production in chicago and i instantly figured out every job is different it's a different set of faces it's a different place it's a different job you know some It's a different place. It's a different job. You know, some jobs were like a boring job where you shoot a loaf of bread on a table for all day. And then other ones, it was, you know, Michael Jordan was doing a Wheaties commercial. And, um, and the, I just realized, oh, this is what I need. I need different stuff all the time. Like, and that's really, I responded so well to a freelance life. And then I went on to work at the, with the same guy for about 30 years. But the show would change every day.

Absolutely. The show was different every day. I mean, it, you know, it was, it wasn't, I didn't set out to be myself on TV. I wanted to be characters on TV, but I mean, I have no complaints. It was, it's been, you know, thrilling and wonderful. And, and, and I'm, I'm very lucky to have had that job, but it was just, it was just funny to me that like, I just expected that I would be doing different stuff all the time. And then I ended up being in one place, but you know, it was a pretty good place to be.

So did I, I mean, was it, there was never any doubts. Like you just knew like how, what a gift to to have within a few months know, like, okay, here we go. Here's the rest of my life. Yeah, but I mean, well, my internship ended. And so I graduated in 75. And I applied to be a writer for radio. And I didn't get it.

But I've just been really lucky. I'm sort of like Mr. Magoo in the business. A lot of lucky breaks. The news director, Mike Ludman, liked me. Thought, this is a good kid. You're not quite ready to be a writer. He hired me as his secretary. And clearly, although I had gone to Catherine Gibbs and learned typing and shorthand, I

really was bad at it. He ended up redoing all my work at the end of the day because of a lot of typos. So he made it his mission to find me a job behind my back. And he found this job at WORC radio in Worcester, Massachusetts, reading the news. It was a top 40 station and I applied for it and I got it. And then that really jumpstarted my career after that. Yeah. Yeah. And then you, and, and how does, how do you progress in that? Like, do you send tapes around, you know, or does somebody hear you in Worcester? I mean, this was, look, I got, it was the reason I got in as an intern was because of my voice,

clearly. That's why he hired me because he didn't have anything else to go on. When I got WORC, it was my voice for sure. I mean, I was an eager kid and that's all they needed. And I was just ripping and reading copy, you know, AP copy or UPI or Reuters, whatever it was, the top of the hour. And then I got a job in television because the head of the WJR TV in Providence called my station looking for somebody else, the radio station. And I'm on the phone. He says, what do you do? And I told him, he said, oh, are you interested in television? I said, you know, again, I don't know. And he said, well, we have a job opening on the weekends. This was around the time where the quotas, if you were a woman or a person of color,

you were a quota for them. So I went to Providence. I met Arthur Albert was his name. And I think that he sized me up and he thought, why not? And I got that job, a weekend reporter at Channel 10. So it's not I didn't really ever send out a lot of tapes. I just kept landing and stuff. And then really where I mean, if I've learned anything through my life is hard work is everything. And there's no cutting corners. At least I haven't found anything through my life is hard work is everything. And there's no cutting corners. At least I haven't found that in my life. And I also, when you, when you question why you got a job, I also felt like I'm going to be much better than everybody else. I'm going to work that

much harder to prove that I deserve where I am. I always felt a little bit, and I would talk to other people who'd been brought in who felt like, you know, I know there's a certain amount of resentment because I'm here because I'm a woman or I'm here. My friend Ryan, a friend of mine was African-American, felt it very strongly, too. So we sort of bonded and said we we have just got to be the best we can be. Yeah. As we're facing a certain amount of resentment, which I understood. But, you know, that was the way things happened back then. Right. Well, and I wouldn't have gotten a job otherwise. That's the way things happen. That's the way equity happens. Exactly. It seems unnatural for a while,

but it's like, well, yeah, because unfairness has become what feels natural. And I mean, I experience it now because and people complain out here because, you know, it's like a white man can't get a job. It's like, well, white men kind of had it really good for a long time. You know, and this is not this is not unfairness. This is fairness. This is what fairness feels like. What wasn't unfair was that sometimes you you get these jobs and then you knew people were rooting against you. I never felt the kind of support going in that I would have assumed would go hand in hand with being hired. Yeah. And I think that was because there was that people getting their backup like, yeah, we know why you're here.

Right, right. So that's why i kind of had to prove them wrong yeah exactly and i'm and also because yeah i mean you said it right at the beginning of you know you were you you are an attractive woman and so that is a you know that's worth that's worth money in television that's worth that is and these guys and they well you know it still is pretty much mostly men um they you can't you can say well that's not fair and they're like yeah but check the numbers yeah you know and they're and it is they have they have this like the big, just the kind of dopiness of the general viewing public as a huge behemoth is pretty dumb and likes really simple, dumb stuff that is not challenging. And that, you know, like, I mean, I was just talking to somebody the other day because when I was young and I thought like, what about a TV show that's different all the time?

And now I realize, no way. Nobody at home is like, I want to be challenged here on the couch. They're all like, no, I want the same. I want the same. Give me my pablum. Yeah, yeah. Give me my pacifier, my whoopee. Give me my pacifier, my whoopee.

And I also think, too, it's interesting because I saw something the other day. Because, well, what I was going to say is it's not only that people resent you, too, but you bear the burden of the female in the broadcast journalist workplace. Because if you screw it up, then the powers that be can say, see, we tried and it doesn't work. And that's exactly right. People that now, you know, I mean, I mean, this is sort of, this is kind of dishy, but you know, like James Corden is retiring and that show, it's really hard to get people to watch a late night show. And I've seen articles about now it's time to give a, you know, a person of color or a woman, you know, you know, just somebody that's not a white guy, this slot in this show. that's not a white guy, this slot in this show. And my feeling is, if I were a person of color, I don't think I would want that because you would be put into a position where you're probably going to fail because people just aren't watching talk shows that late at night. And I just am so sensitive to the notion that they would put somebody in,

they put an Amber Ruffin in there or they put Ali Wong in there and it wouldn't do well because it's not doing well. Sorry, James Corden. But it's and then the powers that be would be see, we tried. We tried a blank blank, you know, you know, I mean, fill in the blank, an African-American woman or, you know, a gay Latino or whatever. And they would have a reason to say, uh, we already did that. So it's, you know, it's I guess. Yeah. But if James Gordon is not doing well, why would they make that leap that it's because it's a woman or a person of color that it's not doing well, as opposed to just saying the slot is not a good slot for, for this kind of show. Because,

because they're shitty. Oh, of course. The obvious. Yes. Yes. Well, it's like,

you know, when they, when they put a show on at six different times and they go like, it just didn't find an audience. Well, yeah, fucker. You know, you baked a bunch of pies and you put them in an auto parts store. Like, people don't like these pies. They're not, because they don't know where to find them, dummy.

You know? That's exactly right. I've seen that in my career many times over where they, there used to be a time where they would allow a show to grow. Yeah. And I don't think that exists anymore. anymore it doesn't they give you your certain number of weeks and and good luck if the audience even has found you by then i know with our game show we're just getting discovered and we're four years in yeah you know so it it takes a long time and it's even worse because it's depending on the city, the hours change and all of that. But you have to be a big enough when I did The View after one year, they would have canceled our show except for Barbara Walters. If she had not been at the helm of The View, that show would not be on now.

I can imagine. Yeah. Yeah. She had such power at ABC and they had respect for her that they continued with that show. And it was a network show, which is there's more longevity to that usually or used to be than syndication. Right. Right. So they they stuck with the show and look at it now, all these years later. And also it's a you know, it's it's they're not splitting the money with anybody. You know, you know, they own the show. They came up with the show. There's no studio. There's no syndicator. It's all every dollar that comes in is their dollar. Yes. Well, now, I don't want to get there just yet because I want to know when you transition from doing radio to TV, what is that feeling like?

I mean, is it is it just another step in the progression or do you feel some real palpable difference between the one role and the other? Well, TV, you know, you're there, you're on camera. I'm a shy person, believe it or not, to be in this business. Although I think a lot of people in this business actually are shy. It's very common. I mean, I feel the same way. I don't people. And when I'm out and people like, oh, there he is, he wants to.

I'm like, no, I don't. I know I want to be left alone. I want to hide. Or they assume that's right. Like, oh, you think you're such a big shot? I don't. I do some silly little thing. Yeah. Yeah. Or the opposite. Oh, the has been, you know, what are you doing now, honey? I know. I know. People have all different kind of ways to make you feel bad about yourself. Or the opposite. Oh, the has been, you know, what are you doing now, honey? I know, I know. People have all different kind of ways to make you feel bad about yourself. Exactly. And they're very comfortable doing it. They sure are. It's natural.

It's very natural. Well, I, again, I wasn't intending to be on television. I loved, I actually really loved radio. And that's why you're doing the podcast. This kind of thing is so appealing. I think it's just cool. And I had great experience doing radio. So this was, you know, okay, well, I'll, I'll do this. Why not? It was just weekends. I had my radio gig during the week. And then I was hired full time at Channel 10 as a television reporter. But I was so busy just trying to keep afloat, to be honest with you, Andy, and learning the business and camera and video. And we edited our own material back then. So it was the days of the joystick, you know, on the editing machine. And I actually loved editing a lot. But most of it was film. They had just moved into videotape. But I had so much to learn and I was learning on the job.

But thank goodness I was an English major because the one skill set I truly had was writing. Yeah. Being able to communicate. And I think that's what really helped me. I was a good storyteller and I enjoyed, as shy as I am, I liked telling other people's stories. I did not want to be the focus. And back in the day when I started in television, 76,

you were almost never on camera. It was all about the camera being directed at somebody else. Now the reporter is the celebrity. But back then it wasn't like that. And I really loved giving people a platform. And that's what drew me into being on air as a reporter, that I had this opportunity to give a voice to folks who wouldn't have one otherwise. Yeah. And now how do you get from there to hosting? How does that transition start to happen? Well, I was discovered by literally by one of those guys that lurks around hotel rooms.

They're watching in every hotel room. And this man called me up out of the blue. He said, I saw you in Providence. I've been in, what do you call those guys? Headhunters. Yeah. And I wasn't going to, I said, oh, please. And he wanted me to put together a tape.

And the director at Channel 10 News said, you should just do it. Just do it. Why? What are you scared of? So I did put together a tape. And two weeks later, New York City called. CBS in New York, local, Channel 2. And they wanted to meet me. put together a tape and two weeks later new york city called cbs in new york a local channel two and they wanted to meet me so i think me in an odd way maybe the fact that i i everything came at me so fast i didn't have a time a time to process it and get nervous so i just went i

would i didn't think it through enough to go you don't deserve to be going to channel two in new york it was to me it was like yeah sure i'll go i think that's very very prescient because yeah that's i i think that's very prescient because i think that that's very true with a lot of people if you don't have time to think about it then yeah sure why not you know and if they think i can do it then all right i mean it'd be rude to like tell them they're wrong. They'll discover that soon enough. So I went and I interviewed by Steve Cohen, who's the news director, and then the GM, general manager, whose name is escaping me right now. And the last thing they did was they had me watch the broadcast with them and just the three of us in the room. And Steve Cohen says to me, and I think I'd be doing pretty well all day.

And he said, what do you think? And I don't know if you've seen a lot of local news in New York, but I thought it was terrible. Yeah, it was just, you know, like if it if it bleeds, it leads. That was the standard for local news. And I said, well, I got to tell you, I don't I think we do a better job in Providence. We have a lot more political coverage and the economy. It seems like this is mostly crime. And he's looking at me and doesn't let on anything. And the GM's looking at me, okay. And said, well, what would you do? And I said, well, I don't know. I mean, I'm not you, but you asked for my opinion. And so he said, well, nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah. I did end up getting the job. But maybe a year later, his secretary, Lee, who we became very, very close friends.

She said, you know what? What you may not know is after you left, Steve Cohen said there's no way I'm going to hire her. And the GM said, yes, you are. She's very direct. She tells she speaks her truth. And I think it takes a lot of guts to sit here with us and say what she really thinks. It is it is the most the most and it's you can't fake it. No, but the the somebody when you're when you have an opportunity for somebody for whether it's, you know, like to ask them to dance or to ask them to marry you or to give them a job. And they give you the impression, okay, I'm open to it, but I don't need you. And I'm going to be honest with you. And I'm perfectly fine on my own. That makes people go, I need you.

And I've seen it in my own career where when I really kind, you know, and I've seen it. I've seen it in my own career where when I really kind of feel like, oh, I got, you know, I mean, I learned it over time. There's nothing more alluring than, all right, whatever, you know, OK, you know, you know what? You know, we got this big job for you. All right, great. Oh, it looks fun. But, you know, if you don't, no big deal. Yeah, well, I wasn't happy enough to really think that through. No, I know. But but it looks fun. But you know, if you don't, no big deal. Yeah. Well, I wasn't crafty enough to really think that through. No, I know, but it works that way. You know, it does work that way. And it, and you, and you know, so too, it's good. You didn't have the craftiness to go through that, that you just had it as an instinct to like, you know, what's there to lose. I'm going to, you know, I got to work here. So I

got to be myself. Right. Yeah, exactly. and i ended up having a great experience they're really great and steve go and i became very good friends and he was a fantastic boss to have so it all worked out but yeah yeah and then i got i was brought in by the we shared the same building uh on west 57th street with uh the network there's just a different hallway you went down. And one of the vice presidents called me in and asked me about working for the network. And that was the Detroit convention. So I'm trying to remember what year that was. And I was being sent there by Channel 2. And I said, you know, I'm not ready for the network. I think I'm going to stay where I am. I have an

opportunity to cover a convention and I just am going to stay. And this vice president, John Lane, said, you know, we don't ask twice. I said, OK, but I'm I want to succeed and I don't feel I'll succeed if I move now. I feel I need some more work at my craft. And so I, you know, he said, OK. And I left. And then about a year later, they came back and said, do you want the job? I said, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Now I'm ready.

So you do ask twice. Yeah. But then I showed up with my hair all breaking off. I went, shit, why did we offer this twice? Send her to Chicago. She's a Chicago 10. But now she's a New York 5. Oh, my God. Yeah.

But then, I mean, do you start to think about hosting things more? Or, I mean. No. So my career is so weird. There are people listening. They're probably, how did this woman survive but i'm i'm now i'm in i'm a reporter in uh at cbs news i loved it i loved it i loved it and they made me a national correspondent which means i could go all over the country which was great

and they moved me to new york and then i was asked to do this new show called West 57th to be one of the hosts. Oh, yeah. And I said, no, I don't want to do that. I finally reached this point where I'm excited. I don't want to do a magazine show. I like the job I have. I'm working for Dan Rather. This is pretty great. Yeah. And Dan Rather called me and he said, Meredith, sometimes you have to do what the company wants you to do. It's important. And he said, Andy Lack is at the head of this. He's very skilled. He's very talented. This is a great opportunity. We'll be here if it fails, although I don't know whether they would have been there if I failed.

But that I think that it's important that you take one for the team. They were building this show with young correspondents to sort of not rival 60 Minutes, but be sort of pairing with 60 Minutes. They were the older group. We were the young Turks heading in. And so I took the job and I'm so glad I did. It was great. It was long form storytelling,

which I did not have the opportunity to do in news. Most of our pieces were a minute 15. Of course. And in a magazine format, it was, you know of course and in in uh magazine format it was you know five minutes ten minutes whatever it was as long as you needed to tell the story and i i grew tremendously from that it led me to 60 minutes did you were you thinking of it before you did it as kind of like reporting is more of a prestigious kind of glassier thing and this is yeah this is more entertainment. Exactly. It was more flashy. And I wasn't, I was never interested in the flash that kind of, I'm the one who never wanted to put my face on, you know? So to me, a magazine show, I don't know.

I mean, I was a huge fan of 60 minutes and that was the only job in this entire business that I ever truly coveted that I really wanted. Because I didn't read that as a, that, that had everything in it, you know, Morley Safer would do some of the featurey stuff, but then you had Mike Wallace who was hard hitting and all of those folks. And so anyway, I, yeah, I, I didn't want to do it. And then I ended up loving it and, and starting a show from the ground, there's something amazing about being with a group of people. You don't know what you're going to get on the other end. You're all working common

purpose. And that was a great experience. And today, anytime I can do that, I love to do that. Yeah. And it's also fun. I mean, I say this with the experience of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, where, you know, some people definitely had national television television experience, but they were like the two people in charge. The rest of us were just kind of making it up as we went because, you know, they just said, you know, I mean, I'd get sent go to Mardi Gras and interview Little Richard. And, you know, I'm like, OK, you know, I don't know how to do that that but I guess I'll figure it out because I'm on a plane now yeah yeah so I can imagine that just all of you kind of being in

the same boat it was probably fun because also you don't you're not cluttered up with a bunch of rules you know you you know you sort of that's right you go with your instincts that's exactly right and that's what made it so great yeah so much fun but you know what i've you just said something about you're on the plane so what are you going to do i think one of the reasons you've been successful one of the reasons i have as well is that we're by nature inquisitive people yeah and if you are like that then you you can talk to anybody about anything because you care. You're interested. Yep. Well, I'm always, I mean, I don't know if it applies to your business, but to me, one of the secrets of doing a show,

a strip show like Late Night with Conan O'Brien, that at least was sort of my North Star, was I need to pursue my own good time. You know, this show is meant to be mainly fun. People are, this is like people eavesdropping on a conversation of, you know, crazy,

funny weirdos. So I always felt like if I'm having a good time at it, then the audience will have a good time at it. And that was the same. I mean, it would be the same when I was on a sitcom. If there was a scene that I just thought, this is boring to me, I would go, this is boring to me. And just because, if you can make it fun for me, then, A, I'll do better. I'll just be better. And I think it'll just be better. It'll just be better.

And so, yeah, I think you're definitely right about that. If you, you know, you can, you have to pursue, you have to pursue what you like. I agree. Because if you're pursuing something based on what somebody else likes, it's going to be flat. That's right. You can't fake it. You can't fake it ultimately. The audience is smart.

And they can see when you're faking it. I think you have to let go of any kind of self-consciousness, which is not always easy for me to do. No, it's not. But you have to just be there, be present, and not be afraid. Yeah. And be able to, like you said, when it's not working, it present and not be afraid. Yeah. And be able to, like you said, when it's not working, it's not who you are. It doesn't resonate with you. You've got to be able to say it.

Yeah. Yeah. Now, I'm curious, too. When does and how does wanting a family, starting a family, starting a marriage, enter into all of this very consuming career? Well, I met Richard in 1983, and I knew if I was going to get married, it was because I wanted to have kids. I was not like, I need to get married. And so when we got married in 1986, that was the part of the plan that we were going to have children. I always it was always in my equation.

I thought I'll figure this out. I'll figure it out. And I have to admit that I started looking at the landscape of women in my position and very few, if any, had children back then. And none of the producers did because it would hold you back. What do you want? Do you want the career? Do you want the family? You're not going to have both. But I, again, maybe I wasn't thinking it through. I just said, well, I'm going to have a family. I'm going to have a life. That's very important to me. And then we proceeded to have a series of miscarriages.

We had four in a row. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And so by the time I was pregnant with Ben, I and I knew it was going to stick. And I had in my head if I ate literally a pint of ice cream every day that it would. So I was massive. But I had been. I think that's a pretty that's not pretty standard wisdom among obstetricians. You got to eat the ice cream. Oh, please. It solved so many problems. But I and it was pistachio.

I remember. Oh, nice. Yeah. Green. And so anyway, and I was at I was at West 57th then. And we were such a family that whole show that everybody knew about the miscarriages. And they were so supportive of me. And, and I remember Andy Lack used to say, go in your office, shut off the lights, take your nap, just take a nap because he knew what I got. They were, couldn't have been kinder and said, you know, you get your work done wherever you get your work done. Don't worry

about it. I want you to just, you know, feel good throughout all of this experience. So that was great. And then right before I was going to leave for maternity leave, the baby was due on Valentine's Day. So I was leaving the week before and I got called into the headquarters, CBS News headquarters, the president. And he said, look, we would like you to consider 60 minutes. I said, oh, man, I'm about to have a baby. But he said, well, this position, not Leslie Stoll, Diane Sawyer was leaving and they were going to hire two people. Steve Croft was one and I ended up being the other. Yeah.

To fill her spot for the first year, we would share the stories. We'd each do a certain number. And then the following year, we would be full-time correspondents. So I said, oh, my God, I don't know. I don't know. And they knew how much I wanted that job. Who turns that down? And I came home and I sort of convinced myself.

I said, okay, this is going to work. But I'm going to take Ben with me because, you know, it's going to keep my priorities straight. So the whole time I'm sitting with Don and I have Ben, he's in a little stroller and I'm holding Ben's hand because I just wanted to be sure in my own head that I knew what I was doing and that I was now a mother too. And I said, okay, I'm going to do it. I'm going to take the leap. And it was probably doomed from then on. Is he like a month old at this point? No, he was born in February. Yeah. And so they met me, I think, in May. Oh, OK. Don and his sidekick, Phil,

and they took me to lunch just to, you know, he was dried off at this point. He wasn't still wasn't still wet from birth. If I were a different kind of person, yeah, I would have been right out. But I had them dry them off. Here's the baby. Well, that's great. And how long did 60 Minutes, how long were you there? I was there two and a half years, I think. I had been and then I'm trying to remember. I had been in 89 and in 1991, I got pregnant with Gabe.

I'm trying to remember. I had been in 89 and in 1991, I got pregnant with Gabe. And it was not a great situation for me, all of 60 Minutes. I loved the storytelling and I loved my producers, my team. And we worked very well together because I was extremely efficient. Being a new mom, I knew how to balance things, juggle things. So I would write almost exclusively at home. I never worked the office. I never played office politics, which was probably my biggest mistake. I wasn't there to schmooze, as they say, and all the guys were, and I just didn't do it. I did my thing and I left, or I worked from home

when I could. And when I was in the field with producers, what might take five days, I would do in two. I'd say, let's just do back to back to back. And they were fine with that. So in terms of the content, it was great. But I was always divided in my head. When I was in the field traveling, I missed my son when I was home and my husband when I was home with them. I knew I wasn't giving everything I could to that show, which was incredibly demanding for a lot of reasons,

which is why it's still so successful. It was Don's baby, really. Like I had mine, he had his. And then when I was, I found out I was pregnant with Gabe and I didn't say anything because I'd had so many miscarriages. I thought, let me wait and make sure before I, you know, say anything. And I got a phone call. I was probably maybe two months pregnant, maybe. And I got a call from Don from Paris. I don't remember the story, but he said, we want you on the next flight. It was the, when they had the Concorde and I stopped, you know, I said, Don, I can't. And he said, what do you mean you can't? I said, I'm pregnant and I can't fly. And he, there was a silence and he said, I got to go, I got to find somebody to do

this. And that was the beginning of the end. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't last, I, you know, gave he was born, but I think I left even before then. Yeah. There was just a meeting of the minds. He said, I can't, you know, he said, you're going to have, I was going to take six months, which I was entitled to. And he said, well, you still need to get all of your stories done for that year. And I said, I can't, you're taking away, I'm taking away six months. I can do a certain number, but not the same. And he said, well, then forget it. And I said, okay, forget it. That was it.

And I slept very well that night. And I understand his position totally, but I felt like he was waiting for an opportunity because I just wasn't the kind of, I don't know, person that he necessarily wanted there. Yeah, but I mean, you know, that's it. Yeah. It just comes down to it's not a right fit. It wasn't the right thing. I mean, it's like you don't even remember what story it was. So that'll tell you, you know, that that'll tell you how important in the long term

that was. Exactly. You know, and the option was now is now on, on CNN. The other option there is now an important CNN reporter, right? Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Who has got an amazing perspective on life. Yeah. And is not, I mean, he loves his job. He respects his job.

But he also understands at the end of the day, there's a lot more to his life. And I think that's great. Yeah. Because you can get caught up in chasing, you know, whatever this thing is. Yeah. And also, I think, you know, it's another thing that I have gleaned from my years in television is if you give somebody the message, whatever you want boss they they will take you up on it totally and and and when it and every time somebody said to me you do this little extra thing and i'll i mean and explicitly said and don't worry i'll make it up to you or there will be some never, never once has anybody made it up to me when I've

done something extra of and above and beyond. And I have seen people who say, whatever you want, boss, get screwed repeatedly. And the people that say, no, you know what? I'm going to set a limit here. They usually kind of get respected more. I was going to say it comes down to respect. I don't think that you are respected when you'll just jump. Yeah. And someone tells you how high when they say jump. So yeah. Yeah. But you have to balance that with I get it like you have to put in your dues and there's a certain amount of grunt work and all of that. But if you let yourself be a lapdog, that's what you'll be. Right, right. And the most you can get is petted. That's it.

If you're lucky, they'll kick you to the curb. Well, I mean, how long were you unemployed then, I guess? I really wasn't. They put me on a trial show on CBS until I had Gabe. And then after I had Gabe, I was at CBS, the early, early, early news. I think it came on at five in the morning nationally with John Roberts back then, who had come from Canada. Now he's, I'm not sure. I think he's with Fox now. He was with CNN for a while, but anyhow, he was new and it was nice guy. And, I hated it so much. I'm not a morning person, ironic since I did the today show, but I'm not a morning person. So I, I, I, I think I tried to get pregnant as quickly as possible. And I did. And, and I did not tell, I was on different drugs

to avoid miscarriage. And this time I, I didn't take them. And my doctor said it'll never stick. And Lily stuck. She wanted to be around. Yeah, yeah. So I was off the air. I mean, I did that. And then while I was maternally with Lily, I got a phone call from this woman, Phyllis, at ABC News, who wanted me to join a documentary unit. And I said, well, I'm having my third child or I've had my third child. Or, yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I guess I just had Lily. She said, so I don't know. And she said, we, I'm having my third child or I've had my third child or yeah, I don't know.

Yeah, I guess I just had a little. And she said, so I don't know. And she said, we'll make this work. You can work from home. All you have to do is go in the field when the story is there. We want you. We love you. And so that was it.

And I ended up doing that show. Turning Point, it was called. So I never really was out of work for any great length of time. Yeah. Oh, that's too bad. Well, I did. My show was a failure. Are you trying to get to failure?

Well, yeah, but that's what we're going for in this hour. That's right to that. That's the ridiculous thing about television, too, is that when you I mean, because, you know, i was number one on the call sheet for three different prime time comedies and and there are still people that like to call me a failure you know when it's like it's like i don't know that seems like i did pretty well you know exactly and and it's the same thing you had your there was the merit of viera show yes and and and it was not it was on for like over a year wasn't it two years yeah two years not over a year two years two years all right all right already geez not touchy about it at all are we oh not me i only shake a little bit now when

i think about it well just i mean was that we're you've got too much career because we're getting too long here. And I definitely want to get to game shows because I relate to you more. The talk show was a lot of cooks. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not trying to be defensive at all because certain things don't take. And they were looking to build an audience very quickly, and it wasn't happening as fast as they wanted. And, you know, I get it. The decisions are made. I respect the decision. I had a great experience doing it. The only

embarrassing thing is they threw this big party at my house for the staff. I threw it, but, you know, they paid for it. And so they made these umbrellas to go by we have a pool and they made these umbrellas and they say the meredith villara show and i still have them and my friend the other day was kidding me and said you probably shouldn't put those out anymore because it looks very desperate or that you're senile either way it just doesn't ring true i would put him in the front yard put him in the front yard. Put him in the front yard. Let everybody know. Take that, NBC.

Now, was this before or after The View? This was after The View. I was with The View for nine years. No, yeah, nine years. And then I got the offer to be on The Today Show, co-host with Matt. And I did that. Was that easy? Oh, I mean, were you kind of ready to leave The the Today Show co-host with Matt. And I did that. Was that easy? Oh, I mean, were you kind of ready to leave The View at that point?

Yes and no. My contract was up and I probably would not have left. I was doing The View and Millionaire, the syndicated version of Millionaire back then. And I really liked both. Yeah. There was work, but they weren't heavy lifting. Millionaire, mostly because you did five shows a day. So that

was a bit of a grind, but I still liked it. It wasn't the kind of homework that would come with a news job. So I wasn't looking to leave, but I got a call from Jeff Zucker who said, I'd like to meet you. And I thought, well, I don't really have time I go from from uh the view right to millionaire he said I'll pick you up Jeff was the head of NBC and so he picks me up in this car with tinted windows I'll never forget that it was like oh very it's like a mafia dog oh it's very much like I might not ever emerge from this car I don't know this man and I I get in the back. He's in the back. And on that ride over from ABC to The View to the studio for Millionaire is only like 10 blocks or something. Yeah. He says to me, people don't know this yet, but Katie Couric is leaving the show. I said, oh, and he said I kicked myself that I said this because it's so ageist and it really was inappropriate for me to say or to think.

But I said, aren't you skewing a little old? And he said, I'm looking for talent. And I'm glad that you've had experience. So he was great. I said, okay. I said, look, I'm not really into morning stuff at all. But he said, well, just think about it. Think about it. And my daughter was in Secret Garden. She did a lot of theater. She's a little kid then. And I mentioned that to him, that she was in this play

and I was going to go that weekend or something. And he sent flowers to me with something that referenced Secret Garden. I thought, this guy's smart. He's really clever the way he operates. And then I sat down with Richard and I thought about it. I said, you know, normally I wouldn't do this, but it's the Today Show. And when will I get this opportunity? And I don't want to kick myself later. And I had been nine years with The View. And, you know, it was very comfortable, like a pair of slippers.

But it wasn't a challenge. But I went to one of the bosses at The View at the time and I and because I wasn't signing the contract, I was waiting. And he asked me, you know, he said, you got to do this now. And I said, I'm not quite ready. And he said, well, where else are you going to get a job at your age? Interesting. And I said, I already knew, but he didn't know. And I said, oh, my God, I don't know. I don't know. What am I going to do? I played this like, oh, maybe you're right. And, or she, I don't want to out this person. But anyway, and within a couple of days, the news broke. I had taken the job. So yeah. Embarrassed.

That's sweet though. That great it's great when you know where will i go yeah yeah oh yeah yeah yeah although he apologized he said look in the moment i was freaking out and i and i said well i wouldn't pull that on anyone else because i should have actually gone to human resources but was this a person I liked and I just went yeah I don't know I probably should have said something but anyway and then I was at today for five years and realized I was right when I said I don't like mornings I love the show but I didn't like the hours at all oh yeah you had to get up at like four o'clock in the morning no I was up at two because I'm oh wow because I would a lot of your stories would change so whatever you thought you were going to be doing, there'd be breaking news. So your morning, you're suddenly interviewing

somebody you didn't realize. And you've got to, you know, you, I would get up, literally lie on the bathroom floor and turn on my phone. And I just see all the hits, you know, this story, this story, this interview, that interview, and spend the next couple of hours just reading through all of those emails and then leave for work at four. But, you know, I just, I could never turn it off that show. I would leave and by three o'clock, you're already in preparation mode again. And I was the type of person that prepared as much for a Martha Stewart interview as I did for a Barack Obama interview. You know, I couldn't, in some ways I thought the, the simpler, the, the segment, and I don't mean that's not to denigrate Martha, but you know, the more it's kind of straightforward,

politics is more complicated. I thought, boy, maybe you should even be spending more time in that to make it more interesting. Yeah. Yeah. So that was my rationale. And then I never went to bed before 1130. So I was getting basically no sleep and I couldn't, couldn't survive on that so after four years i said i'm leaving and then he asked if i would stay one more and i did and i have nothing negative to say about my experience there it was it was great but yeah there and but you don't have anything left for your family when you're exactly you know exactly that put yourself into a position that you had already not

you'd already chosen to not be in that's exactly right i did i that's the one time i kind of went against my instincts and uh and it well and then the 60 was also i i was shaken but i just couldn't resist that one sort of like i couldn't resist a day show but eventually your true self uh reappears and stuff and i you know that the offer to stay was substantial financially well if i stay just for that what's what's the point yeah now sometimes i go you don't mean what's the point you didn't get the point a more cash to sit on exactly yeah once again the idiot savant emerges just the idiot part but anyway so yeah and i'm really glad i and i've been and part of the thing that's worked to my advantage having all these different kinds of experiences and news and talk and game is that

i wear a lot of hats which means i have a lot of opportunities I might not have had had I just stuck to one thing. Yeah. Yeah. Now tell me when they come to you and say, we want you to host Millionaire. How does the classy broadcast journalist handle that offer? That's what some of my friends said. What are you thinking? Yeah. Well, when the syndicated version was ready to launch, Regis didn't want to do it. He said, I'm not interested in that. So Michael knew my work and he contacted me and he said, we would love to have you do it. So I haven't really done any game. And he said, yeah, but we think you'd be really good at it. You're smart. You're funny, blah, blah, blah. game and he said yeah but we think you'd be really good at it you're smart you're funny blah blah blah and i just kind of said why not i had watched the show with our family had watched the show since we just started it we loved it on sunday nights yeah um and i thought it was a great show

and and an opportunity to do something different it was and it's it's a smarty pants show you know yeah it's a classic show you know yeah it's not uh you know it's not a a dumb dumb show right uh exactly and so yeah you know it's because i mean and i've had that i mean i've hosted a few michael davies michael davies michael davies please apologize i. That's all right. That's all right. I, you know, I've done, I've done some game shows that were, you know, I actually hosted a pilot for Pyramid that were for CBS that was supposed to go in a block with the price is right let's make a deal and then pyramid so because they had you know they wanted to do this because one of the soap operas was going off the air right right and it was between us um some kind of daytime talk showy thing with emerald uh and then um the talk which was the show that les moonves it was like his wife's fourth or fifth job and guess which one they went with um you know what andy i feel like i sort of screwed you inadvertently because he less had offered me the the role of head of big brother, you know, the host of big brother way.

And I said, I'm not interested in that. I'm sorry. And he was the head of CBS at the time. And so that's how he got to meet his future wife. Oh boy. And he said, I'm so glad you turned that job down because that's how I met. I still have a money tree in my backyard if you hadn't done that. Well, no, it was funny. But now we're connected. I didn't know that.

That's our six degrees. It was really fun. I mean, you know, like Betty White was on. You know, I got to do it, you know, because we did a few episodes of it. And it was really good. And I just remember Nina Tassler, who was the head of the network, in a press conference when they announced the talk, which I don't even think they'd shot a show yet. They just put up a camera in a conference room and had them sit around talking. And they were pressing her about like, well, how is the talk?

You know, what what sets it apart? What you know, how is it, you know, unique or anything? And I guess she kind of finally went look it's just the view okay it's just it's just the view like she got it right because i'd heard that she kind of wanted the game show instead so oh yeah yeah she's on yes exactly yeah well now um you know then you know transfer transferring that into into doing more game shows, I mean, how does that feel just sort of personally? How do you feel living the life of a game show host as opposed to this demanding world of a broadcast journalist? Well, to be totally honest with you, right now, the way the world is, I could go either way.

Maybe it's the best time to be a journalist or an extremely difficult time. I think that, you know, I go into bad places every day. You know, I spend too much time on the internet. Yeah. It's tough. It's very depressing. It's very challenging. And I did it. I watch a lot less news than I used to because I just, I can't, you know, it's my mental health is really struggling with all of it as is everybody's I'm sure. So I did it, you know, I look at it like, you know, I I'm 68 years old. I'll be 69 in December. I've lived a very rich life professionally. I've done a lot of things. I think there are times in your life for certain things. And my head really isn't there right now. I like sort of dipping my toes into all different sorts of things. And if I see a project that looks interesting to me, I don't care if

it's game or documentary or whatever it is. I'll take a second look. And when Stephen Brown offered me this job, I thought, you know, well, I did the pilots or the summer shows before we knew there'd be 25 Words or Less pickup. And I really liked the people. I thought the game was fun. It is fun. It is fun. I like Stephen a lot. I respected him. I like Steven a lot. I respected him. I knew syndication from just my own experiences could be a total bitch and a beast and a very tough place to be.

But I thought, hey, why not? You know, I remember that summer shooting those 15 shows. And I would drive up to this lot in, I guess, Hollywood and all the buildings were pink. And I, you know, I've I've drunk the Kool-A of la i love la yeah i like the business and um uh i love lucy's set was right there i was gonna it's sunset gower i think yes yeah yeah and i would think wow yeah at this point in my career to just have this experience is really cool. I never had that kind of experience and I just rolled with it. I thought I'm not, I'm not embarrassed. I think it's great. And I bring as much intensity to the job of being a game show host as I would anything

else. Right. And as much integrity because I'm proud of it and I want it to be as good as it can be. And I appreciate the people who watch it and the people like you who've participated because it's not always easy to get folks to come on board. And so thank you for that. Oh, yeah. And you're also really good at it, which helps. No, it's fun.

And I tell people it's a fun game. Like, you know, I'm getting paid to go play a word game. Yeah. I mean, I just love playing and they're also too there's something that when you help somebody win money you know like not necessarily life-changing money but like year-changing money you're like they're gonna have a much better year this year than they did i remember i was actually on the uh michael strahan pyramid and the contestant uh that i was in the final thing with

she actually she said one of the words and screwed up her chances so i was like relieved that i didn't do it but her consolation prize was a disney cruise and while they're doing you know the the video clip package and you'll be spending six days on nights or whatever she went oh my god those things are so expensive my kids are going to be so happy and i felt like that's that's better than the money you know because she probably would have probably would have spent the money on property taxes or something you know whereas like this was a Disney cruise, you know? Yeah, exactly. Something she probably would never do.

Yeah. Because it's so exorbitant. Yeah. It's like it's a real nice little thrill that you get from this very silly thing, you know, that you're doing. I used to say that about Millionaire. People would ask me, what is it about it? And I said, well, first of all, it's fun. I like it. I loved it. These people are so nervous when they came, when they would come on set because they'd never been on television. And that's where my skills as a reporter really paid off because I could draw

them out and you had to make them feel relaxed. And so that I wanted them to do the best job they could do while I'm ribbing them, but I'm also letting them know you're in a safe spot here. And I want you to feel just be confident and be yourself. And you're here for a reason. And then after each person would leave, I was never allowed to meet them before or see them after. But I wrote everybody a note just to acknowledge, give them some affirmation about what they had done. And because it meant a lot to me, and I always get emotional about this, but when I started on that show, people were playing for things like a second home

or a boat or something. Yeah. And then the economy went south and people were literally paying to get their kids a tuition paid. Yeah. Or like you said, a property tax or whatever. They needed this money desperately

and it meant so much to them. And I thought, God god what a job i have i mean if you want a humility that's where it comes in you're helping change somebody's life whether in your case the disney cruise which has changed her and her family giving them such a a great experience or something like just i don't have to worry about my kids tuition yeah that's so that's how i look at the shows that i've the game shows. They're fun. They're game. They have their place, but they also can literally change lives. Yeah. And make me enjoy to somebody like they call their friends and family. I'm on. I'm on TV. Right. Right. I don't take that for granted. Exactly. Yeah. Well, now. what where are you going next what what's what's it what's it i think the next one well i don't know i mean you know i mean i don't want to wish that yeah no of course not and you're going to be around forever and honestly i'm shocked when you said your age yeah i i that's

it that's that that number's too high for knowing knowing you seeing you that number's too high. For knowing you, seeing you, that number's too high. Well, that's because I'm very immature. Well, that's a good thing. Yeah, totally. I never want to lose that goofiness. Right. Well, I just did talk about doing things that look like fun.

Peacock is getting into this whole area of comedy shows. doing things that look like fun. Peacock is getting into this whole area of comedy shows. And they just did a pilot with John Berlant and Kate, Kate Berlant and John Early. Sorry. Yeah. Fantastic. They're hilarious.

They're hilarious. And they invited me to be play myself, but in a crazy role of version of myself as the, the news anchor that has bagged the first interview with these two, they were a comedic duo who had a falling out and they've come back together after 20 years. And I loved it. I said, absolutely, I'll do that. And, you know, we went back to 30 Rock and which was fun and the NBC studios and I met them and they're charming. And I just had to do a session. I'm sure you've done this, but I had never done it where they play you, you know, and then you have to re-dub yourself.

Oh, yeah. It has to match. It's called ADR, yeah. Okay. And that was, when I came home, I said, oh, I just did something I'd never done before. That's cool. Yeah, that is great. Yeah. So those kinds of things, when things come to me that I'm interested in. If it all pans out, I'm all for trying different stuff. Yeah. All right. Well, then the final of the three questions. Will this ever end?

Look, you stood me up once. I know. I'm so sorry. I'm punishing you. I don't think we had the sign when we started. Oh, no, I was going to say this. But I did stand up, Andy, last week. I was supposed to be on his show, and I forgot. And I'm so sorry. That was disgusting. It was fine. I mean, you know, it wasn't great, but it was okay. You know, it happens.

Your audience can't see, but you're in your bedroom. So you figure, I'm not going to walk too far for this chick. No, no. I'm not driving anywhere. Sometimes I do it in the living room. So sometimes I do go all the way out there, depending on whether the dog's home or not. Exactly. Well, I wrote this on a piece of paper and I stuck it on my fridge.

It says 12 noon Tuesday, which is when we're shooting this May 31st podcast with Andy Richter. Don't forget. Underline. I wasn't going to screw you again. No, I didn't, thank God. Well, what's the life lesson you've learned that you feel you can share? I mean, it could be eat more greens, like pistachio ice cream if you want. Well, that is a life lesson because I did get a child out of it. And about 70 pounds, but who's counting? Robert Frost has this wonderful poem,

The Road Not Taken. And it's about two roads diverged in the yellow wood and he took the one less traveled. And I have done that a lot in my career. I have followed my heart and my gut. And I think that that has served me well. And I always tell people that when I'm mentoring, particularly young people, I say, listen to your gut. It usually will steer you right. Very rarely does it steer you wrong. And you have to be attuned to it. Don't be afraid of it. And if that means you do something that other people say, no, you're getting off the treadmill,

you're getting off for a reason. You may not totally understand it at the time, but you're getting off for a reason. And that's where you discover yourself. It's on those roads that are less traveled. Well, thank you so much for, you know, traveling down this road. And I did leave my bedroom. I came downstairs to my diner. I can see.

I can see. Yeah. You're dressed. you combed your hair. They're way beyond me. So, well, Meredith, thank you so much for taking the time with me. Yeah. And we have never met. Well, I mean, not for years have we met personally, but definitely we need to dine together because that would be really fun. I would love that. And I think your podcast is phenomenal.

It's so good. Oh, thank you so much. Because you really are great. It's not an interview show. It's really a conversation. And I always learn something from it. It's really, really good. Oh, that's so nice of you.

Thank you so much. This one may not be that great. But overall, I'd say it's really good. You know, that was when I was looking at the clock. I was like, oh, geez, we've got to wrap it up. But this is all so interesting. Well, anyway, thank you so much again. And thank all of you out there for listening.

And we will be back next week with someone that won't be nearly as interesting. I could have told you that. Bye-bye. I've got a big, big love for you. Blair and executive producers Adam Sachs and Jeff Ross at Team Coco and Colin Anderson and Cody Fisher at Earwolf. Make sure to rate and review the three questions with Andy Richter on Apple Podcasts.