LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After so many years of seeing Gayle King as the 'CBS Mornings' host, it might be hard to imagine her in a non-TV role. But for the longest time, she had never imagined that she would forge a career in television and journalism.
King has had the most interesting trajectory in terms of coming into the TV and broadcasting world with no aspirations and then becoming one of the most well-known and successful TV hosts in the country.
She discussed her journey of having no plans to make it in journalism and gradually building her interest in it to the point that she was 'hooked'.
Gayle King wanted to be a psychologist
Young Gayle King's vision for her future was clear, but it did not include becoming a TV personality. In fact, her plans were set to pursue psychology which interested her more than anything else.
"I majored in psychology, so I never really intended to be in television," King had shared with USA Today, "I’ve always liked (and still do) listening to other people’s problems and giving them unsolicited advice, and so I thought I would be good in psychology – that I’d have a practice where I would listen to problems all day long."
King was also always the ambitious person that she continues to be. She had also considered doing law school while making a decision for her future.
She added in the interview, "I was going to do that or law school because I thought I’d be great in front of a jury trying to argue my case or convince jurors to see things my way and putting away criminals – I was not going to represent guilty people."
Gayle King got 'hooked' on TV after her first job
King was skilled and lucky enough to score a job while she was in college, studying for her Bachelor's degree. It did not take her long to get attached to the kind of work she was doing.
"So in the back of my mind, that’s what I was thinking. But I got an entry-level position at a TV station when I was in college, and then I became hooked," she revealed to USA Today.
King's first-ever gig was as a production assistant at WJZ-TV. Once she got plunged into the world of television and journalism, she couldn't get out. Her quick success in the field, from doing background production work to hosting the show herself only proved that it was 'meant to be'.
"You’ll talk to 10 different people and get 10 different stories of how we started in this business, but for me it was really by accident. It wasn’t something that I intended to do. I got an entry-level position and there you go to something else and then something else and something else and here I am," she explained.
King became close friends with the legendary Oprah Winfrey while working on her first job. Eventually, Winfrey would offer her work as a correspondent on her own show which only led to King's consistent rise to the very top.
