by Ti-Hua Chang
For two generations, Connie Chung has symbolized the ultimate successful Asian American television broadcaster. From covering Watergate to being the first Asian American to co-anchor a national network evening news program. Yet in her memoir, which goes on sale on September 17th, the 78-year-old Chung describes in detail the sexism and racism she encountered throughout most of her career.
Chung knows other women of color have similar experiences.
In an interview with AsAmNews she said, “I know there were Black women correspondents, just like I was, constantly told you can’t write. You don’t know what you’re doing. You should not be in this business.”
Chung recalls in her memoir after being picked to co-anchor The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, he said to her, “I guess you’ll have to start reading a newspaper.” She also recalls in detail how she constantly had to fight to cover the hard news stories while assigned the feature and fluff stories.
In her memoir, there will be pictures of her family. She lived at home with her parents in Washington DC until she was 29 years old after her four older sisters left. Her memoir also has pictures of her in her many broadcast news jobs at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC. One picture shows her in the early 1970’s in a sea of white male reporters. Chung was the only woman, the only person of color in the photograph.
After reading her memoir, I asked her if her career would have been different if she were an equally talented white male.
“I would have had respect just by virtue of being a white male from day one…” she said. “It just would never have been what I endured… I was perpetually trying to prove myself because I had to. I did not have the automatic respect that a white male would have from day one. It was a perpetual hurdle.”
Chung went on to say, “It was actually debilitating.”
Chung says early in her career, in order to survive, she tried to act more white male than the white males. She did this to the point that one time she walked by a mirror and was surprised seeing a “Chinese woman.”
Chung does couch her view of her success saying her Chinese culture influences her self attitude adding that humility permeates her personality.
Chung, who in unscripted moments, displays a keen sense of humor, in her memoir, discusses some quick affairs she had with movie stars. She writes that she once said to Ryan O’Neal, “Your place or mine? O’Neal said, “Up to you.” Chung responded, “Follow me.”
In her AsAmNews interview, Chung acknowledges she appreciates the good parts of her career in terms of its glamour but notes that it is “very superficial for one.”
“I never say my career was a successful romp through glory. I took journalism very seriously and took my mission as a journalist very seriously.”
She does talk in detail about the critical support her husband Maury Povich provided her and the joy of adopting her son Matthew when she was nearly 50 years old. She also discusses the joy she had finding out that many Asian American families named their daughters Connie in admiration of her.
Chung notes that writing her memoir was painful because she had to relive her many struggles to be accepted as a serious journalist. It was also hard, says Chung, because as a journalist, she always removed her feelings from a story, and her publishers made her rewrite her memoir to include her feelings.
Chung told AsAmNews that she decided to write her memoir to honor her immigrant father, who had tried and failed to write a memoir to document the Chung family journey to being American. He left it up to her.
At AsAmNews’ request, Connie had a message for young Asian American women:
“Be proud of who we are. There is nothing to be timid about. You can achieve what you want to achieve if you put your mind to it and do not listen to the nay-sayers. You can do it by standing up for yourself.”
Connie Chung’s memoir, Connie, is also available on audiobook. It is narrated by Connie.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Please support our fundraisers.
Join us for a stimulating conference about issues that divide the Asian American communities. Our fundraiser Common Ground and the dinner after will be held October 26 at UC Berkeley.
Then purchase your tickets to Up Close with Connie Chung, America’s first Asian American to anchor a nightly network newscast. The in-depth conversation with Connie will be held November 14 at 7:30 at Columbia University’s Milbank Chapel in the Teacher’s College. All proceeds benefit AsAmNews.
