Posted April. 01, 2013 05:38,
What do Monica Lewinsky, Oprah Winfrey, Ringo Starr, Norman Schwarzkopf and Patrick Swayze share in common? Koreans in their 30s are familiar with their names. The answer is that all five of them were interviewed by newswoman extraordinaire Barbara Walters. More precisely, all of them burst into tears while being interviewed by her.
Walters is famous for her interviews that make celebrities open up and tell their emotional stories. Socialite archeologist Iris Love, who was interviewed by her in the 1970s, said, She sort of leads you down the garden path, and then strikes like a snake when youre not expecting it." Dan Rather, former CBS news anchorwoman and her longtime friend, said she looks like a woman who just debuted in high society, but has a secret assassin inside.
Stubbornness and a competitive spirit have helped her rise to the top of the news profession over the past 53 years. Immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001, ABC infuriated Walters by using Diane Sawyer for its special reports. Walters flew into a rage and bawled the network`s CEO out in front of others. To appease her, the CEO assigned her to interview then New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
In Korea, KBS in its regular spring reshuffle said it will drop Jung Eun-a, the longtime host of the health program "Vitamin." She is one of a few veteran female broadcasters who has hosted the program since its inception nine years and nine months ago. Singer Eun Ji-won, a cousin of President Park Geun-hye, was chosen to be one of hosts. Broadcasters are again trying to please the new administration, be it conservative or progressive. Under these circumstances, it is questionable if Korea can produce a stellar journalist like Barbara Walters.
Political Reporter Min Dong-yong (mindy@donga.com)