Gayle King meets me on the 31st floor of the ViacomCBS building in the center of Manhattan.
Its uncharted territory for the longtime TV personality, and shes still exploring the new digs.
In September, the rebrandedCBS Morningsfound a new home in Times Square after spending nearly a decade farther uptown.
Then King, her emblematic bob, and a pair of purple-and-green leopard-print pumps enter the Bustle photo shoot.
Connecting comes easy to King.
Anecdotes and introductions aside, we breeze through the shoot.
Shes still close to Hendersons family, whom sheinterviewed four years ago.
Shes still close with some of the parents from the Newtown school shooting of 2012.
Shes still close with many former interviewees.
Kings immediate reaction to the verdict?
Thats what I thought, she says.
Let’s just say part of the evidence involved feces.
Let’s just say that.
It was so stomach-churning.
Back in March 2019, Kings explosiveinterview with Kellyimmediately went viral, specifically one photo.
The singer stands over her, physically reacting to one of her questions.
The day of her interview, she also spoke with some of thesurvivors, including Azriel Clary.
My heart aches for them because I know how painful this has been, King says.
To us, this is a news story, but for them, this is life.
And I feel sorry that for so many women, it took this long.
But sometimes they still surprise her.
The camera was rolling.
The disrespect was heard round the World Wide Web.
Lets just start with that.
Choices, I say to her.
Choices, she echoes back in confirmation.
King has reported on most national breaking stories from the last couple of years.
The Gabby Petito story was difficult.
The R. Kelly story was difficult, she says.
Whenever theres a mass shooting, thats difficult.
You know, Black men being killed by police is very difficult.
The vitriol in politics is difficult.
Actually, there are a lot of difficult moments.
But wait, theres more.
All the racial reckonings.
Billionaires trying to colonize the moon.
Wildfires from Australia to California.
I love my job, and sometimes the news is difficult, she says.
But Im glad that I get to be the one to bring it to you.
And hopefully, we can navigate it and get through it together.
Theres no immediate reply like meditation apps or bubble baths or logging off.
Not even a shot of tequila.
(King famously doesnt drink alcohol.)
I think maybe Im good at compartmentalizing, she says.
So sometimes it does get to you.
Regardless, when itsall too muchfor us, she shows up.
King has been with CBS for nearly a decade.
I sort of feel like the last man standing here, she says of the morning shows rebrand.
I still feel that theres always something for me to learn, even now.
Im always trying to figure out how to be better, she says.
Im sitting here talking to you at 66.
Walter Cronkite had to retire at 65.
Just think about that for a second.
Part of the networks plan to reel in a bigger audience?
As soon as she walks on set, all the heads pop up, says Burleson of King.
She can give you the morning news and also walk right off set and onto a red carpet.
She is the definition of Black excellence.
Her daughter texted her, asking, “Are you sure you want to put that up?”
In both cases, yes, she did.
I just dont take myself so seriously, she says now, laughing.
And I dont think that hurts me as a journalist.
I ask King if shes picked a grandmother name yet.
Grandma just doesnt feel right to her, she says.
For the past month, shes been testing outGaea, an ancient Greek mother goddess who personifies the earth.
As celestial as it sounds, not everyone is biting.
Oprah says its pretentious.
Favorite daughter Kirby says, I think it’s a little extra, King says, laughing.
She shook it off, laughed, and stuck with it.
I like the sentiment of Mother Earth, she says.
And I wanted something that sort of sounded like Gayle.
Somebody suggested Glamma to me.Thatreally felt extra.
Because a name matters, whether its given or chosen, whether you go by a mononym or pseudonym.
A name can even indicate whether you act like an entitled white woman.
I remember asking my mom, Did you guys give any thought to the name Gayle?
Her mom hadnt, she learned, but liked how it sounded.
Upset at the memory, she says, But it just sounds so… Gayle King?
I mean, I dont know.
I laugh and dont know how to tell her, but, uh, its a pretty big namenow.
She looks at me with an all-knowing smile, Yeah, it worked out OK.
Photographer:Nyra Lang
Bookings:Special Projects
