Katie Couric Recalls ‘Challenging’ Early Days in TV News: ‘I Didn’t Fit the Mold’ of a ‘Desirable Broadcaster’

Katie Couric looks back on her early days in television news.

In a clip that PEOPLE can exclusively reveal Life stories‘ the latest episode of his new documentary interview series on YouTube Threadjournalist, 67, reflects on how she overcame the sexism she faced early in her career.

“I think my early days in TV news were challenging, because the ’80s were very male-dominated,” she begins. “It was an era when grumpy old guys wanted to get women off the air, and I always joke that when I got into television news, harassment was two words instead of one.”

Noting that it was “difficult” because she felt she didn’t “fit the mold of what a desirable TV host was at the time,” Couric explains, “I wasn’t super glamorous, I looked extremely young for my age, and I don’t think I had, in a way, a solid exterior.”

“So my packaging didn’t necessarily lend a ton of credibility to my craft, if you will,” she adds.

Katie Couric.

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According to Couric, she also believes that “the sexism, and in some cases misogyny, that was rampant in the media business when I entered it in 1979” contributed to the obstacles she faced in her career.

“The fact that I didn’t necessarily fit the mold of what attracted male executives at the time, and you can take what you want from that statement, made it a challenge for me,” she explains.

Couric also notes that not getting positive feedback from her peers also had a negative effect on her. Still, she says it only inspired her to work harder and be her own biggest advocate.

“I don’t think anyone said, ‘Hey, you have a real future,’ so I kind of had to create my own future, because I had a lot of skeptics discouraging me and telling me that I would never really make it in business,” she explains.

Katie Couric.

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Over the years, Couric has established herself as one of the most prolific and dedicated journalists in her field.

Her first job was as an assistant at ABC. She eventually went on to work for NBC and later became a co-anchor Today show.

Couric was announced as the first independent female host CBS Evening News In 2006, and years later, she became the host of the ABC talk show Katie.

Since the beginning of 2014, she has worked as a global head of news for Yahoo.

Thread premiering weekly from March 4th to June 17th on YouTube.

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