Born: 1946 (Washington, D.C.)
Biography:
Constance Yu-Hwa Chung, born on August 20, 1946, is an American journalist who has made a significant impact on broadcast news. With a career spanning various television networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC, Chung has established herself as a respected news anchor and reporter. Throughout her illustrious career, she has conducted famous interviews with influential personalities like Claus von Bülow and U.S. Representative Gary Condit, whom she interviewed first after the Chandra Levy disappearance. Chung’s interview with basketball legend Magic Johnson after he revealed his HIV-positive status also garnered significant attention.
Born in Washington, D.C., Chung was the youngest of ten children and raised in the same city. Her family had recently emigrated from China, and her father, William Ling Chung, worked as an intelligence officer in the Chinese Nationalist Government. Tragically, five of Chung’s siblings lost their lives during wartime. She was named after the renowned singer and actress Constance Moore. In 1969, Chung completed her studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, earning a degree in journalism.
Chung began her career as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite during the Watergate political scandal in the early 1970s. Subsequently, she moved to Los Angeles and became an anchor for evening newscasts on KNXT, a CBS owned and operated station (now KCBS-TV), alongside Joe Benti. Her presence on KNXT was instrumental in establishing the station’s reputable and trustworthy identity. During this time, Chung also anchored CBS’s primetime news updates, known as CBS Newsbreak, for West Coast stations from the KNXT studios at Columbia Square.
In 2018, Chung bravely shared her experience of sexual harassment in the industry, acknowledging that it was a prevalent issue throughout her career. Her honesty shed light on the pervasive problem and sparked conversations about the mistreatment faced by women in journalism. Chung further expressed solidarity with survivors of sexual assault in an open letter to Christine Blasey Ford, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about being assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh. In the letter, Chung revealed that she too had been sexually assaulted in college by the doctor who delivered her.
Chung ventured back into national network news in 1983 when she became the anchor of NBC’s new early program, NBC News at Sunrise. She also served as the anchor of the Saturday edition of NBC Nightly News and occasionally filled in for Tom Brokaw on weeknights. Additionally, Chung co-hosted two newsmagazines, American Almanac and 1986, alongside Roger Mudd.
In 1989, Chung returned to CBS, hosting the show Saturday Night with Connie Chung, which was later renamed Face to Face with Connie Chung. She also anchored the CBS Sunday Evening News from 1989 to 1993. Notably, on June 1, 1993, Chung achieved a significant milestone when she became the second woman, following in the footsteps of Barbara Walters in 1976, to co-anchor a major network’s national weekday newscast as part of CBS Evening News.
Connie Chung’s contributions to the field of journalism have been remarkable. Her groundbreaking achievements as a woman in broadcasting and her candidness about her own experiences have not only inspired countless individuals but also played a significant role in shaping women’s history in the industry. Chung’s dedication to reporting the truth and her ability to connect with her audience make her an influential figure in American media.