Katie Couric Recalls ‘Challenging’ Early Days in TV News: ‘I Didn’t Fit the Mold’ of a ‘Desirable Broadcaster’
"I kind of had to make my own future, because I had a lot of naysayers," the journalist said
Katie Couric is looking back at her early days in television news.
In a clip that PEOPLE can exclusively reveal from Life Stories' latest episode of its new YouTube documentary interview series The Thread, the journalist, 67, reflects on how she overcame the sexism she faced when she first began her career.
"I think my early days in TV news were challenging, because it was very male-dominated in the 80s," she begins. "This was an era when cranky, old guys would wanna get the broads out of broadcasting, and I always joke that when I entered television news, harass was two words instead of one."
Noting that it was "hard" because she felt that she didn't "fit the mold of what was a desirable broadcaster back in the day," Couric details, "I wasn't super glamorous, I looked extremely young for my age, and I think I didn't have, sort of, a tough exterior."
"So my packing didn't necessarily lend a ton of credibility to my craft, if you will," she adds.
According to Couric, she also believes that "the sexism, and in some cases misogyny, that was pervasive in the media business when I entered it in 1979" contributed to hurdles she faced in her career.
"The fact that I didn't necessarily fit the mold of what the male executives were attracted to at the time, and you can take what you want from that statement, made it challenging for me," she details.
Couric also notes that not receiving positive feedback from her colleagues also impacted her negatively. Still, she says it only inspired her to work harder and be her own biggest advocate.
"I don't think anyone said, 'Hey, you've got a real future,' so I kind of had to make my own future, because I had a lot of naysayers basically discouraging me and telling me I was never really gonna make it in the business," she explains.
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Couric has established herself as one of the most prolific and dedicated journalists in her field throughout the years.
Her first job was as a desk assistant at ABC. She eventually went on to work for NBC, later becoming a co-anchor of the Today show.
Couric was named the first solo female anchor of CBS Evening News in 2006, and years later she became the host of the ABC talk show Katie.
Since early 2014, she has served as a global news anchor for Yahoo.
The Thread premieres weekly from March 4 to June 17 on YouTube.
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Read the original article on People.