Jane Pauley loves her gig at CBS Sunday Morning.
“I’ve been uncommonly, eerily blessed in my life,” she tells Parade in a story out this weekend. “I’ve never had a bad boss, I’ve only worked for good shows. But, in all the years, this is the best. I’m accustomed to people telling me they love the shows I’ve worked on, but now they say one of two things: ‘It’s the best thing on TV’ or ‘It’s my favorite show.’”
She added:
“There’s probably a sense of haven to it,” she says. “Charles Kuralt [CBS Sunday Morning’s original host] had a vision to create a unique program that was effortlessly curious and intelligent, without any pretension.”
The Morning TV legend gained widespread acclaim as Today show host from 1976 – 1989, and is now in her second year as host of CBS’ legendary weekend morning show, which remains No. 1 in the ratings.
Pauley left Today in 1989 (she was replaced by Deborah Norville) and began anchoring Dateline NBC.
She later hosted the short-lived Jane Pauley Show in 2004, and joined CBS News in 2014, first as a Sunday Morning contributor and then as a substitute host before taking the permanent host reins from Charles Osgood in 2016.
Pauley says she continues to improve, explore and grow each Sunday. “The show helps me discover new things, and it’s my hope that it helps all of us think about possibilities both big and small.”
Pauley also talked about her bipolar diagnosis, which occurred at age 50, and speaks regularly on the topic of mental health and wrote about her experiences in her book Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue, published in 2004.
Pauley also provided her name to the Jane Pauley Community Health Center in Indiana, which opened in 2009, and believes her advocacy has been crucial to her personal health as well. “There is scientific evidence that giving support is as therapeutic as getting it,” she tells Parade. “I believe my advocacy is part of the reason I’m as productive as I have been able to be. I’m proud of it.”