“Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace talks about his 50 years in news in a Q&A with The Hollywood Reporter. In the wake of the shakeup at NBC’s “Meet the Press” — which he hosted for two years beginning in 1987 — Wallace talks about the significance of the Sunday shows. “I’m a little concerned that the in-depth interview has gone the way of the dodo bird. That’s a big mistake. This is the one platform in the TV landscape where you can get the thoroughly researched, carefully prepared interview of a top policymaker.”
You’ve been on “Today,” “Meet the Press” and “NBC Nightly News.” Which did you like best?
Fox News Sunday. I have the best job of my career. It says something that when the alarm goes off at 5:15 a.m. I wake up with a smile, rub my hands together and say, “I get to play today.”
What was the most exciting story you ever covered?
The most unforgettable was in 1979 when I was at [NBC.] I spent a week in Calcutta with Mother Teresa just after she won the Nobel Peace Prize. Whether in a religious sense or secular sense, she was a saint. She operated on a different spiritual plane than anybody I had ever met. Also memorable was covering Ronald Reagan in 1980 because he was a larger-than-life figure and it was my first time as a lead correspondent on a presidential campaign. One of the things I’ve always admired about Reagan is that he presided over a White House that was very professional, and even when you criticized them they didn’t take it personal. I felt that was because Reagan was in Hollywood and knew you could get a bad review and it wasn’t personal, and you didn’t hold grudges.