Issue date: May 30, 1999
Earlier on the day of our scheduled interview, Zahn left me a voice mail wondering if we could move the interview -- it was the first few days of NATO's airstrikes against Kosovo and she was mired in meetings and breaking news. As it happened, we were able to talk at the scheduled time after all.
Back with a vengeance
"I really wanted to get back to being part of a daily broadcast. This was the perfect mix of duties for me. In addition to hosting, fronting the broadcast was what was critical to me. All the action is in cable news today. It is very difficult for networks to be able to break into the regular programming because of the expense. It costs networks millions of dollars.
"I think I am the only woman in the country who's solo anchoring an evening newscast. I have tremendous responsibility. It hasn't happened at the broadcast networks yet."
Clinton coverage
"I think the press gets the rap that it's either too soft or too hard on the president. I think the interesting thing is -- I can say this now from my experience here at cable -- the life of a politician has changed so dramatically because of television. We have more access to political speeches and more information to decide whether they like candidates or not. Before, we had news appearances or a half-hour newscast to decide. There's an extraordinary amount of information."
Kosovo coverage
"I'm really proud of our coverage of Kosovo. Ever since the airstrikes started, we've had people in Macedonia, Belgrade, Brussels, the Pentagon, the White House. We've given the audience a rounded view of what's going on. We're hurt by the fact that we've been thrown out."
Her dream interview
"Saddam Hussein. 'Cause we really haven't ... no journalist has had an interview with him where they've been able to challenge him with his weapons program. I've actually had pitches in to Mr. Hussein for several years now."
Dream interview: Part 2
"Mr. Milosevic -- that would have to be a several-hour interview. 'You've gotten what you wanted. You've drained Kosovo of a third of its population. Are you satisfied? What is the satisfactory solution? Will you be happy if your country is partitioned? People have long believed that your reason for continuing this terror is to destabilize Macedonia, Greece, Turkey.' I think people would be interested in hearing to what extent his wife is involved in his decision-making."
No more cock-a-doodle-doo
"This has been one of the best schedules I've ever had. This is the first time in my working life I've had a Monday- through-Friday, come-in-late-morning-and-leave-by-8:30 schedule. I think my kids are even more thrilled than I am.
"We go to the movies on Saturday afternoons, which we haven't done in three years. We feel really grateful when we're at a movie on a Saturday afternoon. We've gone to Grandma's house in Chicago. We've made a couple three-day trips out West. This job has made my family life better."
Old friends
"I bump into Charlie Gibson every now and then at the gym. Now I'm working out at 10 o'clock in the morning. I've seen Ed Bradley. When we get to the gym, we have such limited time there we're pretty serious about what we're doing."
Musical inclinations
"I was in Russia for a performance two years ago. The 100th cello congress. One hundred of the top professional cellists came to perform for the whole week. They wanted me to play a solo. I said, 'No, I don't think I'm up to doing that.' So instead I played in a 100-cello ensemble. Right now most of my practicing is with the kids. My son Jared plays the cello. He carries it on a backpack on his back."
The meeting story
"[My husband and I] met in Boston when I was working on a local TV station. We met in an apartment building. It was 105 degrees outside and I went to buy a fan. He helped fix my fan. I took a job in California and we did the long-distance thing. We figured that out by getting married. Then we moved west. We still have the fan. It's bronzed with a little plaque on it."
Even Zahn was an intern
"I can remember when I first got in the TV station as an intern. I would call my family to let them know when I was passing behind the anchor on TV. 'I'm going to walk behind the anchor in 2 minutes!' I've come a long way."
College dreams
"In college, I had a cello scholarship. I knew I didn't want to become a professional musician. That's when I dramatically increased my journalism classes. From my sophomore year on, I knew. I did a summer internship at CBS in Chicago, BBC in London, and worked for Sen. Adlai Stevenson during the Panama Canal debates."
Motherly love
"My mom watches me live every night. My mother has two doctorate degrees. She's very well-read. She reads almost every single newspaper every day. She's so conversant in the issues. If she doesn't think something was clear, she'll tell me."
-- Laura Elizabeth Pohl
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