As the youngest, I wanted to be my father's son and perpetuate the family name. - Connie Chung
Connie Chung, who doesn't remember that name? Her face is almost unforgettable...well, it was.
Connie Chung, birth name Constance Yu-Hwa Chung, was born on August 20, 1946 in WashingtonD.C.In June of 1969, she graduated from The University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Her first job after college was at WTTG-TV (a local television station in WashingtonD.C.).Later, around the time when the Federal Communications Commission mandated that stations hire more minorities, Chung got a job working for the CBS Washington bureau.While at CBS, Chung covered stories such as anti-Vietnam war protests, the presidential campaign of George McGovern, the death of John Lennon and the presidency of Richard Nixon.
In 1976, Connie Chung moved to Los Angeles and became the official anchor of KNXT (now known as KCBS). She was on three news broadcasts daily and increased ratings for the network (they went from third to second), but in 1983 she took a major pay cut and moved to NBC anchoring several different shows and prime-time specials.
Later on she went back to CBS, hosted a show “Eye To Eye With Connie Chung”, but in 1995, Connie’s credibility was in jeopardy when the network gave her “tabloid” stories, and when she wanted more important stories, they fired her.
Connie Chung received many honors while on the air, including three National Emmy awards, a Peabody, and was voted by viewers “favorite interviewer” in 1990 by the U.S. News and World Report in their annual "Best of America" survey.
Connie Chung can be considered an Asian American Pop Culture icon during the 1970s and 1980s because she was one of the first Asian Americans to be seen regularly on national television.Her regularity on T.V. allowed Asian Americans to not only have a face, but a voice as well.Her image as a successful anchorwoman was empowering not only to Asian Americans, but also to the female gender.Connie Chung being an anchorwoman on a major television network meant that the nation could trust her for important news and events that were happening around the country and the world. This means that the nation accepted her as an American and did not see her as a Chinese.They were able to accept her as she is and not judge or discriminate against her.Connie Chung also can be categorized under the “dragon lady” image of Asian Americans. Her successful career and very empowering persona can be seen as an almost “threatening” image.Even so, Connie Chung was allowed to visit our homes every night and update our lives with important happenings around the world.
Connie Chung paved the way for other Asian American anchors, which many can be seen today: Tritia Toyota, Lisa Ling and David Ono to name a few. So all we can say is thanks Connie, you helped keep Asian Americans in the limelight!
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