Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 26, 1993 TAG: 9306260266
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GAIL SHISTER KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The one-time "60 Minutes" ace, on maternity leave since the birth of her third child, Lily, in February, is scheduled to resume her co-anchor job at "CBS Morning News" in September. Her contract is up at the end of August.
Vieira has many fans at CBS, including news chief Eric Ober. But because she is unwilling to travel much or to work mornings anymore, CBS has no place for her, and sources say the network will most likely cut her - and her big salary - loose.
Vieira recently turned down a correspondent's slot on Connie Chung's new "Eye to Eye." "Eye" boss Andrew Heyward, a longtime Vieira pal, "said I'd be on the road 10 or 11 days a month," she says. "Invariably, that turns into 15. It's nobody's fault. It just happens."
Vieira, 39, dropped from "60 Minutes" in '91 because exec producer Don Hewitt wouldn't let her continue working part time as a correspondent, acknowledges that her demands may be unrealistic for network TV.
"I can deal with it. I accept what my limitations are now. If nothing out there fits my needs at the moment, fair enough. I'm not a Pollyanna, sitting here thinking somebody will magically hand me a check. I'm hoping something will develop."
She misses reporting and "the relaxation of a job," but Vieira's world revolves around her family: husband Richard Cohen, a free-lance producer, and their sons, Ben, 4, and Gabriel, almost 2. Ensconced in her six-bedroom Westchester, N.Y., home, Mrs. Mom is exhausted and happy.
"I don't have time to think about anything else. I never even see TV. I know `Barney' extremely well; if they had a job there for a newscaster, I'd do well. That and `Sesame Street' are the only TV shows I watch. I'm way too tired at night to turn on the TV."
No surprise there. Until Lily appeared, Vieira insisted on doing all the housekeeping. (You can get treatment for that, Meredith.)
"It's my Puritan ethic. Growing up, my father was in the Navy. He lined up the kids every Saturday, and we each had chores. We cleaned. We were taught to respect what we had and to never take anything for granted."
Even now, Vieira won't let anybody else touch the family's two to three loads of daily laundry. "I have a weird thing about other people going through my laundry. I like to do my kids' clothes, but I ruin them sometimes. They have a lot of inadvertent tie-dye outfits that began as white."
Should Vieira not land a TV gig, she'll look elsewhere. Being off the tube won't hurt a whit, ego-wise. "Ego is never what did it for me. Being in front of the camera wasn't the high point. I'm basically very shy. I like the process of sitting with people and telling their stories."
by CNB