Gayle King wins ASU's Walter Cronkite Award: 'I just feel lucky and blessed'

Gayle King, the co-host of “CBS Mornings,” editor-at-large of Oprah Daily and the host of “Gayle King in the House” on SiriusXM, received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism Tuesday.

The lunch and ceremony, given by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, took place Tuesday at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown.

“Gayle King’s career and accomplishments are remarkable, and her professionalism embodies everything that Walter Cronkite valued in journalism,” Cronkite School Dean Battinto Batts said in a statement when King was announced as the winner in September.

“Her approach to covering important events and interviewing politicians, leaders and celebrities is unparalleled. It’s an honor to present Gayle with this prestigious award.”

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Gayle King often makes news with her interviews

Receiving the award Tuesday, King said“I just feel lucky and blessed that I get to do what I get to do. I’ve never been happier — I mean that — never been more energized or more excited.”

She’s also in demand. King often makes news as well as reports it. Her explosive interview with R. Kelly made headlines in 2019, when King was rightly praised for keeping her cool as Kelly screamed, cursed and paced. King kept her composure while continuing to ask Kelly questions.

She has also scored big interviews with Will Smith, President Biden and Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner.

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CNN reportedly wants King to host a primetime show

King has been in the news lately amid reports that CNN wants to hire her to host or co-host a primetime show on the network — a job that would, according to Puck News, allow her to keep her day job, as it were, at “CBS Mornings.”

Chris Licht, CNN's chairman and CEO, brought King to "CBS Mornings" when he was the show's executive producer.

When she was announced as the winner, King said in a statement that she was “honored” to receive the award.

“The work myself and other journalists do is important, but I don’t do it alone,” she said in the statement. “My colleagues at CBS News also share in this honor and I’m inspired by the unique and meaningful stories we tell.”

King is the 39th recipient of the Cronkite Award. Previous winners include Al Roker, Lester Holt, Diane Sawyer, Ben Bradlee and Al Michaels.

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Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gayle King wins ASU's Cronkite Award for journalism excellence