Diane Sawyer

Lila Diana was born on December 22, 1945 in Glasgow, Kentucky. Her father was a local judge and prominent politician. Her mother taught school and saw to it that her daughters took lessons in speaking, fencing and voice. Although she remembers being a straight “A” nerd, the striking blond also had personality and poise. The combination helped her secure the 1962 National Junior Miss title as the representative from the state of Kentucky.

Lila Diana was twenty-two when she graduated college and took her first TV job as a weather girl for WLKY in Louisville. The highly motivated employee stayed after hours to learn how to operate the camera and use the editing equipment. Her dedication didn’t go unnoticed. Within two years she was promoted to full-time news reporter.

Lila Diana worked in the news business until 1970 when she took a job in the Nixon White House. Four years later when President Nixon resigned she stayed on to work with Gerald Ford’s transition team and assist the disgraced President in writing his memoirs.

Lila Diana, you know her as Diane Sawyer, came back to television news in 1978 as an entry level reporter for CBS news, only now she carried a stigma for loyalty to Nixon that threatened to derail a promising career and challenged her to prove herself again. Within three years, Diane Sawyer became co-anchor of “CBS Morning News.” And in 1985, at age 38, she became the first female reporter on “60 Minutes,” the country’s top TV news-magazine show.

Today Diane Sawyer hosts World News with Diane Sawyer on ABC. She’s reached the top of her field with a combination of intelligence, looks, and determination.

In today’s Southern Quote we hear this southerner offer a self-effacing explanation for her success. Diane Sawyer once said, “I have a photographic memory but I don’t have same-day service.”