Maury Povich

Host
View Full Interview


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

Tab

About
About this interview

In the two-hour solo portion of his interview, Maury Povich talks about his career in radio news before entering the world of television. He describes becoming the long-time host of the show Panorama, anchoring local news in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and launching the syndicated news magazine A Current Affair. He speaks of A Current Affair's popularity, and leaving the program to host his own talk show at Paramount, The Maury Povich Show. He also discusses his more recent talk show, Maury, detailing production on the show, guests, and what he believes is the appeal of the program.

In the thirty-minute joint portion of their interview, Maury Povich and Connie Chung describe how they met, when they married, and what their favorite things are about each other. Beth Cochran conducted the interviews on December 15, 2009 in New York, NY.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"I always believed that there was a simpatico with news and talk. I believe that if you did news, that gave you credibility to do a talk show. And a talk show gave you depth that a news anchor spot wouldn't."

People Talking About ...
Maury Povich
Highlights
Maury Povich on covering JFK's assassination for radio
01:43
Maury Povich on covering the fall of the Berlin Wall on A Current Affair
02:28
Maury Povich on how A Current Affair got its name
02:02
Maury Povich on his talk show, Maury, at Universal
01:16
Maury Povich on the "Povich Rule"
01:38
Full Interview

Play Full Video

Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on following his father (sportswriter for The Washington Post) around when he was young; on attending the University of Pennsylvania
On his first job in broadcast journalism; on writing for radio news; on transitioning to television and becoming a host on the show Panorama
On anchoring the news in Chicago; on the "Povich Rule"; on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on doing news and a talk show at KGO in San Francisco and moving back east to Philadelphia
On his preference between hosting a talk show and anchoring news; on returning to Panorama; on Metromedia becoming FOX; on meeting Rupert Murdoch and the plan for A Current Affair

Chapter 2
On stories covered on A Current Affair and the show getting syndicated; on stories that were off-limits on A Current Affair; on how A Current Affair got its name and the sound effects in the introduction
On how A Current Affair changed broadcast journalism and American culture; on leaving A Current Affair and his two subsequent talk shows: The Maury Povich Show and Maury
On the content on his talk shows; on how media savvy guests on his talk show are; on his viewing audience and production on Maury
On his proudest career achievement and how he'd like to be remembered

Chapter 3
START OF JOINT INTERVIEW WITH CONNIE CHUNG: On how they met; on Povich being second banana to Chung in Los Angeles; on getting married; on being competitive as journalists; on reactions when fans see them together; on her appearances on David Letterman's show; on Weekends with Maury and Connie
On working together; on her off-pitch serenade; on giving each other career advice; on Chung as a trailblazer; on Povich not caring what critics think; on their Flathead Beacon newspaper
On the Flathead Beacon newspaper; on Povich's favorite story about Chung; on Chung's favorite story about Povich
Shows

Current Affair, A

View Show Page
Maury Povich on meeting Rupert Murdoch and the plan for A Current Affair
04:22
Maury Povich on his initial thoughts on A Current Affair
03:19
Maury Povich on stories covered on A Current Affair, the show getting syndicated, and its huge ratings success
07:30
Maury Povich on sometimes being uncomfortable with the stories on A Current Affair
01:50
Maury Povich on the major stories covered on A Current Affair
05:41
Maury Povich on how A Current Affair got its name and the sound effects in the introduction
02:03
Maury Povich on how A Current Affair changed broadcast journalism and American culture
03:22
Maury Povich on leaving A Current Affair and getting his own talk show at Paramount
01:48
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on competing for interviews when Povich was on A Current Affair
01:20
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Povich's favorite Chung story
01:45

Late Night with David Letterman

View Show Page
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung's appearances on David Letterman's show
01:25
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Povich's favorite Chung story
01:45
Topics

Criticism of TV

View Topic
Maury Povich on criticisms of his talk show Maury
01:49

JFK Assassination and Funeral

View Topic
Maury Povich on covering JFK's assassination for radio
01:43

John F. Kennedy

View Topic
Maury Povich on covering JFK's assassination for radio
01:43

Representation on Television

View Topic
Maury Povich on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on her start at CBS
02:42

Richard M. Nixon

View Topic
Maury Povich on covering the Senate Committee Watergate Hearings for Panorama and launching political pundits on the program
01:49

Television Industry

View Topic
Maury Povich on Metromedia becoming FOX
00:46
Maury Povich on criticisms of his talk show Maury
01:49

Television and the Presidency

View Topic
Maury Povich on covering JFK's assassination for radio
01:43
Maury Povich on covering the Senate Committee Watergate Hearings for Panorama and launching political pundits on the program
01:49

Underrepresented Voices

View Topic
Maury Povich on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on her start at CBS
02:42
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung as a trailblazer
01:04

Women

View Topic
Maury Povich on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on her start at CBS
02:42
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung as a trailblazer
01:04
Professions

Anchor

View Profession
Maury Povich on his preference between hosting a talk show and anchoring news
02:34
Maury Povich on what makes a good news anchor
01:29

Hosts

View Profession
Maury Povich on his preference between hosting a talk show and anchoring news
02:34
Maury Povich on enjoying hosting Maury
00:45
Maury Povich on advice for aspiring talk show hosts
04:16

Journalists & News Producers

View Profession
Maury Povich on his preference between hosting a talk show and anchoring news
02:34
Maury Povich on what makes a good news anchor
01:29

Talk Show Host

View Profession
Maury Povich on his preference between hosting a talk show and anchoring news
02:34
Maury Povich on enjoying hosting Maury
00:45
Maury Povich on advice for aspiring talk show hosts
04:16
Genres

News and Documentary

View Genre
Maury Povich on meeting Rupert Murdoch and the plan for A Current Affair
04:22
Maury Povich on his initial thoughts on A Current Affair
03:19

Talk Shows

View Genre
Maury Povich on criticisms of his talk show Maury
01:49
Maury Povich on his talk show, Maury
13:24
People

Roger Ailes

View Person Page
Maury Povich on Roger Ailes being hired to do research on his popularity and re-vamp his image
03:37

Connie Chung

View Interview Page
Maury Povich on co-anchoring news in Los Angeles with future wife Connie Chung; on her start at CBS
02:42
Maury Povich on a chance to work with his wife, Connie Chung, on a half-hour access show which fell through
02:04
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on how they met
01:41

Phil Donahue

View Interview Page
Maury Povich on what Phil Donahue added to the talk show format
00:37

Don Hewitt

View Interview Page
Maury Povich on Don Hewitt of 60 Minutes being a fan of A Current Affair
00:47

Jeffrey Katzenberg

View Person Page
Maury Povich on a chance to work with his wife, Connie Chung, on a half-hour access show which fell through
02:04

Jay Leno

View Person Page
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on her off-pitch serenade
02:19

David Letterman

View Person Page
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Chung's appearances on David Letterman's show
01:25
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on Povich's favorite Chung story
01:45

Tammy Faye Bakker Messner

View Interview Page
Maury Povich on the major stories covered on A Current Affair
01:51

Rupert Murdoch

View Person Page
Maury Povich on meeting Rupert Murdoch and the plan for A Current Affair
04:22
Maury Povich on Rupert Murdoch believing he made Povich's career
00:58

Maury Povich

View Interview Page
Connie Chung and Maury Povich on how they met
01:41

Tom Shales

View Person Page
Maury Povich on TV critic Tom Shales' unflattering critique of his talk show
01:49

Tom Snyder

View Person Page
Maury Povich on his preference between hosting a talk show and anchoring news
01:07

Brandon Tartikoff

View Person Page
Maury Povich on Paramount's Brandon Tartikoff's advice to him for The Maury Povich Show
01:17

Donald J. Trump

View Person Page
Maury Povich on Mikhail Gorbachev's planned meeting with Donald Trump, and how A Current Affair spoofed it
02:05

All Interviews

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZ
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z