My parents covered police pursuits, and it was, in many ways, the beginnings of reality show TV in this captivating story that was a lot of flash but not all that much substance.
— Katy Tur
A traditional presidential campaign has a media bus with the candidate's name on it and an itinerary days in advance. Trump has a plane with his name on it (that we aren't invited on) and an itinerary that often mutates daily, along with his talking points.
The expat life was a good one: There was my French boyfriend. My bright two-bedroom flat in Islington. My wine at lunch. I had a 'go bag' packed with loose linens and mosquito repellent - I was ready to be flung to the outer edges of the world at a moment's notice. It was all intrigue and adventure.
Listen, the guy was not created by coverage from MSNBC and CNN. If you want to blame us for making Donald Trump president because you're unhappy about it, I think you are deluding yourself. Donald Trump hit a nerve.
I went off to the University of California, Santa Barbara, on a boatload of loans, sights set on becoming a doctor or a lawyer.
My mom likes to say I've been covering news since the day I was born - longer if you count my time in utero.
Back in 2006, when I started in the industry, there was a very old-school beauty mentality. We had to take headshots, and the makeup artists put on so much makeup - I swear I looked like a 48-year-old woman, and I was 22.
I graduated with a B.A. in philosophy, and it was by far the best major I could have taken in college.
Generally, I find the hotter the temperature, the cooler I am.
I still doubt myself every single day.
I have a dream! Someday I'll show my children a map. I will tell them, 'Mommy was here and here and there and there.' That's my dream.
I think I fundamentally understand the way Trump thinks.
I'm 5'2'', 5'3'' on a good day.
Let me clarify a few things about TV news on the national level at NBC and MSNBC. We write our own stories. There is no teleprompter for reporters. No traveling makeup artists or stylists. And there is very little sleep.
Trump is a room-reader. He'll slow down a line, rephrase a point, work in a pause, and ride the energy of his audience wherever it takes him.
It's a truth of beat reporting: The bigger your subject gets, the bigger you get.
My mom and dad were 'helicopter parents,' literally. Meaning, I didn't have a nanny, so I went up in the helicopter. My entire early childhood education consisted of tagging along while they reported on car accidents, multiple-alarm fires, and shootouts.
I'm a big believer in being the same person on and off TV.
I was on the campaign trail, covering Donald Trump for two years - and it's really hard to do anything for yourself with a schedule like that. I didn't have time to answer text messages from my friends or go to the gym, let alone get my nails done.
I think Trump is someone who appreciates and connects with people who hold their own and are strong individuals. I think he can smell weakness, and if you show him weakness, he exploits it, and he doesn't respect you.
Donald Trump has advocated violence - I saw him do it several times on the campaign trail.
You don't go after veterans in this country. If there's one thing that's sacrosanct, it is the American military veteran.
Maybe it's because I'm jaded, but not a lot scares me.
I'm a natural compartmentalizer.
I was known as a dogged, unflappable live reporter, the kind who runs barefoot to the camera, high heels in one hand, notebook in the other.
My parents are incredible, and they did incredible things.
I don't hold a lot to the vest. I'm a bit of an open book, as anyone who knows me would contest. Confess? Attest? There's the word I'm looking for!
My parents got ahead in the news business with wits, guts, and a creative interpretation of 'fair game.' They leased their first helicopter in 1985, when KTLA news crews were on strike. Maybe the crews had good grievances, maybe not. Either way, my parents ignored the strike and went to work.
For one of my first TV jobs, I was required to cut my hair, dress a certain way, and wear a certain amount of makeup. I was even told to have my hair cut based on a picture in a magazine. I realized that until I complied, I wasn't going to get any airtime.
I have found where I am best, and that is being a fact-checker and being fearless.
It's times of relative calm and ease that I start to wind myself up.
I've started baking. Having my hands deep in dough keeps them away from my phone.
If you're not competitive, if you're not out to make a mark, you shouldn't be in the news business.
I've always been an outsider. I think, being in the White House press corps, it's difficult to do the sort of journalism that I would want to do.
