Gayle King, Anthony Mason And Tony Dokoupil Making 'CBS This Morning' A Whole Lot Easier

CBS This Morning’s Gayle King, Anthony Mason, and Tony Dokoupil make getting up in the morning a whole lot easier

- Lynn Darling

A conversation with the anchors of CBS This Morning is a dive into the deep end: Gayle King, Anthony Mason, and Tony Dokoupil are three of the most knowledgeable, sophisticated, and experienced broadcast journalists out there. Every morning they make it look easy, delivering breaking news with authority and feature stories with panache, coaxing insightful answers out of important people, aiming straight for the heart of the zeitgeist, helping us understand the world a little better. Naturally, you want to bring your A-game when you sit down to talk to them— ask the complicated questions, the ones that drill down to the Really Important Stuff.

Then again, details define us. All those superficial, deeply rooted personal preferences tell us a lot about each other, about who’s really there beneath the smooth patter and perfect hair. Plus, they’re more fun.

So, Gayle, what’s your favorite drink?

Guilty pleasure?

Best-loved song?

Gayle King looks a little bemused, but gracious, as she considers the inanity of the questions. She deserves better: This, after all, is the woman who has faced down an enraged, chest-pounding, fist-shaking, accused sex abuser with the impassive command of an umpire waiting out the spit-fueled temper tantrum of a major league baseball coach, found herself dubbed one of the most influential people of the year, and watched her salary fly skyward.