Gayle on Oprah: ‘I Don’t Think There is Anyone Who Can Do What She Does’

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Here’s something to chew on: Oprah’s BFF, and former local news anchor Gayle King, talks with mediabistro.com’s David Hirschman in this week”s So What Do You Do? feature.

When Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King first worked together at a local news broadcast in Baltimore more than 30 years ago, the two bonded instantly. As Winfrey went on to build up a massive media operation around her brand, including a magazine, book club, and now the nascent OWN cable network, King has supported her through it all. But she’s more than just the talk show queen’s confidante. The self-proclaimed “TV baby” earned old-fashioned broadcasting chops by working her way up as a reporter and anchor through various markets, and for the past decade she has been editor-at-large at O, The Oprah Magazine.

“I never feel in competition with Oprah,” says King. “I really don’t feel that I’m standing in Oprah’s shadow. I always feel that I am standing in Oprah’s light. And I am, by far, one of her biggest supporters. So it isn’t hard for me. Oprah and I are very similar. We think alike, some people say we talk alike. But I don’t think there is anyone who can do what she does.”

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