"At least for me personally, I've always tried to do a really good job every day, with each interview, and treat each interview seriously, and make the person I'm speaking with feel comfortable, hopefully make it an ideal experience"
About this Quote
The key word is "comfortable". That is not softness; it is strategy. Comfort lowers defenses, and lowered defenses produce revelation. Couric is describing a classic journalistic paradox: the interviewer can be empathetic without being indulgent, hospitable without surrendering the agenda. "Ideal experience" sounds like customer service language, and that is the subtext worth noticing. As journalism became more personality-driven and television news slid toward entertainment, the interviewer also became part host, part therapist, part prosecutor. Couric is signaling that her power is best exercised indirectly, through tone and environment rather than aggression.
The qualifiers - "at least for me personally", "hopefully" - matter, too. They soften the claim and preempt accusations of sanctimony. She is aware that "serious" interviewing has been contested terrain, especially for a woman in broadcast news who had to navigate expectations to be warm but not lightweight, tough but not unlikeable. The quote is less about sentiment and more about control: if you can make someone feel safe, you can get them to tell the truth on camera.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Couric, Katie. (2026, January 15). At least for me personally, I've always tried to do a really good job every day, with each interview, and treat each interview seriously, and make the person I'm speaking with feel comfortable, hopefully make it an ideal experience. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/at-least-for-me-personally-ive-always-tried-to-do-153688/
Chicago Style
Couric, Katie. "At least for me personally, I've always tried to do a really good job every day, with each interview, and treat each interview seriously, and make the person I'm speaking with feel comfortable, hopefully make it an ideal experience." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/at-least-for-me-personally-ive-always-tried-to-do-153688/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"At least for me personally, I've always tried to do a really good job every day, with each interview, and treat each interview seriously, and make the person I'm speaking with feel comfortable, hopefully make it an ideal experience." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/at-least-for-me-personally-ive-always-tried-to-do-153688/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.





