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CBS' Norah O'Donnell is reflecting on a salary negotiation that ensured she "got paid the same" as a male colleague on the same show
O'Donnell recalled the past negotiation while appearing on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, in an interview that aired on Tuesday, Feb. 24
"In the times that you know that you are worth it, you have to ask for it," she said
Norah O'Donnellis looking back at the time she "got paid the same" as a male colleague after advocating for it. And she's encouraging others to do the same "in the times that you know that you are worth it."
During the second part of herThe Jamie Kern Lima Showinterview, released on Tuesday, Feb. 24, the veteran CBS journalist recalled the moment she secured a higher salary when she boardedCBS This Morningin 2012.
"When I was covering the White House, I was then asked to go become the anchor of the morning show withGayle KingandCharlie Rose," O'Donnell, 52, recalled of the show. "And they came to me and said, 'We need an answer immediately,' and I said, 'I don't have to give you an answer immediately.' "
"They said, 'Here's the deal,' " O'Donnell added. "And I said, 'I'm not taking the deal unless you pay me the same amount as the man on that show.' Because I knew he was the highest-paid person on the show.' "
While O'Donnell said the response to her request was initially, "We can't do that," she apparently wouldn't take no for an answer. "I said, 'Why not?" And they said, 'Because he's this person.' "
"I said, 'Then I don't want the job.' So I got paid the same," she said.
After laughing that "not all my negotiations go that way," O'Donnell emphasized that employees should ask for what they deserve when they "know that you are worth it."
"If you don't ask for what you want or know what you're worth at that particular moment, sometimes you're not always worth the same or equal," she said. "Someone may be much more experienced, or they do deserve the top job. So it doesn't always work. But in the times that you know that you are worth it, you have to ask for it."
O'Donnell added, "Sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't. Every once in a while, it turns out OK. Then there are lots of stories where it doesn't."
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The journalist, currently promoting her new bookWe the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America, served as co-anchor ofCBS This Morningbetween 2012 and 2019. Her last broadcast on the show came in May 2019. She is currently a CBS News correspondent and60 Minutescontributing correspondent.
Later in the episode, O'Donnell detailed maintaining journalistic standards and integrity amid a period ofcontroversy and change at CBS News. "I think people think that we give somebody the questions in advance, which would be against standards, and so we never do that," O'Donnell said.
"Now, do people try and influence... do the press people call up the producers and say, 'Are you gonna ask about this? Are you gonna ask about that?' We say, 'Well, we're gonna ask whatever's in the news that day.'"
During part one of the podcast, released on Feb. 17, host Jamie Kern Lima asked O'Donnell about the "microscope" currently on the network. The question came as high-profile exits and leadership changes have taken place at the network amid the October appointment of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
"You know, I have worked at CBS now for, oh my goodness, probably almost 14 years and have had a great career," O'Donnell responded. "Whether it was covering the White House, anchoring the morning show, anchoring the evening news [or] working for60 Minutes. We have had a lot of leadership changes at CBS."
She added, "That has been challenging. Not only for me, but I know for my colleagues. And I think with so many leadership changes, people are fearful about what the future means."
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Elsewhere in the conversation, O'Donnell reiterated that she's "very fortunate to work for CBS News and work with the very best producers."
"Sometimes we all take a lot of heat. But I happen to work with some really incredible, incredible people who make our job not only interesting and successful, but also we care deeply about each other," she said.
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