Lesley Stahl
Lesley R. Stahl (born
December 16,
1941, in
Lynn, Massachusetts) is an
American television journalist.
As of 2005, she has reported for
CBS on
60 Minutes for almost fifteen seasons.
A graduate of
Wheaton College, her career received a running start from her coverage of the
Watergate affair. She went on to become
White House correspondent during the presidencies of
Jimmy Carter,
Ronald Reagan, and
George H.W. Bush. Stahl was also the moderator of
Face the Nation between September
1983 and May
1991.
In 1986 Lesley Stahl arrived at the
Oval Office to find Reagan incoherent and incapable of answering even basic questions. She was concerned that she was going to have to tell the nation that Reagan was a "doddering space cadet". As the afternoon wore on, Reagan's normal disposition returned and the interview was finished. White House spokesperson Larry Speakes requested that Stahl not reveal Reagan's condition and she obliged. In 1994, Reagan admitted that he was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease. On November 5, 1994, he informed the nation of his condition via a hand-written letter.
She has written one book,
Reporting Live, which was published in
1999. From
2002 to
2004, Stahl also hosted
48 Hours Investigates.
Al Gore announced he would not run for president again during a
60 Minutes interview with her. In October
2005, she made a notable appearance on
The Colbert Report.
On June 16, 2006, Lesley Stahl substituted for
Bob Schieffer on the
CBS Evening News.
In 1977, Stahl married author
Aaron Latham. The couple currently lives in
New York.
*
CBS biography*
NNDb entry for Lesley Stahl* Stahl, Lesley. "Reporting Live" (1999) memoir by TV news reporter
