“Hi, is Gayle there?” the caller to the Eyewitness newsroom asked me.     “I’m sorry, ma’am, could you please take me off speaker, it is difficult to hear you,” I responded.

Truth is, I could understand the caller, but it wasn’t very clear, and I found speakerphone calls annoying, especially when a viewer would call in to complain about something on “The Guiding Light,” which I figured was the subject of this call..   “I’m sorry,” the caller politely said.  “Thank you. Who’s calling?” I asked, feeling somewhat powerful at that moment.  That power trip was short-lived, and as soon as the caller identified herself, I felt awful about the way I’d spoken to one of the most admired women in the world.  “Oprah Winfrey,” the caller declared.

That was my first dealing with Oprah Winfrey, and I still feel terrible about it.    She would call Broadcast House countless times after that, looking for her…