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ups and downs, I always felt that I had to work to take care of myself," she says about being the daughter of a prominent New York nightclub owner. In her interview, Walters elaborates on the discipline and work ethic that has defined her broadcast career. She looks back upon her earliest work as a producer of the show Ask The Camera, at WNBT in New York; and later, her move to WPIX in New York where she worked for The Morning Show. She discusses being hired at WNBT in New York as the sole female writer on the Today show, and recalls her occasional forays in front of the camera during location segments. She speaks about the impact of the coverage of President Kennedys assassination on television, and the role she played in reporting the national tragedy.  She talks at length about her preparation for interviews, and how involved she is in the process of not only writing and producing her segments but also in editing them. Ms. Walters discusses her much publicized transition from NBC to ABC in the mid-seventies, and the controversy over her then-unparalleled $1-million contract. She explains her collaboration with Harry Reasoner on ABCs Evening News , and her much more fulfilling work later on 20/20 , alongside a long-time colleague, Hugh Downs. Ms. Walters also talks about many of the interviews that she has conducted throughout her career, with such notables including Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, John Wayne, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Fidel Castro, the Shah of Iran, Christopher Reeve, Monica Lewinsky and John and Patty Ramsey.  Lastly, she describes her then-recent efforts on the ABC morning show The View . Barbara Walters was interviewed in New York City on May 23, 2000. Don Carleton conducted the two-hour interview.