The Lowdown: Daryn Kagan
Lean in to hear some off the cuff remarks about what makes Daryn Kagan tick.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Atlanta is chock full of interesting “movers and shakers,” some bent on creativity, others on empire building, activism and/or just plain having fun and living the good life. Lean in to hear some off the cuff remarks about what makes Daryn Kagan tick.
One year ago, Kagan appeared as a commentator on CBS “Sunday Morning” with Jane Pauley. Her topic was the happiness she found a bit later in life creating a blended family and adopting her new husband’s daughter, as well as another daughter whom she mentored as a Little Sister.
Looking back, Kagan launched from a childhood in Beverly Hills to the prestigious Stanford University, then spring-boarding into a 12-year stint as anchor and correspondent for CNN. Her broadcast career was nothing short of stellar: Covering the Super Bowl, the Oscars, the Middle East/Gulf War and AIDS in Africa. She was heralded as one of the few reporters who reported live on 9/11, including being on air when the second plane hit the Twin Towers.
Kagan reinvented herself with books, blogs and radio (Oprah Radio on Sirius XM) and the made-for-TV documentary “Breaking the Curse” about leprosy in India.
Her message is positivism and the victory of human triumph.
Get to know Kagan better right here.
Greatest extravagance?
Spending hours walking the BeltLine with Butter, my 2-year-old rescue mutt.
I am often mistaken for …
Sandra Bullock.
Which talent would you like to have?
Singing in tune, which my family can confirm does not happen.
I’ve been known to freak out about …
Being served any kind of cheese. I even gag at sprinkled Parmesan.
My friends tease me about …
Being single for so long, dating a variety of men and forgetting who they were and mixing them up.
Guilty pleasure?
Haagen-Dazs Banana Peanut Butter Chip and Vanilla Swiss Almond.
What are you listening to?
My favorite podcast is “How I Built This” posted by Guy Raz about entrepreneurs building successful businesses.
You’ve interviewed a lot of famous folks. By whom were you most awestruck?
Bono. I spent two weeks on the road with him. I was impressed with how he educated himself and is so passionate about social justice activism.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
My maternal grandfather said: “As long as you know what’s true in your heart, that’s all that matters. Not what others think of you.
Best advice you give your children.
You can’t screw up the right one; and you can never make the wrong one work. Otherwise known as “bashert.”
To learn more about Kagan, check out her website, www.darynkagan.com and her nonfiction, “Hope Possible: A Network News Anchor’s Thoughts on Losing Her Job, Finding Love, a New Career, and My Dog, Always My Dog.”
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