Q 13

PLAYBOY: When would you just as soon have a man make up your mind?

Catherine Crier: At the end of a long day, figuring out where we're going for dinner. I once dated someone in Dallas, and the joke was that on the bench I was making important decisions, but by the end of the day, "Where do you want to go for dinner?" would throw me. I'm a big-picture person. I love global politics, the world at large. Just don't make me deal with the small stuff.

Q 14

PLAYBOY: As a judge, you didn't actually sit on a bench, you sat on a chair. As a newsperson, you also sit a lot. Describe the perfect chair.

Catherine Crier: There is no perfect chair for me. It's simply the chair for that moment, depending on my mood or what's needed. On The World Today, the evening newscast, the desk is high. Originally, the chair was also high, sort of a stool with a back but also with a wobble. And it wobbled precariously. My first night on the air, two weeks into the job, I sat there thinking, Please, don't let me fall off this chair. So I requested a small riser built behind the set so that a regular low chair could be used. They accommodated me. That chair rolls, has a back, no arms. It's perfect because I don't slump back and relax. I have to sit up and look into the camera. My judge's chair was leather, kind of overstuffed, with arms. But since you sit there hours and hours listening, you need the comfort. And of course, they always make sure a judge's chair is a little bigger than life and imposing. At home, I'm a real sloucher.

Q 15

PLAYBOY: Let us in on the secret: What do judges really wear under their robes?

Catherine Crier: Well, I had something on under the robes. [Laughs] The business suits that I wore in court are pretty much what I wear on the air today, only they were brighter. Still, there are times when I find the wardrobe and appearance part of this job a little disconcerting. Occasionally, I feel like a poodle. [Laughs] And this is not the substance of the job: a pound of make-up on your face, ratting the hair, the hair spray. It's not something I used to pay lots of attention to. Sometimes it's frustrating to spend a great deal of time on an interview only to have someone comment on my hair or the color of my jacket. One side of me sometimes wants to toss out the powder puffs. I'm happiest in a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt, out on the farm.

Q 16

PLAYBOY: Do you have a hobby we would never suspect?

Catherine Crier: Horses. My family has raised and shown Arabian horses for years. I have my horse outside Atlanta, and any time I'm in town on the weekends, I ride across the countryside. There is no greater escape. I'm a Texan at heart. I had a saddle about the same time many little girls got dolls. Now riding works for me the way running works for joggers. It's my moment of contemplation.

Q 17

PLAYBOY: What's your favorite song about Texas?

Catherine Crier: All My Exes Live in Texas (That's Why I Hang My Hat in Tennessee).

Q 18

PLAYBOY: Complete this sentence: You know it's a bad news day when the lead story is....

Catherine Crier: Once when things were very slow, there was a controversy about a story on bottled water. It was important, but to have had to debate whether or not it should be the lead? The story had been floating around, shall we say, for about twenty-four hours. So the challenge became making it interesting by finding a guest to develop the story and enhance what might be an otherwise dry topic.

Q 19

PLAYBOY: Defend the car phone.

Catherine Crier: I'd have to defend the answering machine and the microwave oven, too, and unfortunately I've succumbed to all three. And I mean unfortunately. I remember when I thought, Who in the world would need a microwave oven? Now I can't remember the last time I turned on my real oven. The answering machine helps me communicate with my nearest and dearest. In fact, I have a wonderful friend whom I cannot wait to hear from on the answering machine because she will give me an entire discourse on world events and on her day that will leave me in stitches. It's so hard for us to get together so we can sit down and talk. And the same thing's happened with the car phone. [Smiles] I also just broke down and bought a fax. Disgusting, I know. Now I have to figure out how to hook it up and use it.

Q 20

PLAYBOY: What would you tell your boss, Ted Turner, if you could get away with it?

Catherine Crier: I can already speak my mind freely. And I can always go back and hang out my law shingle, right? [Laughs] Actually, I am very much in sync with the philosophy of this company. My dreams and visions are encouraged by this environment, not discouraged. Most people hate where they work. I'm lucky.