I was a panelist then. I understand that at the time they wanted it to be more of a "McLaughlin Group" type of thing. I didn't know one panelist on the show who agreed with that wish. We had all chosen to be on "Washington Week" because we thought of it as a good civil place where we could cover our stories and still face the people we covered on Monday morning -- without getting grief.

The beauty of having reporters on who cover beats is that they have to face their sources Monday and they can't be irresponsible and say anything that pops into their head on Friday night. And that means we have people who are a little more accountable for what they write and say. So we resisted any effort to make this a show where you saw the same four people sitting around and sharing their opinions every week. When we fail it's when we have someone on just spouting something they read rather than talking about what they cover. I tried to make the case that we can make the show more in the moment without going overboard. That's the balance we try for. Politics doesn't have to be taken that seriously all the time. We try to make "Washington Week" like a dinner table conversation.

Was the combination of being a senior correspondent on the "NewsHour" and host of "Washington Week" what got you to come over from NBC?

Absolutely. I would not have left NBC for just the "Washington Week" job, and I would have hesitated if it were only to be at the "NewsHour." But together, it's such a great combination of skills that I couldn't resist. Every new job I've taken (and Lord knows I can't hold a job) in my career has been one that allows me to expand and learn new things.

Is the difference at "NewsHour" the time allowed for each segment?

That's a big part of it. The idea of an in-depth piece at NBC was two-and-a-half minutes. An idea of a short piece here is eight minutes. So you have a lot more time to dig a lot deeper. I also got to learn skills like anchoring. I was working at a place where they always gave you reasons why you couldn't do something, as opposed to here, where you are the one saying, "I don't think I can," and they are assuming you can. It's better to work in a place that assumes you can do something as opposed to one where it's assumed you can't. That to me personally was the appeal.

Has your career been one of facing down those who said you couldn't do well? Do race and gender play a role?

It's not really as simple as that. Every job I left wasn't an escape. It was for a better job. I was a national correspondent for the Washington Post. That was not limiting. But the New York Times offered me a chance to do more with that. And I was covering the White House for the Times, which wasn't limiting. But NBC was going to offer me the chance to learn a whole new set of skills in television, and once again I was a political correspondent for NBC, which was far from limiting, and got a great chance to host my own program. As far as the race and gender question, you benefit and you lose when you define yourself in that way.

How so?

How other people define you is their problem. I am very conscious that there are very few people who look like me in this business. It is a subject that has plagued me and bugged me throughout my career: We in journalism purport to tell the story of the world but can't quite get to the point in print or in broadcast where we are representative in the worldviews and veils of experience that we bring to the task.

I'm very aware that I am a "lonely only" doing this, as far as black women hosting public affairs programming. But I am not at all convinced that it has to be that way. I love and embrace being a role model. If, when I was a little girl, I had seen someone like me on the television, I would have been in love with the idea that I existed. I am happy to give advice and ideas to students, and to spot a young black kid in the newsroom and say, "You might want to do this or that." That's a huge part of my role and why I'm here.

As an experienced journalist, what do you tell a young reporter about the new media?

I don't know. We keep getting confused about the Web. I'm not sure old media has gotten into the habit of bringing people along from the Web or vice versa. The point is to get an opportunity to write. You want to be able to ask any question you want to anybody and get an answer. That's the fun part of what I do.

How do you unwind?

I love the Washington Mystics [a WNBA team]! I'm a season-ticket holder. I'd like to see them start winning.

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