(CBS Local)– Nate Burleson has been entertaining people for years as an NFL wide receiver, a sports & entertainment host and a businessman. On Tuesday, the 40-year-old will get the opportunity to reach an even bigger audience as one of the co-hosts of the newly rebranded “CBS Mornings.” Burleson joins Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil every weekday from 7am-9am EST and the new crew will be broadcasting from a brand new studio in Times Square.
Burleson was recently interviewed by CBS Local’s Katie Johnston on his transition from the NFL to CBS News, the guidance he has gotten so far from King and Dokoupil, and what excites him the most about the chance to work on one of television’s greatest programs.
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“I was constantly engaged with media while I was playing,” Burleson added. “Then, around halfway through my career, I went to Broadcast Bootcamp, which was a real eye-opener for me. I left that bootcamp with pats on the back and people in the industry telling me that after I was done playing, I would have a chance to do this, but I didn’t truly hear that. I realized how little I knew about being on television as I walked away. There was so much more to being a television personality as an art and craft.”
Burleson, an Emmy Award winner, left the NFL in 2014 and says he’s excited to use the platform of “CBS Mornings” to tell a variety of stories about the financial world, race in America, and culinary culture.
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Burleson remarked, “It’s a gift that I’m here sitting in this chair and working on CBS Mornings because this is premium real estate in this industry.” “I’m eager to show people other aspects of Nate Burleson they aren’t acquainted with once the program really starts off because I’ve worked hard to earn this position. Telling a narrative is one thing I know I’m good at. It doesn’t matter whether it’s my life or someone else’s, or if it’s something absolutely relevant to what we’re dealing with right now.”
While Burleson has a lot to look forward to in his new job, one of his favorite things already is being able to share the set with seasoned veterans like King and Dokoupil. The new co-host of “CBS Mornings” loves how Gayle & Tony embraced him from the start and he has learned a lot from them already.
“Gayle has been fantastic. Gayle is all you’ve heard and seen about her, plus a whole lot more. She is a dedicated worker who is very enthusiastic about what she does. She is very dedicated to her position. Then there’s her journalistic attitude, which she shares with Tony. We hit it off straight away. We both graduated from high school in the same year. A much of what we see in the world is seen through the same eyes. The first thing they said when I came in was that they were thrilled to have me and that they were looking forward to working with me.”
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Starting Tuesday, September 7 from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. EST, CBS will broadcast “CBS Mornings.”
