CNN’s Laura Coates on Sacrificing Financial Independence for a Career Move

9 to 5ish with theSkimm

theSkimm

Entrepreneurship, Careers, Business

4.7 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2015, Laura Coates traded courtroom drama for newsroom deadlines, leaving her job as a Justice Department prosecutor to dive into a journalism career. She was a new mom with no media experience or contacts, but knew she’d regret it if she never tried. Fast forward to today. Laura is CNN’s Chief Legal Analyst, a Sirius XM host, and a trusted voice on today’s most pressing legal stories. Despite her success, it didn’t come without sacrifice. Listen as Laura gets real about the hard conversations she had with her husband – and herself – about prioritizing her professional ambitions over financial security. In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Laura shares: How she charmed her husband when they first met, despite having a waxed off eyebrow Why she found it difficult to financially depend on her husband while figuring out her career How she got her foot in the door in media with no connections, and why getting the second foot in is more important Why she never shuts down her kids’ curiosity around current events How she’s dealt with big personalities in the courtroom, and on television Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.1	I mean, I was coming from a federal employee salary. I by no means was rolling in the big
0:37.4	bucks at all. And I had to balance the idea of
0:41.5	what it would be like to have to sacrifice based on my own ambition for our whole household.
0:47.5	I'm Carly Zakin, and I'm Danielle Weissberg. Welcome to 9 to 5-ish with the skin.
0:53.1	We've run into so many questions over the years and had so many moments where we needed advice,
0:59.5	and we got it from women who'd been there.
1:02.9	And that's what we're bringing you at this show.
1:05.0	Each week, we're helping you get what you want out of your career by talking to the smartest
1:09.3	leaders we know.
1:10.5	Because we know your
1:11.8	work life is a lot more than nine to five. All right, let's get into it. Hi, everyone. Today, our
1:21.5	guest is Laura Coates, CNN's chief legal analyst and host on both CNN and Sirius XM. After earning her JD from the University
1:30.7	of Minnesota Law School, Laura worked in both private and public law. She joined the Justice
1:36.3	Department's Civil Rights Division and worked as a federal prosecutor for five years. In the 2010s,
1:42.6	Laura merged her legal expertise with media, contributing to
1:46.5	MSNBC and CNN. She became CNN's senior legal analyst in 2016 and has since covered
1:54.1	major events like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the January 6th hearings, and President
	...

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